Half Nelson

I went and saw Half Nelson this afternoon. It's a movie about a white inner-city history teacher and his friendship with a young black girl (she's on the basketball team he coaches). So, I realize there are a lot of movies that sound like this, but what sets this one apart? I guess it's that the teacher is so messed up. He's a crack addict. The girl (Drey) sees him at his worst, more than once.

Mutual brokenness...

Brokenness from the one who should, for every reason, be strong.

I just read this on IMDB, and it's a pretty good summary of how the movie made me feel. It doesn't have amazing writing or anything like that... but somehow it took me into a world that I rarely enter and made me feel things that are difficult to articulate.

"If the strength of the medium of film is to relay meaning which cannot be expressed in words, then I don't think a review of this film on my part would be worth much... In the spirit of keeping things trite, let me just say I have seen quite a few films, quite a few classics, quite a few masterpieces, and frankly, none of them have moved me as much as this film did. How the BRILLIANT director/writers whom I'm sure we have not seen the last of, managed to weave together seamlessly political commentary, commentary on the nature of the modern family/relationships, existential struggles, racial tensions and ironies, and the very struggles with which we are born by simply being human, is beyond me. The end result was nothing short of a masterpiece. This movie will make you think, feel, and hope. Perfection projected."

So go see it if you want. Don't have high expectations though. I didn't think it was quite as life-changing as this person did, but it was definitely a needed foray into other people's lives.