$700 to become a monk

A very interesting article from Courrier International had a catchy title "700 dollars to become a monk"... Australian head of a non governmental agency, Ben Bowler created www.monkforamonth.com

If I could I would go to Cambodia, Thailand or Japan and try, like my friend Antoine in Cambodia or André in Thailand or with the monks in Meiji Jingu in Harajuku, Tokyo.

FaceBook profile : http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fang-Thailand/Monk-for-a-Month/35067157310
Twitter : http://twitter.com/monkforamonth

Mogari no mori by Naomi Kawase

Yesterday, I went (alone) to watch mogari no mori in a small cinema . You can watch the trailer here and here (French). There's more to this movie than a simple story and a road movie. It tells about the meaning of life (listen to the shinto monk) : you are alive if you eat and if you feel alive through the people around you.

I love Japanese movies because of the esthetics (the expression of beauty), the language and the culture. This one surprised me as I did not really like it at first but then it slowly grew on me : as the old man (Shigeki) and the young lady (Machiko) got into the forest, I was caught by the movie as the intensity grew. Shigeki shows the way of love, respect and devotion and Machiko, the way of selfishlessness (is that English?) and dedication.

The first element to catch my attention was the quality of the photo. Hideyo Nakano has a very special eye : sometimes on the move to stress the action and most of times like the eye of God on the human beings, calm and steady. The wind blowing on the green vegetables (gree wheat?) reminded me of my time in the army in 1993, at the back of a truck, the only consolation came from the beauty of nature and countryside...

I found out this morning that the movie won the "grand prix du jury au Festival de Cannes 2007".

One of the best scenes was when the lady removed her top and bra to hold the old man in her arms and make him warm : it was sensual (in a clean way) and very moving as she previously lost her baby. Mogari means "end of mourning" in Japanese.

Difficult to explain how touching the movie was. Read more at IMDB.

Another step on the path of understanding the meaning of life and a moment of warmth in a cold world. Another "Food for thought" movie.

Thank you Naomi Kawase