"I don't know why the world turned into a mess like this.
Everything is complicated, badly developed and poorly written.
In former days you only had fields with cows and chicken.
Everything was much easier. In former days things were tangible.
You ate what you cultivated. You made your own clothes and house."
This is some kinda movie review essay (or rants), and will contain spoiler.
L'auberge Espagnole (The Spanish Inn) tells a story about a middle class French guy who applied to Erasmus program studying economy in Spain for a year in order to get a job at French government. He left his girlfriend in France and settled in a rented apartment sharing with a bunch of young people coming from Germany, Italy, England, Denmark, Belgium, and one local Spanish. Then the story developed from there. All the intrigue of living together, sharing a fridge, annoying landlord. Then there are school politics, language barrier, hangovers, relationship shits, affairs, break ups.
Some of the execution weren't that interesting, like the coming of an annoying brother from England to include the stereotype of each nation into the story, as if it is a must on a movie that involves multinational people. And how they all trying hard running back to the apartment at the same time to save one's relationship, to show how bonded they are to each other. But I like the way the urban reality was portrayed. Beside the great architecture of Gaudi, it shows the street side of working class in Barcelona, not like the typical luxurious one like you see in Hollywood movies. Overall it's actually a movie with simple ideas which I think any youth everywhere can relate to. Quoted from imdb review, "The director comes out of the idea that young people everywhere are just the same. They like jokes. They like to make irresponsible relationships. But they don't neglect their aspirations. The most interesting is the sum of experience of this little community. They live together in the fire of everyday tasks fighting with the surrounding reality. They are full of unusual ideas for life."
Another significant point of interest of the movie is, the ending. The French guy ended up getting the job he aimed at the French government, but left at the very first day to become a writer, something he always know he likes to do ever since he was a kid. He started to feel all this cliche finding his identity bits by bits from all his friends back then in Barcelona and writes his story. Sounds good? Happy ending? It seems to. Like all those Paulo Coelho's shits huh? Yes, until I found out there's a sequel to this movie, titled Les Poupées Russes (The Russian Dolls), where the French guy is now thirty and become a crappy struggling writer, writing cheap romances because it sells, and ghost writes for celebrities who can't write their own biography. (Haven't watch this one tho, will catch up later).
I was trying so hard to explain all my Italian "thing" to a friend days ago, I think my point is that it's normal for youth to want to experience a certain breakthrough in life to make sure that their youth aren't gone wasted and they'll always have a story to tell. You know, I didn't really care when a boss was mocking me on a job interview saying that I took a lot of wrong job choices, because it is true when people say life is about things you've experienced, places you've been, people you've met, and I don't feel like I'm regretting any. I don't plan I just do stuff, who knows along the way something happens and flushes me somewhere.
But you know, there's always two sides of story of everything, there'll be always fears of the crappy possibility like the poor French guy who hadn't turn out to be that successful. You know life might be a fairy tale for some, but it isn't to most others. There are a lot of successful stories came from men who struggled, but do you ever wonder how many others who struggled and yet never did it and there's never a story came out and you never heard of them? How many other Thomas Alfa Edison who tried as much and yet never did it? Ever heard someone told you that life is beautiful? Well I tell you what, they lied. Life is a battlefield and it will always be.
Oh dear this is long, okay I'm done.
