It's 0:40 a.m. on the 13th of August where I am as I start writing this [it's actually 9:08 p.m. now that I'm finally posting it, as I just couldn't f**king manage to get the "Posterized" part right last night, and finally did go to sleep much too late out of frustration], and I really should be going to sleep, as I have to work tomorrow (well, today, actually), but even if I don't know if anyone reads my blog - and I am still too shy to actually try anything to promote it - I feel it has to be today.
Robin Williams died on August 11th, but due to time lag, it was already August 12th here when I heard it, around 7:30 a.m. when I was driving to work this morning. It is still hard to believe that he is dead, but that will change within a few days.
Whenever a celebrity dies, other celebrities, friends, former co-workers, or just attention whores, will point out what a kind person the deceased was. It's nice though, when they have a little story to tell for evidence.
Like Lisa Jakub, who played one of Robin's daughters in "Mrs. Doubtfire", and later decided to retire from acting as an adult. Here's what she had to say:
http://lisajakub.wordpress.com/2014/08/11/farewell-to-robin-williams-a-thank-you-note/
Thanks to the lovely Ryan Simpkins, definitely by far one of my favorite tweeps by the way, for retweeting Lisa's tweet, as I don't follow Lisa.
Now that doesn't make him Mother Teresa or Oskar Schindler, but it's a definite sign of being a kind, caring human being. It's the little things. It's funny that Lisa's story has him referring to Amnesty International, again it would seem exaggerated to compare what he did for Lisa to what Amnesty Intenational does, but I have only learned only today that he was a big supporter/spokesperson for Amnesty International. I also learned that he did many things to support a hospital focusing on research on child cancer. I also saw a transcript of an interview, where he gave mostly debateably crude, humourous answers, but when asked about his biggest turn-off, he replied: "Violence against children."
Quotes for the ages
Many people said farewell to Robin by tweeting quotes from his movies, and there were to I didn't actually know or remember, that I really liked. Please consider it just coincidence who tweeted it:
1.
2.
A farewell from my country
Here's a great little farewell I enjoyed very much, published on Facebook and Twitter by Oliver Kalkofe, a German TV critic/comedian I like very much, often accused of bad taste:
#RobinWilliams
Oh Captain, mein Captain...
Es gibt Schauspieler und Menschen,
deren Größe und Bedeutung einem erst dann wieder wirklich bewusst werden,
wenn sie plötzlich nicht mehr unter uns sind.
Robin Williams ist gestorben,
und die ganze Welt ist fassungslos -
denn irgendwie war er immer bei uns,
fast schon selbstverständlich,
gehörte verlässlich in die kollektiv erfassbare Welt.
Jeder kennt mindestens einen Film,
den er mit ihm und postitiven Emotionen verbindet –
eine beachtliche Lebensleistung,
die nicht jeder Künstler für sich beanspruchen kann.
Und auch wenn es in den letzten Jahren stiller um ihn wurde
und manche seiner Filme etwas unsicher an der schmalen Grenze zum Kitsch entlang schlingerten,
so zeigt dies andererseits seine unglaubliche und oft unterschätzte Vielseitigkeit:
er konnte uns zum Lachen bringen, zum Weinen oder einfach zum Fühlen.
Wobei er meist so geschickt subversiv und charmant anarchisch war,
dass die meisten konservativen Spießer und verklemmten Geister ohne es zu merken in eben genau den Spiegel lachten, den er ihnen vorhielt.
Ein großartiger Schauspieler, ein fantastischer Stand Up-Künstler, Comedian und ein extrem einfühlsamer Mensch...
Was ihm am Ende selbst zum Verhängnis wurde.
Und ich gebe es zu:
Die Schlußszene von DER CLUB DER TOTEN DICHTER
ist eine der wenigen Szenen der Kinogeschichte,
bei der mir (damals gerade selbst Student) ehrlich die Tränen in die Augen schossen.
Damals wie auch heute.
Steigen wir deshalb vielleicht einfach einmal kurz auf unsere Tische,
denken an die vielen schönen Momente zurück, die er uns schenkte,
und sagen laut und deutlich:
Oh Captain, mein Captain.
Danke, Robin Williams.
Wir werden dich vermissen.
a very inspiring and uplifting film. one of my favorites. had to make a quick video about it. Song: Eden Voyage Artist: X-Ray Dogyoutube.com
Here's the translation:
"Oh Captain, my Captain... There are actors and people whose greatness and meaning you only realize again when they are no longer with us. Robin Williams has died, and the whole world is stunned - because somehow, he was always with us, almost taken for granted, was a reliable part of the conceiveable world. Everybody knows at least one movie they associate with him and with positive emotion - a respectable life achivement not every artist can claim for themselves. And even if he became a bit less notices during the last years, even if some of his movies walked the thin line to kitsch a bit insecurely, on the other hand this shows his unbelieveable and often underestimated versatility: he could make us laugh, he could make us cry, or just simply make us feel. In which he often was so skillfully subversive and charmingly anarchistic, that many of the conservative petty bourgoises and uptight small minds unwittingly laughed right at themselves when he made fun of them. A great actor, a great stand-up comedian, and an extremely compassionate person... which probably became his own doom in the end. And I admit it: the final scene of DEAD POETS' SOCIETY is one of the few scenes in the history of Cinema, during which (I was myself a university student at the time) tears began to fill my eyes. Back then and still today. Therefore maybe we should just step on our desks for a while right now, think of all the beautiful moments that he gave us, an say, loud and clearly: Oh Captain, my Captain. Thank you, Robin Williams. We will miss you."
My own experience
When I heard the news, my thoughts went to "Mrs. Doubtfire" first, as it was the first Robin Williams movies I have ever seen. I didn't even love it like crazy as a kid, but I could watch it over and over again. I think that today it would probably hold up as slightly above mediocre.
Then I thought about "One Hour Photo", just because it was so different. The movie had it's problems, but Robin's performance was scary good.
Then I thought about "Dead Poet's Society", just for the two iconic quotes: "Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary." and "Oh Captain, my Captain" - the latter also being parodied quite often. But I didn't really like the movie itself that much, actually. We watched it at school, and I found it kind of boring. And those all-the-same-looking boys in their uniforms, suits and ties, are a major turn-off for me, actually.
The I thought of "What Dreams May Come", because I accidentally saw the last third or quarter of the movie again quite recently. It was quite emotional, and once again, children were a major theme. Seemingly a major recurring theme in all of Robin's work and life. Finally of "Good Morning Vietnam", because it's once again an iconic movie and character, then of all the others.
But to be perfectly honest, Robin Williams' "clownery" was never exactly my cup of tea. The older I got, the more it got just too much and not really funny for me. But still, he became a very familar face, and seeing him in a movie made me feel kind of comfortable and good. But honestly, I can't come up with any movie with him where I'd say "you have to watch it, it's so great".
Anyway here are, in the style of the "Posterized" series of my favorite movie-themed website "The Film Experience", all Robin Williams movies I have seen so far:
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| *) |
More than I thought actually. I will try to write more on as many of them on letterboxd as soon as I can.
I want to close with one final image, that touched me because it shows the amount of love for the man, without any further comments:
R.I.P.
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