Category Archives: Romance

My wife is an artist and over the years I have developed a strong sensitivity to matters of color, light, and composition. Her technique is original, fusing her own hand-dyed silks to acrylic paints to create dimensional nature images of trees and rocks. What fascinates me, in particular, is how she often will paint only a small part of the tree, and within that fragment will show the infinite variety of design and color that makes for a glorious view of nature, which in her view reflects the infinite wisdom and creativity of God.

Color and composition are at the heart of House of Flying Daggers, a Chinese epic dealing with the intrigues and fighting that went on when the Tang Dynasty was in decline in the year 859 CE. The plot concerns rebel groups such as the House of Flying Daggers which challenge the authority of the government. Indeed, the rebel group is very popular because their agenda is to rob from the rich and give to the poor.

When the local authorities kill the leader of the Flying Daggers, they emerge even stronger and two police captains strategize to kill the new leader. In this conflict, there are three major actors: Jin and Liu, the two police captains, and Mei, a blind dancer who poses as the daughter of the old leader of the Flying Dragons. Mei is perceived by the authorities as the key to finding out who is the new leader so that he can be assassinated. The narrative takes many twists and turns, and not all is as it seems. Characters hide their true motives, switch loyalties, and even fall in love with the enemy. The plot complications engage the viewer who is swept along by the actions and intrigues of the protagonists.

What separates House of the Flying Daggers from other action films is its resplendent use of color and composition. The Chinese dancers wear beautiful garb, rich in color and design. The scenes in the forest capture the beauty of trees swaying in the wind. The fight scenes are choreographed like a ballet. There is fluid motion in nature and in the movements of the soldiers, who literally fly through the air both to attack and to avoid harm.

One particular scene is extraordinary in its visual imagery and its simultaneous metaphorical meaning. Two adversaries, fighting with passion and agility, begin fighting in the autumn when the leaves are turning orange. As their battle continues, snow begins to fall and soon the entire wood is covered in white, suggesting that the ongoing battles between sworn enemies never end until there is a tragic consequence. It is a clever use of imagery and a brilliant commentary on the brutality of war which makes brutes of essentially decent men.

Judaism encourages the appreciation of nature, for nature is, in truth, a window into God’s supernal mind and a reflection of His power and wisdom. Observing a beautiful nature scene is another way of getting to know God. Maimonides observes in his Code of Jewish Law that man learns about God through His words, the Bible, and though His works, namely, through nature. Throughout Psalms, the poet King David reiterates the identification of nature’s beauty with a revelation of God. Psalm 19, for example, dramatically states: “The heavens describe the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.” In fact, Jews say a blessing when seeing a great sea or mountain range, or any great natural wonder.

Sustaining the natural world is one of God’s everyday miracles. House of Flying Daggers is at one level an exciting action film, but its innovative visual style invigorates our perception of nature in ways that make the film a transcendent cinema experience.

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When I was a synagogue rabbi, a very agitated young man once confessed to me that when his girlfriend revealed that she was pregnant, he broke off his relationship with her and told her to get an abortion.  Now, several months later, he was overwhelmed by guilt. Life had moved on; he could no longer correct the situation, and he was very depressed and upset with what he did. Despite his insensitivity, his irresponsibility and his moral weakness, I intuitively understood he needed to feel that all was not lost. It was important to transmit the message that failure is not terminal. You can make terrible mistakes, but you can perform redemptive acts that mitigate punishment.  This is an important life lesson.

Tristan and Isolde deals with young people who make grave mistakes in judgment and the consequences of those mistakes. It is a tragic love story that takes place in medieval times when war raged between the British and Irish. The English are divided into clans and are routinely attacked and killed by the Irish. Lord Marke of Cornwall plans to unite the various tribes of Britain by becoming king and leading a united people to victory over the Irish. Marke is respected by most of the lords; his courageous demeanor in battle adds to his luster and the promise of his inspiring leadership.

Joining him in battle is Tristan, an orphan boy, who was saved from certain death by Lord Marke. Tristan is a loyal and brave warrior and fulfills Marke’s expectations as his heir apparent. But in a fierce contest with the Irish, he is wounded by a poisoned sword, and assumed to be dead. His funeral boat washes up on the Irish coast, where he is found by Isolde, the king’s daughter, and her maid. Slowly, he is nursed to health and Tristan and Isolde fall in love. However, circumstances force him to return to Britain.

Through a series of events, Tristan is reunited with Isolde in Britain, but she is now promised to Lord Marke as a wife by her father. She reluctantly goes through with the wedding, but the love which began on the shores of Ireland runs deep. Passions rage and Tristan and Isolde begin an illicit relationship that both know is doomed.

From the beginning, they are conflicted. Tristan says “I feel on fire and a guilt I can’t comodify.” Isolde agonizes: “Why does loving you feel so wrong?” It is a tortured relationship, in which two souls are divided by loyalty to a dear friend and benefactor, Lord Marke, and a burning desire to forget all moral boundaries and commit to loving one another in spite of what people say or think.

Lord Marke recognizes that their commitment to one another predated his marriage to Isolde and, in a magnanimous gesture, offers them an opportunity to escape together. At that moment, however, Tristan understands what is at stake for Lord Marke and the nation. He sends Isolde away, reminding her that if they were to flee together “for all time people would say it was our love that brought down a kingdom.” Duty triumphs over personal feelings and Tristan joins the battle against the Irish, ultimately sustaining a mortal wound.

Our Sages tell us that one hour of repentance and good deeds in this world is better than the entire life in the world to come, and that one can acquire eternal life in one moment of repentance. The sin of Tristan and Isolde cannot be dismissed. It is an egregious moral fault. But while we are alive, we can still influence our spiritual future. One selfless act, even one committed by a sinner, can change our eternal destiny and the destiny of others.

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Many times I have read in the newspapers about post-traumatic stress syndrome as it relates to soldiers coming home after serving in combat. I understand it intellectually, but it is something very far from my personal experience. In conversations with my son-in-law, one of the few Orthodox Jews who served in the Marines, he gave me some idea of what soldiers face in the battle. Although stationed in Kuwait and not in an active battle theater, he described the training he received for combat which focused on learning how to kill efficiently.

After watching Brothers, a powerful drama about the aftermath of military service, I have a better understanding of the daily stress of those who serve in battle and how service in the thick of combat can change lives for many years afterward.

Sam Cahill, a solid family man, is a Marine captain about to leave on his fourth tour of duty. Married to his high school sweetheart, Grace, and the father of two beautiful daughters, his parting is fraught with a quiet anxiety as family members take leave of one another.

Sam was a star high school athlete and student who never quit or backed away from a tough assignment. His brother, Tommy, in contrast, avoided responsibility at all costs. We first meet him as he leaves jail after serving time for armed robbery, and he arrives just in time to bid farewell to Sam as he embarks for Afghanistan in October of 2007.

News soon arrives that Sam’s helicopter has crashed, killing all of the Marines aboard. But in truth, Sam and his childhood friend, Joe Willis, have been taken captive in a remote mountain village. The film alternates scenes of Sam’s brutal incarceration with scenes of his family back home, who mourn for Sam and who at the same time try to reconstruct their lives without him. His brother Tommy becomes an anchor to Grace and the children who see in him a hint of their father and husband. Tommy and his friends even redecorate the family kitchen to give Grace an emotional lift.

A bond develops between Grace, her girls, and Tommy, in which they genuinely mourn for Sam while at the same time create isolated moments of happiness to make the present bearable. All this transpires as Sam and Joe are tortured brutally, both physically and mentally. Eventually, Sam does an unspeakable act which goes against his very nature, and the psychic residue of that act remains with him when he eventually is rescued and returns home. His adjustment to normality is complicated and involves his relationship with many family members who realize that something has changed within him. He is no longer the person he once was and may be unstable psychologically. The film approaches his adjustment in a complex way and we observe how a friend’s minor gesture can evoke major emotional reactions in Sam.

In the darkest of hours, Jewish tradition always tells us to focus on the light. Our Sages tell us the cycle of the moon reminds us that when all is dark, light will come. Bad times are not forever. The new moon will appear shortly, signaling that happiness and healing can begin. It is a message of hope that after tragedy will come joy and redemption. In Brothers, the response is not so clear, but it is evident that love between husband and wife can be the bedrock of a new beginning. Moreover, when Sam, in a moment of lucidity, says that in spite of what he has gone through, he should be so happy that he is alive, we realize that he is on a road to recovery. Appreciating the gifts we have in the present allows us to have a healthy future.

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