Catharsis

Sometimes you just need a vent for emotion - whether it is a happy emotion or a sad one.

I have a pile of trusty books for such occasions. There are some I turn to when I am ill - these are books I've read time and time again and it doesn't matter how often I fall asleep when reading them because I already know them word for word.

There are others that I read when I am excited and can't concentrate - usually just before I travel. Again I know these books inside out but I know that as I read them I will become immersed deep within them and time will pass quickly.

Then there are the books that you know will make you cry. I'm not talking about a sad passage in a book (the bit in Good Wives where Beth dies for instance is sad but over all the book is a happy one) but the ones that are *really* sad. Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin is one of these, as is If I Stay by Gayle Foreman. Actually when I look at my shelves I have quite a few of this type of book.

These are books that I read knowing they are going to make be feel awful at the time but also knowing that once I've sobbed my way through them I'll feel better.

There are a few films like that too (Beaches, and Graveyard of the Fireflies for example), but as a rule I turn to my favourite books as it is easier to hide away with a novel than it is with a film or at the cinema.

I broke this rule last week when I went to see Third Star at the cinema. I knew what the film was about and I knew it was going to be moving. I might just have under anticipated just how sad it was going to be and just how much it was going to affect me. Gulp.

There are many reviews out on the web of this film but even now, a week after I saw the film, I can't write about it without wanting to cry again. The summary from IMDB probably gives the best taster with least danger of spoilers:

James and his three closest lifelong friends go on an ill-advised trip to the stunning coastal area of Barafundle Bay in West Wales. What follows is a touching and comical adventure dealing with friendship, heroism and love.

However despite sniffing my way through the film, and looking decidedly unattractive on leaving the screen thanks to the red eyes and nose the movie was incredible. The locations were stunning, the actors very good and the whole roller coaster of emotion played beautifully. It felt real and just like those books I turn to regularly this is going to be a film I know I am going to watch and re-watch.