Tag: the nightingale

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7 Movies With Iconic Grandparents

 

Grandparents Day is filled with love and joy. In celebration of National Grandparents Day 2016, we have created a list of well-known movies with awesome grandmas and grandpas.

The Godfather

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Vito Corleone is one of the most ruthless, violent bosses of New York’s biggest crime syndicate. He is wise and intelligent, an excellent reader of others’ intentions, and a smooth, subtle talker, able to convince with words, not only bullets.Though a cold-hearted criminal, Vito is also a warm, loving grandfather; he’s a family man who loves playing hide-and-seek with his grandson, Anthony. Although the movie is three hours long, it absorbs us so effectively, it never has to hurry, and is worth watching.

The Proposal

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Betty White nails it again, playing yet another awesome Nana in The Proposal. Playing Grandma Annie in the film, White’s acting alone is worth watching this romantic comedy. Gammy definitely takes the spotlight during her 90th birthday party weekend, innocently budding the romance of Andrew and his boss, Margaret.

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

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Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is a well-loved movie based on the book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Parents love it, children love it, everyone loves it. In both versions of the tale, it’s pretty clear who is number one in Grandpa Joe’s mind. He decides he must accompany Charlie to the chocolate factory and nonetheless they were tempted by the Bubble Room. But really, wouldn’t anyone be?

The Nightingale

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This movie is the epitome of a “family movie,” and would be great to watch on National Grandparents day. No other movie portrays such a light-hearted relationship between grandfather and granddaughter. Watch as Zhu Zhi Gen takes his granddaughter, Ren, on an adventure to discover her roots in the country.

Parenthood

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Frank Buckman experiences quite the transformation throughout the movie, Parenthood. Back in the day, he had always been seen as quite the neglectful father, being unable to emotionally relate to his four children. Amid all conflict that went down in the family, Frank had to step up and dramatically change into the most wonderful grandparent. A combination of drama and comedy, this cutting-edge classic would be a delightful way to celebrate family life in all its imperfection.

The Princess Diaries

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Who wouldn’t want the fabulous Queen Clarisse Renaldi as their grandmother? When her son dies, her majesty grooms her daughter, Mia, into the princess of the fictional country of Genovia that she is today. This movie depicts the realm of many girls’ fantasy - from having a royal makeover, to becoming a princess, to living happily ever after. It is an entertaining, warm-hearted story that every grandmother/granddaughter duo would enjoy.

Ways to Live Forever

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Sometimes, being a grandparent can be hard. Phyllida Law played Sam’s grandmother, who has to endure the hardships of having her grandson diagnosed with leukemia. This touching film addresses the extremely difficult topic of incurable, terminal diseases. It asks many of the big questions about life and death and reasons through them in a simplistic, childlike sort of way that is thoroughly logical from the perspective of a 12-year-old. This is a simply-made drama, but everything about it is absolutely solid.

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Happy Book Lover’s Day with a Bird Theme 08/09/2016

 

There are multiple movies across the world that are based on books that have bird motifs. Birds are seen a symbols of freedom and peace are often featured in movies and books as symbols for their characters. Here are some good movies with bird motifs:

The Scarlet Ibis

The Scarlet Ibis is a short movie based on a story by James Hurts. The story revolves around the main character and his brother, Doodle, as they grow up together. Since Doodle is disabled, and unable to participate in any normal brother duties, the main character decides Doodle should train to be more like a brother. The movie comes to the climax after the narrator’s family finds a dead scarlet ibis in their yard. The movie ends with the main character holding Doodle after a rain storm, leaving viewers with a sad, but nostalgic outlook on the story.

To Kill a Mockingbird

The classic movie To Kill a Mockingbird centers on a book written by Harper Lee. The story follows Scout and her older brother Jem as they navigate through the town of Maycomb, Alabama in their youth. The movie deals with racial tension in the 1930’s and the unfair treatment of people who are different. At one point the main character’s father states “to kill a mockingbird is a sin” because they are harmless creatures. The movie ends after giving the viewer a good point of view on how ignorance and fear cause serious and even fatal consequences.

The Nightingale

The Nightingale is a Chinese movie that follows the life of a young girl named Ren Xing. Ren Xing lives with a family who may love her but her parents are emotionally distant from one another and are too busy working to spend time with her. So, she is sent away to visit her paternal grandfather. They set off into the forest in the rural parts of China to free the bird her grandfather promised his late wife he would free. The movie ends with the nightingale, that Ren Xing adopted, who was unable to initially, singing. The bird, like her family, is made whole again.

Bird People

The movie Bird People centers around the lives of two adults who decided they are dissatisfied with the way their lives are. Main character Gary Newman is an American businessman who travels around the world but thinks his life is dull and meaningless. Maid and student Audrey has a dark, emotional past and is unhappy with the way her life is manifesting. Both characters decide to leave behind their lives and responsibilities in order to be free again like the sparrow who flies away in the movie.

The Falcon Maltese

The Falcon Maltese is a movie based on a book by Dashiell Hammett. The movie follows a private investigation agency as they begin an investigation into the disappearance of a woman's sister. The movie falls into multiple plots of murder and is overshadowed by this mysterious figure called The Falcon. The movie ends with the main character frustrated, deceived, and slightly heartbroken as he moves on from the chaos that entered his life from picking up the wrong client.

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Mother’s Day Movies: The Struggles of Being a Mother

 

Motherhood is something unimaginably difficult to those who’ve never experienced it. From physically tending to a growing child, to influencing who that child grows up to be, motherhood is full of struggles that show why we should appreciate mothers on this special day. Though nothing can be done to perfection, mothers always make that effort for their children, or as the saying goes “mother knows best.” Every  situation brings something different, and in those times moms have to make difficult decisions as to what’s best for their child.

In today’s society, mother’s have every right to seek fulfilling careers and, at times, that’s combined with the desire to give their child financial comforts while foregoing spending a lot of time with them. In the film The Nightingale (distributed by World Wide Motion Pictures Corporation) Quan Ying is burdened by her desire to give her child a comfortable life, and to achieve that, she and her husband work tireless hours. However, when Quan Ying is faced with not having anyone to take care of her daughter Renxing, she makes the difficult decision to have her daughter join her grandfather on a trip to his hometown. This resolve was difficult since it was done without telling her husband, who would have vetoed her decision. Ultimately, the journey turns out for the best, as Renxing gains a more mature worldview on this journey, though it was a difficult one.

Sometimes life takes unexpected turns, and health makes the struggle of motherhood a lot more difficult. In the the film The Lovely Patient, Katherine is faced with putting the burden of relying on her son for support after she suffers a stroke. Despite the situation, their relationship is made stronger in the struggle.

In Ways to Live Forever, young Sam McQueen has leukemia, and his mother, Amanda, along with other adults, do the best they can so that he can have as normal a life as possible. Though she is unable to heal her child’s ailment, she does the best she can so that he can have a happy and normal life.

Lastly, these are just some film examples of how difficult it is to be a mother. The world is full of stories of different circumstances making motherhood have it’s happy moments and it's sad ones. Today is Mother’s Day, and we all should take the time to make it a special one for our own mothers so that they know how much we appreciate all they do to try and give us the best.

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International Bird Day

 

May 4th marks a very special day in celebrating nature since it is the day that International Bird Day is celebrated. This date marks an approximation as to when most species of birds begin to migrate, and what better day to celebrate this avian species and to promote the conservation of their kind and their habitats. After all, birds are creatures that continue to inspire great art like Picasso’s “Dove of Peace,” Brancusi’s sculpture “Bird in Space,” and even in films like The Nightingale (distributed by World Wide Motion Pictures), where birds take a central role. In this film, one of the main plot lines revolves around a pet nightingale that is being transported to its village of origin by a grandfather and his granddaughter.

For this International Bird Day, let’s commemorate the central protagonist of the film by learning a little bit about the species. Nightingales tend to breed in summer months in warm humid climates, typical of certain European and Asian forests (much like the nightingale in the film, which came from a rainforest in Yanshuo, China). During the winter, nightingales migrate to Africa to find warmer climates, and during the spring they return north to their nesting grounds. This species was given its common name since it could be heard singing during the day and during the night, and it is believed that single males sing during nighttime to attract mates. Nightingales’ diets consists of insects, fruits, nuts, and seeds, and the small birds are predated by animals like rats, foxes, snakes, larger birds, and cats. Because of their preferred habitat of thick rainforests, and because of their small size, nightingales are very difficult to spot, but their song could easily be heard despite the foliage. This May 4th, if you want to see a tale about this species, check out The Nightingale which will be available on VOD and DVD.

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Let’s Celebrate Our Ancestors

 

In Asian beliefs, it is believed to always tie loose ends with a person before their deaths. Being in debt with the dead would only bring misfortune to an individual throughout the rest of their lives until the debt is fulfilled or repaid. Qingming creates a method for the Chinese to bring a closure to all their loose ends while paying their respects to their ancestors.

In China, Qingming, or Tomb Sweeping Day in English, is a day dedicated to paying one’s respects to their family’s ancestors. The origin of Qingming begins with Jie Zitui, who had loyally followed Chong’er, Duke Wen of Jin. However, when Chong’er became duke, he repaid all those who supported him graciously, but skipped over Jie. When Duke Wen attempted to find Jie for repayment, he never found him. Jie had moved into the forests with his mother, so Duke Wen ordered his troops to set the forest on fire. Accidentally killing Jie and his mother, Duke Wen ordered three days without fire to honor Jie’s memory. A year later, the duke returned to the grave to find a willow tree in blossom. The lost forest is still called Jiexiu, meaning “Jie’s rest.”

Honoring the dead, just like Duke Chong’er did, provided a sense of closure from remorse and allowed the living to say thank you to the dead. In the film The Nightingale, Zhu Zhi Gen travels across China to pay his respects to his late wife’s grave, as well to fulfill his promise. Qingming provides a way to honor one’s ancestors at their grave sites by sweeping their tombs, offering them tea, wine, chopsticks, and/or libations. Zhu Zhi Gen brings a nightingale to his former wife and said one last goodbye to her, and releasing it for one last flight.

The purpose of Qingming is to honor one’s ancestors and hope for fortune from them. So this year’s Qingming on April 4th, visit your ancestor’s graves and tie up any loose ends. Remember your ancestors’ legacy, enjoy their lives as well as your own, and wish for the best.

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Tune into Netflix for The Nightingale

 

Make it a date to stay home and hang out with your family and friends celebrating the Netflix release of the beloved film, The Nightingale.

In addition to iTunes, The Nightingale will be available for streaming on Netflix and available for purchase on DVD beginning April 5.

The Nightingale follows the story of Zhigen and his quest to go back to his hometown and free his bird as a promise he made to his late wife. The journey becomes a little more interesting when his granddaughter Renxing, a spoiled city girl from Beijing, joins him on the adventure while her father is out of town.

The two individuals share experiences and discover meaning to family and life that stays within their hearts (and hopefully even yours), forever.

DVD’s are available at indiemoviestore.com

For additional information on the Nightingale, visit the official page or like the official movie page on Facebook.