Hello Japan Challenge - July

I often wait with my participation until the end of the month and therefore I didn't have the time to participate last month. So this time I wanted to complete the task earlier, so I wouldn't miss out on this fun challenge :) This month the theme is non-fiction and you can read all about it on In Spring it is the Dawn.

For this challenge I read Fear and Trembling by Amelie Nothomb, because it happened that I found a copy in my mailbox through bookcrossing. This is a novel, but it is an auto biographical one. It is based on her work experiences in Japan and while exaggerated at points, it does gave a good impression of the Japanese office culture and how the Western Culture clashes with the Japanese Culture. I actually did learn a lot for the little book. I read the book in Dutch and my copy only had 130 pages. This is also one reason why I am not using my normal book review template, but there is also another reason: a few days after I read the book, I also watched the movie.

I have to say that I never saw a movie in my life before that stuck so close to the book as this one. Whole dialogues were the same. I have to say that it was a bit boring to watch the movie because not much time did pass between me reading the book and watching the movie. Still the, to me, sometimes ridiculous things happening were even more funny on screen. I loved the actress, Sylvie Testud, who played Amelie. She really did an amazing job at playing the naive, quirky girl that Amelie was. Still it is not the best movie ever made. It is a bit of a B-movie but to me these kind of movies are an okay watch once in a while. The book read really fast and was enjoyable, so I honestly don't know which I liked better.

Movie trailer: (it has a wrong author in the title though.)

Have fun watching/reading :)

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Phoebe in wonderland

After I had been to school, I had very little spoons left. So it was movie time again. I watched Phoebe in Wonderland. It is about a girl who has tourettes and the differences between Phoebes world and the normal world come across beautifully in this movie. I found it a very interesting watch because I like this kind of movies that are about people who are different, because it is familiar..? Too bad I can't use it for my list since this movie wasn't recommended to me by anyone else. But I wanted to see it anyway and I I still wanted to post about it because I thought it is such a good movie. It makes you think outside the box.

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Another movie 3/40

Yesterday I watched the disney movie Cars, recommended to me by Nick. Well it was.... predictable. The whole movie was predictable with capital P. I have to say that the way they gave emotions to the cars was done brilliantly. It made the movie still funny at points. However this wasnt enough for me to really enjoy the movie. I mean it is all cute and stuff... but not really my thing. It seems that I aint very lucky on the movie department yet XD

Today I am also going to school. To graduate is one of my goals and I think it might be the hardest yet to come... I mean.... I am a special case and all. After Abunai I need to discuss the possibilities for me to still be able to graduate. But yeah it is possible that I am just not able to due to all my issues. I already know I can't do the work. I learned that last year. However I still want to graduate even if I can't work in the field. Because.... I am sooo close. But yeah... today I need to get the paperwork filled in to sign me up for another year. Better get going.

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Movie 2/40 goal #5

So another movie today. A Dutch one called zwartboek but is translated to black book for your viewing pleasure. All though a movie about the 2nd world war can't really be called pleasant or so XD As with most Dutch movies nothing is concealed here and there is more then enough nudity to show. The story was kinda shocking, seeing how everyone has their own vision and that you really can't trust anyone. And I mean anyone. And then to think that most times when I am ill, I watch feel good movies or series. Well both movies I watched today certainly don't qualify for it. Can I have something cheerful next? ;)

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Movie 1/40 goal #5

I am sick today so I will be staying in bed mostly. Luckily that gave me time to watch a movie I borrowed from my mom a while ago, she said I should watch it, that it was a good movie. So today I watched Atonement. It is about a guy who gets accused of a crime falsely due a series of misunderstandings. Therefore the love that blossomed between the main characters will never be the same again. It is drama, of course. In the beginning I found it a bit hard to focus because the film moves rather slow. The ending was unexpected though and sad, really. I would recommend it if you are into the drama genre, if not, this movie might be too slow for you.

Further I also made progress with goal #84, inspire 2 persons to make a 101 list too. Mark started on his yesterday :) It isnt finished yet though, but I am curious what goals he will set for himself.

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