Sunday, February 25, 2007

Amazing Grace

Margo and I went to see the movie "Amazing Grace" yesterday. We went largely so we could see Ioan in period costume again (which was well worthwhile), and it turned out that Rufus Sewell was also in it (which made me all the happier, especially since he was one of the good guys). Personally, I thought it was ... well, amazing. I very nearly cried about five times, I kept wanting to clap or cheer out loud in the theater, and when they showed the Scots Royal Dragoon Guards playing the song in front of Westminster Abbey at the end of the film, I just about bawled like a baby. The film was not quite what I had been expecting, and it wasn't the best film I've ever seen, but it certainly was moving, at least to me. I told Margo I now want to name a son William Wilberforce. (Joking, joking ... but I have planned on William for some time, so why not just throw in the Wilberforce while we're at it?)

The film made me remember one of my own personal experiences with the song "Amazing Grace." When I was living in Switzerland as a 14-year-old, we had mandatory choir classes, and one day when I was bored, I got looking through our choir book, just to see what else was there. "Amazing Grace" was in it (in English, should you be wondering), and so I took a few minutes to memorize some of the verses. I wasn't particularly familiar with it at the time, but one verse in particular struck me at the time. It's one of the few verses I actually know, although I never hear it sung, apparently since it wasn't originally written by John Newton, but was added later by another author. I tried googling the verse yesterday, and didn't find it online anywhere either -- though I did find one brief allusion to it -- so I wanted to post it here:
Shall Jesus bear the cross alone,
And all the world go free?
No, there's a cross for everyone,
And there's a cross for me.

Since yesterday, I have purchased about five different versions of the song from iTunes, partially in hopes of finding the same version that was used at the end of the film (no luck yet). Again, that's just what I do. :)

The last quote was, indeed, from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (I think you spelled it right, Kimberly -- at least I hope so, since I spelled it the same way). And, yes, that means that I've started re-reading them. Well, at least Book 6, that is. I'm not sure whether I'll really have time for all of them before July -- I know I don't have time for the chapter-a-day strategy espoused by wahlee and susy_gwen. But I would at least like to re-read HBP. The other day, I got thinking about the profundity of Dumbledore's remark, but from the reverse angle. That is, I was intrigued by the thought of how terrifying something is when we don't have a name for it. So, we give it names -- the Boogie-Man, the darkness, Satan, Nessie -- and somehow things are easier to get hold of that way, easier to fend off from our rampant imaginations.
The issue was not the earrings. (125 points)

5 comments:

kimberly said...

I had to skip over most of this post as I haven't yet seen Amazing Grace. I wanted to, but my car died and so I was stuck at home. Tuesday. I'm seeing it Tuesday. I'll read your post in full after that. :)

As to the quote, it reminds me strongly of a line in Girl with a Pearl Earring. The sentiment is the same, but the wording isn't quite there, so I'm not sure it's actually from that - unless it's the movie. Anway, if it's not, you now know there is an almost identical line in Tracy Chevalier's Girl with a Pearl Earring. A wrong guess is better than no guess, right?

Janeheiress said...

I saw Amazing Grace! I can't tell you how much I enjoyed that movie, even though the sound was about a quarter of a second out of sync. It will definitely be added to my collection. I don't know if there was anyone with a spoken line that I haven't seen already in one thing or another. Michael Gambon rocks. He had one of the best moments.

But I have no clue what the quote is from.

KatrinaW said...

I'm glad to hear I wasn't the only one who loved it so much. I've been trying to find pics of Ioan from the movie, but haven't turned up anything great yet.

kimberly said...

I saw Amazing Grace yesterday morning before work. It was lovely. I can't think of a single negative thing to say about it. (Okay, okay. Rufus Sewell's wig was ugly as sin, but other than that, nothing negative.) I spent much of the last part of the movie on the verge of tears so it's nice to know I wasn't the only one. It was just a beautiful movie and I'd love to see it again.

It's really killing me not knowing where this quote comes from. I don't suppose you could email me and tell me? Pretty please with cherries on top?

KatrinaW said...

Oh, boy! I can't explain how relieved I am to know that I'm not the only who loved the movie, or who just about bawled through the end of it. I can't wait to see it again, which I'm hoping will be this weekend.