rener

I seem to always have a bad case of insomnia and recurring nightmares right around finals time. Let me take this as an opportunity to write about a particular movie that I hold close to my heart, David Lean’s Brief Encounter.

Having grown up in a place where public transportation was actually well-implemented, I love trains and railway stations. All our lives are incredibly similar to stations: Departures, arrivals, a massive amount of people who pass us by without any acknowledgment and of course, the brief encounters we share with certain people.

Set in 1945 during World War II around the fictional UK Milford railway station, a certain incident leads to the chance meeting of a housewife with two children, Laura, and a married doctor, Alec. They continue to meet at the station by coincidence, and as their attraction towards each other grows they eventually begin setting up meetings against their better judgment.

The cinematography, writing and acting are impeccable, as is the soundtrack. Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto no. 2 swells during the most poignant scenes, allowing the film to draw viewers in at will.

Honestly, all I can say is if you haven’t seen this movie yet, you need to do so immediately. There’s much to be said about how perfect it is, and there’s a reason why the film is held in high regards by many.

Lastly, one of my all-time favourite quotes from any movie of any genre:

“This can’t last. This misery can’t last. I must remember that and try to control myself. Nothing lasts really. Neither happiness nor despair. Not even life lasts very long. There’ll come a time in the future when I shan’t mind about this anymore, when I can look back and say quite peacefully and cheerfully how silly I was. No, no, I don’t want that time to come ever. I want to remember every minute, always, always to the end of my days.”
— Laura Jesson, Brief Encounter

I bet you won’t find dialogue like that in your Nicholas Sparks and Stephanie Meyer books and movies.