I watched a movie

 Last night - when else

I watched a movie that I had recorded.

DirecTV had boogered up my bill while back - and to make me happy (I didn't even notice their error - not even to this day have I figured out what they did wrong) to make me happy they gave me 2 free months of Showtime.

Years back, we gave up the premium channels because we didn't like the content.  Most of them are "R" rated or worse.  Even the PG13 have words and actions that bore us - we could care less if some guy knows the alphabetical order of all profanity words and is able to recite same - in order - while screaming at some other poor sap in fresh produce aisle of a corner grocery store.  Haven't seen that show?  Just you wait.  It's coming.

For 2 months I scoured Showtime for something to watch.  I picked up one or two.  If they were not "R," they were baby "G" movies that only a 5 year old would understand.   I recorded a movie called:

QUARTET

I picked it because it said something about opera singers.  Yes, it still had the obligatory 2 words in order to get a PG-13 rating.  The story was slow.  It took a long time to hit the climax.  The wait was worth it, because throughout the entire movie - there was music - good music - sung and performed by real musicians.  You didn't have the Hollywood actor pretending to play a clarinet.  The guy actually played the clarinet.  And, he knew what he was doing.  Excellent music.  Some fun scenes.  

There were a lot of scenes where someone stood and looked into the distance with the prevailing light beating down in a complimentary sort of way.  Pensive - that is a good word.  Thinking about the past or the future.

To reduce the plot to a simpleton movie - like in the old Andy Rooney movies, they were putting on a show to save their Musician Retirement Home.  Plus the story line revolved around a retired opera soprano who was reuniting with her ex-husband.  These were all retired, really old people with all the retired, really old people problems.  Some made me a bit uneasy.  But, what a GOLDEN cast.   I loved the players.  And what a show they produced at the end.

The ending was predictable and excellent - the music was great.  Since I have to wear earphones when I watch TV with my family (I am going deaf gradually ya know), I heard every note and nuance.   It was marvelous.

But, the part that got to me was at the very very very end.  Not the acting or the singing or the instrumental playing - no, it was the credits at the end.  

You remember the Band of Brothers series.  At the end of each episode, they showed the actor and, then, a photo of the warrior he was playing including a very short bio of the actual soldier.

This movie did similar.  The difference was that each actor was playing himself.  They showed the character and a photo of them when young and at least one of their accomplishments.   The clarinet player use to be the Principal clarinet with the London Symphony.  There was an accomplished symphonic conductor - and a lady who was the practice piano player for many productions - and the trumpet player use to play in Frank Sinatra's band - and the lady who played Yum-Yum in the London theater production.

The Credits were the quite emotional for me.   Old people, really old people, still creating music as if they loved it.  As they recited more than once:  getting old is not easy.

Luv ya,

Mtz3