Okay, so I wouldn’t go quite so far to say Zsolt and I are cheap people. We’re simply thrifty. Go to a restaurant and skip dessert; split on the lunch buffet instead of an evening meal;. enter a mall with clear goals and no additional purchases (almost, I mean . . . if it really looks cute, I might bend.); never order alcohol; check the charity shops before the outlet stores . . .

And this morning, in honour of upcoming Valentine’s Day, we “went to a movie before noon, so we can get half off the tickets.”

Sounds like fun, eh? 🙂 It was.

This morning, close to noon, we attended a showing of The Artist at our local AMC theatre. This is a show that features a charming male lead who, in The Artist, is a popular silent film start. Talkies enter the picture and his career goes crashing down. Meanwhile, he meets this young and equally charming actress whose career is on the up. They don’t spend the entire moving making passionate love to one another, but they are present in each other’s lives – even if from a distance.

Zsolt and I were enthralled with this picture from the opening scene. It’s sweet. It’s funny. It’s very clever. Frankly, I’d say it’s a perfect Valentine’s day picture simply because of its light, humorous and love-struck aspects, but also because of the quality. Quality film, no doubt.

Just because romantic comedies are cheesy as a rule doesn’t mean there cannot be some shining exceptions.

Once upon a time, in a memory far away, I was reading some interview with the Canadian author Modicai Richler. And in this interview, he talks about a letter he once found that his son had written to his school. Basically, the son is swearing and angry and ripping up the school, and plans on sending in the letter. Mr Richler reads it, and instead of getting angry with his son’s horrible langauge . . . he edits the letter. All the “Fuck yous,” and “Fuck this” and “Fuck everyones” were removed. All except for one at the end, where he left a final ‘Fuck You’. Passing the letter back to his son, he explains that when going for impact: less is more.

I’ve never forgotten that. It’s one reason I detest the triple, or even double, exclamation mark (!!!). (Except when in brackets; you can get away with anything if it’s place between two brackets.) And it’s one of the reasons that The Artist is such a success despite being a mainly silent movie. The music takes on more meaning. The movements are more important. The looks are deeper. And subtle background noises suddenly gain huge significance.

A movie about silent films, which is silent, and which struggles within that silence . . . Gosh, it was good.

Just go and see it, eh? I could write more – but what’s the point? There’s a cute dog, fabulous physicality, great style . . . but none of this matters unless you see the movie. (And try for before noon, if you want to catch that discount.)

So, that was our Valentine’s Day adventure. Two days early because we don’t want to pay extra on the actual day. And yeah, we’re a little stingy . . . but I still enjoy a beautiful moment. This film was full of beauty. As was the experience of snuggling up to my husband in a dark theatre, and enjoying our splurge purchase of pop corn.

Lovely date, no? I hope your Valentine’s day is just as nice. 🙂

(And after the film, we attempted to walk around outside, but Zsolt was wearing his street shoes – no boots – and basically froze to the point of non-enjoyment. Therefore, we hid in Walmart and called home for a ride. I felt like a 14 year old again.)