Letter from Boston Watching 'Titanic' By MASAKO YAMADA	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
『タイタニック』を見る ＳＴ映画欄でも紹介した、レオナルド・ディカプリオ主演の超大作『タイタニック』は、アメリカでも大評判です。映画のうわさをずーっと耳にしていた雅子さんは、ついに女友達と見に出かけました。さて、見終わった感想はどうでしょうか？

There is a movie theater right outside my office called Nickelodeon. Fortunately, the movies they show tend to be good. It's a chain movie theater, so the movies aren't as obscure as those shown from independent film archives, but they select mass-distributed movies with an arty edge. Unfortunately, however, they tend not to show blockbuster crowd pleasers even if they happen to be of high quality. This seems to be a common phenomenon among movie theaters near universities. For instance, Nickelodeon is not showing "Titanic" in spite of its excellent reputation. Having heard gossip about "Titanic" for months, I finally took a trip to another movie theater to watch it.

I went to see the movie with an old college friend of mine. She's about as blunt and levelheaded as anybody I know but she does have the tendency to drool over certain handsome, dark-haired actors. Before the movie started, she declared that she didn't know what the big deal about (boyish, blond) Leonardo DiCaprio was and that she wasn't going to the movie just to gawk over him. I certainly wasn't going to this movie in order to ogle Leo either. I simply wanted to be a part of this large-scale social event. This movie isn't merely entertainment for a boring Friday night. It's a contemporary must-see that is still at the top of the charts after two months on the market.

It seems that "Titanic" is a movie that exceeds the expectations of most of its viewers. It has build up such a reputation that the expectations of the people who have not yet seen the movie can potentially get out of control. However, I haven't heard of many people who have walked out disappointed. Even hard-core cynics who don't expect much of movies (especially those that everyone else likes) are likely to get swept away. The crux of the movie is a rather gooey romance that doesn't explore any particularly new themes, but it is moving. And it certainly doesn't hurt that the lead actors are so young and beautiful. There is plenty of action and daring to satisfy the macho folks in the crowd, too.

It was interesting to note the audience reaction as the movie unfolded. I noticed that there were quite a few kids in the afternoon audience. When the lead actress showed a bit of her breasts, the kids gasped, and the rest of the audience giggled in response. There is one scene in which the romantic leads engage in some ardent (but not too graphic) sex. One of the mothers in the audience told her young daughter to close her eyes, and the daughter replied, "OK. Tell me when I can open them." My roommate Raj told me that when he went to see the movie, the entire audience cheered at the heroine's bold moves. I didn't experience such a group reaction when I saw it, but the woman sitting next to me started sobbing quite audibly. The strange sitting in front of her quickly handed over a wad of napkins.

I have to admit that I got a bit teary-eyed at the end as well. In spite of my having grown up in the States, I'm still not accustomed to hearing sweet "I love you"s thrown around all over the place. I have a hard time accepting glib words. They sound too easy to me. The affection in this movie is more restrained, however, so it's easier for me to believe the one "I love you" in the movie. As a matter of fact, it's what I remember most about it.

After the movie was over, my friend and I remained in our seats and watched the credits roll by as we tried to regain composure. We agreed that it was a good movie. It was a long movie, and a small line had formed at the women's bathroom right after it was over. A passerby who saw the expressions on the women's face said, "Oh, you've been seeing `Titanic,' haven't you?" She then chuckled and walked away.

As my friend and I walked out of the movie theater, she kept on repeating, "I don't dislike Leonardo DiCaprio anymore, I don't dislike Leonardo DiCaprio anymore." I think we both got our money's worth — and more.

Shukan ST: Feb. 13, 1998

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