Thursday, April 30, 2009

A Midweek Night's Movie Review

The other night, Josie woke up in the middle of the night. She was happy, but awake. I tried several things to get her to sleep; nursing, walking her around the house, singing, rubbing her back, telling her stories, etc. Nothing worked. She obviously wanted to go to sleep and she would almost fall asleep and then suddenly open her eyes and we would be back to square one. As you all know, we don't own a TV and although the boys watch movies on a portable DVD player or a computer, Josie is usually not interested (unless it is to turn it off so she can see them protest and chase her around). Finally, after trying everything else, I thought maybe a movie would help her get to sleep or at least it was worth a try. Parker's favorite movie at Josie's age and until he was over four years old was A Midsummer Night's Dream. In fact, Parker's love of the movie and the play is one of several reasons we named his younger brother, Demetrius (Dema). Our copy of the DVD has long since been scratched and worn out, but I thought I might be able to play it through Netflix. I didn't find the 1999 version available via Netflix's play now option, but I did find the 1968 version. It did the trick. Josie was mesmerized for longer than I've ever seen her watch a screen and then she peacefully fell asleep, appropriately. This version of A Midsummer Night's Dream is really quite interesting. It is more true to the play and it is almost like watching neighbor kids act it out. It was fun to see a very young Judi Dench as the fairy queen, Titania, all undressed except for some green body paint. It is definitely had a '60s feel to it which might be part of the charm. No special effects, just Shakespeare's silly comedy which I've always thought was a great introduction for young kids to his plays. I can't wait for Josie to watch the 1999 version. With her love of bicycles (no it is not true to the play, but much of the dialogue is kept in tact), it is sure to be a hit. Anyway, if you are a Dream fan and haven't seen the 1968 version, I do recommend checking it out from your local movie store or you can find it on Netflix.

2 comments:

Jumbleberry Jam said...

Ahhh, the play that R & I went to see at the Station Theater on our 1st dayte together ;0). Thanks for the recommendation...will check it out!

Anonymous said...

Oh, I love hearing how it mesmerized and soothed your wee one :) So cute!

We are tv-free too but I'm wanting to watch a movie with my older daughter this weekend -- I'm going to try and rent this one. Thanks for the movie recommendation!