Blame it on … Havana
There is a wonderful word in the English language that I almost never use. It is the word ”understated”. I am ready to use it. I am willing to use it. I am wanting to use it (paraphrasing Alfred P. Doolittle). Alas, one has so few opportunities these days. Things tend to go, shall we say, the other way.
But at last I have the chance. A comment to the IMDB profile of the film “Our Man in Havana” says
The whole film is understated ….
Yes indeed. All of it. In the film, Alec Guinness plays Jim Wormold, an expat vacuum cleaner salesman living in pre-revolutionary Havana. He is offered the job of being a secret agent for the British government and he accepts so that he can buy a horse for his daughter. Guinness starts out … out his depth, and the water keeps getting deeper. Yet the story retains a rather light hearted and human quality. It is a charming film that by the way, you can watch from the Classic Film List.
But does the film have any relevance for the ”action packed” lives that we lead today? In my view, the lesson from the film is not that
even nutrition experts unwittingly eat more ice cream when given larger spoons.
This rather interesting quote caught my eye this morning. It is from a NYT book review by Tom Vanderbilt of the book “Busted” by Edmund L. Andrews. The book gives us the story of how an economics correspondent for the NYT found himself … out of his depth when he bought a house that he could not afford. Hmmm …. sounds familiar.
My esteemed readers might wonder whether I have something against overweight nutrition experts. Heavens no. For me, the lesson at hand is simply that in difficult circumstances a certain understated charm can go a long way. Mr. Andrews?’
There. I used it.
Tags: Films