I watched the Coen brothers 'No Country For Old Men' and Walsh's 'Flashbacks Of A Fool' two films that predominately examine motifs of chance, nihilism, free-will and fate, both by quite stark and emotionally charged methods. The above scene is one of my favourite scenes of all time, bolstered by the Roxy Music soundtrack. When I worked in Ibiza last Summer Bryan Ferry headlined the Opening of Pete Tong's Wonderland at Ibiza and masses of workers could be overheard questioning who he was in the streets of San Antonio. I found it pretty shocking, Bryan Ferry was our parents heartbreaker and hero; but Roxy Music also changed the music industry, left a cause for hundreds of bands to cite Roxy Music as a key inspiration and soundtracked an era of youth, exploration, hope and dreams.
This video reminds me of one of my favourite quotes from Nicholls' 'One Day,' (you must read the book regardless of your thoughts on the film, but then again a copy of One Day seems to be the modern day Bible equivalent - every home must have one): "'Live each day as if its your last', that was the conventional advice, but really who had the energy for that? What if it rained or you felt a bit glandy? It just wasn't practical. Better by far to simply try and be good and courageous and bold and to make a difference. Not change the world exactly, but the bit around you. Go out there with your passion and your electric typewriter and work hard at..... something. Change lives through art maybe. Cherish your friends, stay true to your principles, live passionately and fully and well. Experience new things. Love and be loved if you ever get the chance."
In 'One Day', as in 'No Country For Old Men' and 'Flashbacks Of A Fool' there is no happy Hollywood ending, instead there is an embedded realism, a thread of truth and possibility. We all go out into the world filled with childhood dreams and the belief that we possess the supernatural power to change the world, make it what we want to be. Very few of us maintain this belief past the teenage years. Perhaps this is because Hollywood with their Disney Princesses, "Once Upon A Time's'" and happy endings placed our expectations on a unrealistically high shelf, where they are left to brood and overshadow our daily lives, our own hopes preventing us from just living and enjoying what we have.
Of course, every argument has two sides, and without these fostered dreams perhaps we wouldn't achieve. But, when they are stopping you from finding happiness perhaps we shouldn't be afraid of letting go. Our fondest memories are the simplest, most indulgent pleasures. We should fill our lives up with moments like the ones above.
