Res Gestae
Pets and related stories
(Last of the series)
The 2007 movie, August Rush, is starred by Evan Taylor (Freddie Highmore), a boy who lives in an orphanage, believing that his parents are alive. Evan believes that the music he hears around him is his parents communicating with him.
I got hold of a copy of pirated DVD of August Rush through a friend. I hate the pirates but I can’t really say no to watching good copies of pirated movies.
Speaking of pirated movies, distributors here in Iloilo City seem oblivious of the law penalizing the reproduction and sale of pirated movies. Maybe because the law itself gives too much “privilege” to violators; the police cannot just confiscate or apprehend the distributors of pirated DVD movies without a deputation order from the Optical Media Board.
Selling pirated movies is stealing. And stealing is a criminal act.
So much for that.
Our last pair of pets is a green turtle; they are comparatively smaller than the local turtles we can usually find in our rivers and swamps.
The pair is also a token of another writing contract with a group of graduating students. (I wish teachers will keep on requiring term papers and theses from their students, even without bothering themselves on explaining well the ways of doing these stuffs. As I see it, term papers and theses become a money-making thing among college professors. They are paid as members of the panel. Yes, their mere membership in the panel is paid by their students. College deans, check this out!)
Our turtles are named Jamal and Latika.
We bought the pair a day after we watched the movie, Slumdog Millionaire, long before it was released in theaters nationwide. And you are right; we watched it in pirated DVD! As I said it, I hate pirates. But for watching good movies, I can’t just say no.
To those who haven’t watched the movie yet, Slumdog Millionaire is a 2008 British film that tells the story of a young man (Jamal) from the slums of Mumbai who plays on the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? It is directed by Danny Boyle, written by Simon Beaufoy, and co-directed in India by Loveleen Tandan. It is an adaptation of the novel Q & A (2005) by Indian author and diplomat Vikas Swarup.
I don’t want to write here how good the movie is. The rest I can say is that Slumdog Millionaire won eight out of ten Academy Awards it was nominated for (Best Picture and Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Sound Mixing, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, and Best Original Song).
The film also won all four of the Golden Globe Awards it was nominated for, including Best Drama Film; five of the six Critics' Choice Awards for which it was nominated; and seven of the eleven BAFTA Awards for which it was nominated, including Best Film.
What else should I say to convince you to watch it – NOW?
Well, as I said, our pet-turtles are Jamal and Latika; they are named after the main casts of the Slumdog Millionaire.
Why?
Why don’t you just watch the movie and see for yourself why we named them so.
Okay?