Bridges of Madison County

I've mentioned it before, and I'll say it again... this is one of my all time favorite movies!!  There's just something timeless about it.  It's the love story between two people... and people have been falling in love for generations before me, and will for many generations to come.

Once in every life, someone comes along, 

and you came to me, it was almost like a song.

That's the general premise of the movie:  The family of an Iowa farm wife goes out of town, and one day a stranger in a pickup comes asking for directions.  And there begins a love like neither of them have known.   Being the 1960s though, their involvement would have wagged a few tongues in town.

Even though in our current society, people who find a new love find a way to justify starting a new life, it just wasn't done in the time of the movie.  Women (and men) made choices and they stuck with them.  There was a different vibe to life, one of sacrifice for the greater good than for one's self.

That doesn't stop this woman from keeping these memories to herself, treasuring each moment in private thought when things get rough.   While this assumption isn't part of the movie, you get a sense of that if you understand the old fashioned values.  

What is it about this movie that draws me in?  I think its the beginning scenes where they sit in the kitchen and converse.  They share thoughts and ideas, things that are probably missing in her life.  You get a huge sense of their attraction as they talk.  Maybe the attraction is a kind of kinship -- that certain something that is a missing piece in each other.  

Someday I will be gone, and my kids may come across this blog.  For that reason I want them to know what I thought, why I liked certain things, what they mean to me.  I know I write abut this movie often, but that's because it moves me every time I see it.  Perhaps its because I've been alone for 10 years, and yearn for a friendship such like that one that builds in the movie.  Or maybe its because I understand Francesca living in a marriage that's comfortable, but doesn't stimulate.  The kind where routine takes over and substance takes a back seat. 

The one part in the movie that brings me a huge smile is when she invites him to stay for dinner.  He comes in the kitchen and says "Can I help?"  and she says "Help WHAT?"   You can tell from her tone that a man helping in the kitchen is a concept that hasn't happened in her life.  :)

The long looks, the soft lighting, the mellow jazzy tune in the background all add up to a wonderful movie that speaks to the heart.   I'd love for everyone to enjoy this movie as much as I do!