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pieces of me


source: imdb.com

“I fell in love with him the way you fall asleep; slowly, and then all at once.” –Hazel Grace Lancaster (The Fault in Our Stars, 2014)

“Some infinities are simply bigger than other infinities. A writer we used to like taught us that. There are days, many of them, when I resent the size of my unbound set. I want more numbers than I’m likely to get, and God, I do want more numbers for Augustus Waters than what he got. But Gus, my love, I cannot tell you how thankful I am for our little infinity. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. You gave me a forever within the numbered days, and for that I’m eternally grateful.” –Hazel Grace Lancaster (The Fault in Our Stars, 2014)

“See, the thing is... we all want to be remembered. But Hazel’s different. Hazel knows the truth. She didn’t want a million admirers, she just wanted one. And she got it. Maybe she wasn’t loved widely, but she was loved deeply. And isn’t that more than most of us get?” –Augustus Waters (The Fault in Our Stars, 2014)

Title                 : The Fault in Our Stars
Director            : Josh Boone
Starring            : Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort
Genre               : romance, drama, comedy
Distributor        : 20th Century Fox
Release date     : 6 June 2014
Running time    : 126 minutes

"The Fault in Our Stars" movie poster - source: en.wikipedia.org

Dear Readers, it’s the last day of April already, and this means that it will be the last post for the theme of this month, Lost and Found. Thirty days ago, we began this theme with a song review; Taylor Swift’s “Red”, which is the representative song for Lost and Found. Now, I will wrap this theme up with a movie review; “The Fault in Our Stars”, which is the representative movie for Lost and Found. Why do I choose this movie as the representative one? Well, you will find out more later in this article, but what I can share now in this prologue part is that “The Fault in Our Stars” tells us that even in the short life human live in, love is lost and found. We may already had it in the beginning but then we lost it, and we found it again eventually, in another form. We also may never had it in the beginning, like a lost part of us, but then we found it and never actually lost it afterwards. Here, love is the Lost and Found of life.
Indeed, people live in searching for the Lost and Found, whether they realize it or not. Sometimes they called it purposes. Some other times they called it happiness. On some others, they called it lessons. The point is, whatever they may call it, there are things that bound people to live life to the fullest. And they found those things in many forms. It could be lovers. It could be family. It could be friends. It could be many simple things they highly cherish. And when they miss those things, they would feel like there’s something lost in their lives. It would feel unbalanced. It would feel incomplete. It would feel empty. It would feel like their existences mean nothing in this world. And that’s what matter, actually, the things that make people feel they mean something for this world; that’s the Lost and Found they search for. In this short life people live in, giving meaning is one that can make it full. The address is happiness, and the key is gratitude.

source: imdb.com

“The Fault in Our Stars” is a 2014 romantic comedy drama film that tells a love story of Hazel Grace Lancaster (portrayed by Shailene Woodley) and Augustus Waters (portrayed by Ansel Elgort). Hazel Grace is an intelligent and sarcastic teenager who has terminal thyroid cancer that has spread to her lungs. She’s urged by her mother (Laura Dern) to attend a cancer patients’ support group to make friends, where she meets Augustus during a support meeting. Augustus, who prefers to be called as Gus, is a teenager who has lost a leg from bone cancer. Gus invites Hazel Grace to his house, as they bond and get to know each other more. Hazel Grace also gets to know Gus’ blind best friend, Isaac (Nat Wolff). When they agree to read each other’s favorite novels, Hazel Grace recommends “An Imperial Affliction” to Gus. It’s a novel about a cancer-stricken girl named Anna, whom Hazel finds having a parallels experience with her. After finishing the book, Gus expresses frustration with the novel’s abrupt ending.
Hazel Grace explains that the novel’s mysterious author, Peter van Houten (Willem Dafoe), retreated to Amsterdam following the novel’s publication, and has not been heard from since. Weeks later, Gus tells Hazel he has traced Van Houten’s assistant and has corresponded with Van Houten by email. Hazel writes to him to ask about the novel’s ambiguous ending, which Van Houten replies that he is only willing to answer in person. Though they face many hurdles –like rejection from Hazel Grace’s mother because of financial and medical constraints and also Hazel Grace suffers from pleural effusion and is sent to an intensive care unit (ICU) just days before the trip– Hazel Grace and Gus flies to Amsterdam in order to meet Van Houten, with Gus’ surprise to Hazel with tickets to Amsterdam donated by a charitable foundation. The two arrive in Amsterdam, only to find that Van Houten is disappointingly a mean-spirited alcoholic.

source: imdb.com

In real life, there’s no ending such as happily ever after. “The Fault in Our Stars” tries to catch this essence. And in my opinion, the screenwriters were successful. The screenplay was written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, who known previously for their amazing duet works on “The Spectacular Now” (2013) and “(500) Days of Summer” (2009). The plot is captivating and genuine. And fortunately, it met the perfect cast. Many critics praised not only the screenwriting, but also the cast performance, especially Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort as the lead characters. They were enchanting! “The Fault in Our Stars” is indeed a fiction, yet when watching it, I can feel it as realistic as a fiction can be. Hazel Grace and Gus, despite their health condition, are indeed just teenagers. They want to fall in and out of love, they want to learn love, they want to feel love. And Woodley and Elgort, I have to say, their chemistry was breathtaking.
Specifically, this movie tells a love story of two young people who are terminally ill; about how they manage to give life to one another despite their shared suffering. They realize that they’re not gonna live forever, or even less than forever than anybody else. However, they also realize that they have to make a full of it. It’s a short life, then what? Let’s just make an incredible one out of it. We’re all gonna die sooner, or maybe never later, then what? It’s not that it makes us not being able to fall in love like everyone else. I note what Gus says in this movie: “I am in love with you. And I know that love is just a shout into the void, and that oblivion is inevitable, and that we're all doomed. And that one day all our labor will be returned to dust. And I know that the sun will swallow the only earth we will ever have. And I am in love with you.” Sometimes, people don’t realize what they have until it’s gone. Most of the times, people cherish what they have when they realize they can only have it just in a short time, more than anything else.

source: imdb.com

Generally, this movie tells a love story of two young people; about life and death and the people caught in between. That eventually, no matter who we are, how good or bad our health condition is, how short or long we will live, we’re all gonna die someday. And when people die, their love dies with them. I note what Hazel Grace says in this movie: “And Augustus Waters was the star-crossed love of my life. Ours is an epic love story and I probably won’t be able to get more than a sentence out without disappearing into a puddle of tears. Like all real love stories, ours will die with us, as it should.” And when a love dies, a part of someone dies with it. That’s why it’s called soulmate. And here is the differences between a child love and a mature one; child love needs to be acknowledged, it needs to be grand and wide, while mature love needs to be remembered, it needs to be simple yet deep, very deep. What Hazel Grace and Gus have, though they’re young, is certainly a mature love. They may be young at age, but they definitely have old souls. And in love, that’s a great thing to have. Because in the end, a mature love is the one people always seek for in life.
Last but not least, I would like to dedicate this paragraph for John Green, the mastermind behind the story of “The Fault in Our Stars”. This story, as far as I’ve read Green’s (this include “An Abundance of Katherine”, “Let It Snow” – co-written with Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle, “Will Grayson, Will Grayson” – co-written with David Levithan), is him at his best. He said in an interview that he wanted to portray the youth with terminal ill as human as healthy people. He also wanted to capture the feeling that, as he stated, “The stories that I was reading sort of oversimplified and sometimes even dehumanized them. And I think generally we have a habit of imagining the very sick or the dying as being kind of fundamentally other. I guess I wanted to argue for their humanity, their complete humanity.” It also turned out that Green is a big fan of Shakespeare, as he said, “The last line of the book, “I do”, symbolizes marriage because Shakespeare’s comedies end in marriage and his tragedies end in death, and I was rather fond of the idea that my book could end (symbolically, at least) in both.”

source: imdb.com

As (I assume) we all know, “The Fault in Our Stars” is based on the novel of the same name written by John Green. The book was first published in January 2012 as the author’s sixth novel. The title is inspired by Act 1, Scene 2 of Shakespeare’s play “Julius Caesar”, in which the nobleman Cassius says to Brutus: “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, / But in ourselves, that we are underlings.” The novel received critical acclaim, as well as became bestseller in many lists around the world. Following the success of the novel, its feature film adaptation positively received by critics and also proved to be commercially successful. Well, I’m not a very big fan of melodrama, and since I already knew before that “The Fault in Our Stars” has a sad elements in it, I didn’t watch it right after I got the copy of this film. Okay, perhaps it sounds silly, but I (literally) took some times to prepare myself before watching it. And yes, it’s heartwrenching at some point, yet it’s heartwarming overall. Really, John Green is the best in this genre. Somehow he could still manage to add the humor in a soft and subtle way. Really, “The Fault in Our Stars” is a young-adult story at its best.


Gus: “Okay.”
Hazel Grace: “Okay.”
Gus: “Okay.”
Hazel Grace: “Okay.”
Gus: “Perhaps ‘okay’ will be our ‘always’.”
Hazel Grace: “Okay.”
(The Fault in Our Stars, 2014)
Wrote by Mashita Fandia


“I don’t know how, but think if you could ever really touch me, I might wake up from all of this.” –Elizabeth Masterson (Just Like Heaven, 2005)

“When we first met, I kept saying you were dead. But it was me that was dead, and you brought me back. You saved me. And now it’s my turn to save you.” –David Abbott (Just Like Heaven, 2005)

Elizabeth: “It’s just funny because the one time when I completely failed at something, I had more fun than I had ever in my life.”
David: “You look happy.”
Elizabeth: “I was happy. But what was I doing with the rest of my time. When I think about my life and I ..., all I can remember is working. You know, working and working and trying so hard and for what?”
David: “You help people, you save lives.”
(Just Like  Heaven, 2005)

Title                 : Just Like Heaven
Director            : Mark Waters
Starring            : Reese Witherspoon, Mark Ruffalo
Genre               : romance, fantasy, drama, comedy
Distributor        : Dreamworks Pictures
Release date     : 16 September 2005
Running time     : 95 minutes

"Just Like Heaven" movie poster - source: imdb.com

At a certain point of our lives, we thought that our souls were lost. Whether we realized or not, there were some moments in our lives, the life-changing moments, that made us felt like we were already dead. It took away our souls just like that. And it could either take us to a bitter afterlife in life, or change us in some ways. Those moments, perhaps could be the death of someone so precious for us, could be the lost of the love of our lives, could be everything in form of loss and grief. When everything was a part of a grand plan of destiny, then why did we live, wake up and breathe every single day? People said that it’s to make a mistake. And a mistake existed to make people learn. That’s why we live. Because nothing lasts forever, so are loss and grief. There would come a day when we were be able to find ourselves again, and that, perhaps could be the moment when we found love.
Life breaks us. People are broken by life. Afterward, some are stronger at broken places. Some are able to change the bitter afterlife into a wonderful ones. And in the moment that we are able to feel love again, we also find the power to face our past, which isn’t pretty at all. The road to that is never easy. However, as long as we understand the importance of human soul, I believe that we can make it. Well, there’s no gain without pain, right? As a human, we live our every single day without knowing what tomorrow will bring. And all we can do is making the most out of every moment we have today. Moreover, when we already found the precious one, we must live our every single day by making the most out of every shared moment we can have now. Life is full of surprises, even at the most unpredictable moment. So, when you feel so lost and life feels so meaningless, take a grip, because someday you will find the reason behind anything and how you’re meant for life, or someone, or even yourself.


source: imdb.com

Today’s movie, and also the second movie for Lost and Found, is an American romantic comedy fantasy film titled “Just Like Heaven”. This movie tells about a love story of Elizabeth Masterson (portrayed by Reese Witherspoon) and David Abbott (portrayed by Mark Ruffalo). Elizabeth is a young emergency medicine physician whose work is her whole life. She is still single in her late 20s, and pulls 26-hours shifts in the emergency room. Her friends, and even her own sister, Abby Brody (Dina Waters), despair of her unmarried status and want to fix her up. However, she gets in a serious car accident while on her way to a blind date. Three months later, David moves into the apartment that had been Elizabeth’s, after discovering the place in what seems to be a fateful happenstance. He was a landscape garden architect, until two years ago when his wife died suddenly. Apparently, he’s still recovering from it.
Elizabeth’s spirit begins to appear in front of David in the apartment with ghostly properties and abilities that make it clear that something is not right. She can suddenly appear and disappear, walk or move through walls and objects, and once takes over his actions. When they meet, they are both surprised, as Elizabeth is not aware yet of her recent history and refuses to think she is dead. Confused at first, but David is fast in grabbing the situation as he seeks for a help from Darryl (Jon Heder), a psychic bookstore clerk. Darryl can feel Elizabeth’s spirit though he can’t see her. With his assistance, David and Elizabeth find out who she is, what happened to her, and why they are connected. Apparently she is not dead, but in a coma. Her body being kept on life support at the hospital where she used to work. As they spend their times together, David finds himself falling for Elizabeth, and so is she. Therefore, he asks his best friend, Jack (Donal Logue), to help him saving her. But who knows, that it turns out that the reason David can see Elizabeth is that they were meant to meet.


source: imdb.com

Watching “Just Like Heaven” makes me think about one thing; the final destination of life is indeed death, however, do people live the life just to wait for death? Somehow, watching this movie makes me sure that life is too short to waste it away. Because we never know what tomorrow brings, and because life and death apparently have a very close distance. We could be dead tomorrow, or maybe in the next hour, or minutes, or seconds, we never know. As we live, we should make the best out of it. At least we can do is doing things we are passionate about, then I believe that this life we live wouldn’t be in vain. Yet apparently, doing things we love to do isn’t enough. I note what Fran says about Elizabeth: “It would have been so awful if she’d gone through her whole life not knowing what it was all about.” The fact that we’re living now, as who we are, is a part of a grand master plan, I believe that. There are some purposes behind all of this; some we haven’t figured it out yet, some we may never figured out until our last breath in this life. Anyway it is, we live to search for it, to explore, not only things we love and are best at, but also things we may love and be best at. We should never hesitate to get out from our comfort zones and open our hearts and minds to all possibilities and chances that we might have missed.
Jack says to David, as he can’t stand seeing his lifeless best friend: “Look around you, see this? This is the world, join it! Stop swimming around in your own mind. That is a dangerous neighborhood that you should not go into alone.” It’s alright to be sad when you lose someone so precious, your other half, your soulmate. It’s alright to feel disappointed with life when it seems so unfair, cruel, and unfriendly. It’s okay to be not okay. However, don’t grieve. Somehow, watching this movie makes me sure that life is too short to spend it in a grief. Everything happens for a reason; I know it’s easy to say yet in fact it’s hard to be well received, but, as we live, as we still breathe, we have to move on. Because life doesn’t wait. It keeps moving forward. And who knows, while we’re drowning in grief, our soulmate is waiting out there in the corner of the street? Nobody knows. And I believe, soulmate has more than one faces. When you lose one, you will find another one. Nobody says it would be easy though. Everything needs a process.


source: imdb.com

Moving on and being able to fall in love again need a process. Eventually, lonely people meet and fall in love. And life always has its own power to deliver a heartfelt destiny in a funny way. This is what I take from the story of Elizabeth and David. From Elizabeth’s point of view, life is lonesome. It gave her everything but a love life. From David’s point of view, life is ruthless. It took away the love of his life. The universe conspires to meet up the two. David comes into Elizabeth’s (after)life, complete it, fill it with the love she has been missing. Elizabeth comes into David’s life, fix it, fill it with the spirit he has been losing. They complete each other, fix and heal. Well yeah, love comes at the most unexpected time, sometimes, and in the most unexpected place. The certain thing is, it takes courage and strong will to open up our hearts for it.
The last thing I note from “Just Like Heaven”, and as I always say about a heartfelt romantic comedy film, it has a great chemistry from the main cast couple. In this case, the production team’s choice to put together Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo was a brilliant idea. Witherspoon, I always think that she’s not that pretty, well, in compare to other actresses in her age like Kate Hudson or Liv Tyler, but I always think that she has the ability to exude some kind of down-to-Earth charms, which is very great of her. And the same vibe goes with Ruffalo. He’s not that handsome, not that tall, not that man-with-a-great-body kind of actor, yet he has this mysterious charm that could draw people in. Therefore, despite the fantasy storyline this movie has, Witherspoon and Ruffalo could live up their characters realistically. Moreover, the rest of supporting cast also deserve a special credit in here, for showing a great performance that boost the mood in this movie.

source: imdb.com

The title of this film is also that of a popular 1987 song, “Just Like Heaven” by The Cure. The song is played over the closing credits, as well as a cover version by Katie Melua, which is specially recorded for the soundtrack of the movie. This movie is based on the novel titled “If Only It Were True (Et si c'était vrai...)”, written by Marc Levy. It was the first novel by the French author which was first published in 1999. It was translated into English in 2000 and Steven Spielberg acquired the rights to make the film out of the book. I have to say, the using of the song is so perfect in this movie. It suits well with the storyline, and apparently the title suits well too. It’s a great choice rather than using the same title with the novel. Especially Melua’s cover version, it brings the heartwarming atmosphere during the opening titles. Well, I think that one word ‘heartwarming’ is perfect to sum up the whole movie, as it could give a warm feeling for those lost souls.


Elizabeth: “I think I know what my unfinished business is.”
David: “What?”
Elizabeth: “You.”
(Just Like Heaven, 2005)
Wrote by Mashita Fandia


source: imdb.com

“Well, if we’re meant to meet again, we’ll meet again. It’s just not the right time now.” –Sara Thomas (Serendipity, 2001)

“Maybe the absence of signs is a sign.” –Jonathan Trager (Serendipity, 2001)

Sara: “You don’t have to understand. You just have to have faith.”
Jonathan: “Faith in what?”
Sara: “Destiny.”
(Serendipity, 2001)

Title                : Serendipity
Director           : Peter Chelsom
Starring           : John Cusack, Kate Beckinsale
Genre              : romance, comedy
Distributor       : Miramax Films
Release date    : 5 October 2001
Running time   : 91 minutes

"Serendipity" movie poster - source: en.wikipedia.org

Serendipity (noun) means a pleasant surprise, or a fortunate happenstance. Serendipity is not just a matter of a random event, and can’t be taken simply as a synonym for “a happy accident”. Because in serendipity, there’s no such thing as an “accident”. To put it in a simple way, everything happens in this world is interconnected, and when there’s a fortunate or pleasant thing happens in a satisfactory or beneficial way, it’s not just a mere random sequence that accidentally happens, but it happens as the occurence and development of some events by chance; serendipity. Certain people are being in certain places at certain time, that’s not just a coincidence. For example, I met my first love in the school hall during the school inauguration night party. If only my school didn’t have that event, I wouldn’t be there, and my first love wouldn’t be there too. If only my first love didn’t have a band, he wouldn’t perform with his band that night. If only he didn’t perform, he wouldn’t walk across the hall at that time I was standing there. If only I didn’t met my female senior who called out for me, I wouldn’t stand there in the middle of the hall at that time he was passing by. If only I weren’t a sophomore who hadn’t made many friends so I just strolled alone in the hall, my senior wouldn’t call me to talk with her. Therefore, when I met my first love, that’s not a coincidence, that’s what they called a serendipity.
I used to say that life is indeed a bunch of coincidences, that bump together into a thing called fate. Well, I guess I wasn’t completely wrong. People called a situation as “coincidence” when it’s unpredictable, and actually, when it’s a situation that they can’t explain yet, why it does happen. Whenever we meet someone new, sometimes we call it as a coincidence, but actually, it’s not. It’s just that we haven’t understand how and realize why we reach the point where we meet that person. Now I would say that life is indeed a series of events, that by chance, bump together into a thing called fate. Every thing we did yesterday, it would affect our today. Every thing we do today, it will affect our tomorrow. Every choice we made in the past would affect our present. Every choice we make in the present will affect our future. It’s a series of causes and effects. And in it, there’s a serendipity; a pleasant surprise happens because of things we do, a fortunate happenstance occurs because of choices we make.


source: imdb.com

“Serendipity” is today’s movie for Lost and Found. Why do I choose it as the first movie for this month’s theme? Well, you’ll find out later in this article, but for now, I’ll tell you the storyline of this 2001 American romantic comedy film. Jonathan Trager (portrayed by John Cusack) and Sara Thomas (portrayed by Kate Beckinsale) meet for the first time on one day during the Christmas season in New York City. They’re trying to buy the same pair of black cashmere gloves at Bloomingdale’s. Jonathan and Sara feel a mutual attraction toward each other, despite the fact that both are involved in other relationships. They end up eating ice cream at a bar named Serendipity together, and later exchange goodbyes. But soon after that, both realize that they have left something at the ice cream bar, and return only to find each other again. Considering this to be a stroke of fate, Jonathan and Sara decide to go out on the town together. At the end of the night, as much as they want to get to know each other more, they decide to leave it for the fate to work things out, as each is already in a relationship with someone else. Unfortunately, Jonathan and Sara are separated that night without having each other’s contact information.
Several years later, Jonathan is at an engagement party with his fiancée Halley Buchanan (Bridget Monayhan), while on the same day in different city, Sara comes home to find her boyfriend Lars Hammond (John Corbett), a famous musician, proposing to her. As their wedding dates approach, they both find themselves with a case of cold feet, and decide to return to New York in an attempt to find each other again. Jonathan is accompanied by his pal, Dean Kansky (Jeremy Piven), while Sara travels to New York with her best friend, Eve (Molly Shannon). Though they don’t have any clue, they sent something to the universe back then. Jonathan wrote his name and phone number on a 5 dollars bill, while Sara wrote her name and number on the inside cover of a copy of “Love in the Time of Cholera”. Therefore, if they’re meant to be together, he’ll find the book and she’ll find the bill, and they will find their way back to each other.


source: imdb.com

One thing that stands out from “Serendipity”, and this is also agreed by the critics, is the great chemistry from the main cast couple, John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale. Their charming chemistry is irresistible. Before this, I only knew Cusack as a typical action movie kind of an actor from “Con Air”, well, though he was good in this area too. But here, I can see the different side of him and somehow it surprises me, in a good way. Cusack really lives it out as a man who’s having a marriage blue and somehow is sure that his destiny is still out there and he has to search for her. As for Beckinsale, I also only knew her as the supporting female character from “Pearl Harbor”, and I have to admit that I didn’t very like her that much in that movie. But here, again, this movie shows a different side of her that I have to admit that I like, no, love this one. Beckinsale successfully lives out her character as a woman who feels hesitate toward her partner and somehow is sure that her soulmate is still out there and she has to meet him. Beside, all the supporting casts are perfectly chosen by the production team too. It’s a great harmony of all.
One tagline from “Serendipity” says, “Sometimes true love can have more than one face.” No, this movie is not telling us to have an affair everytime we meet someone new whom we feel attracted to as that person is different from our partner. But yes, this movie shows us how a person can love two people at the same time, but in a different kind of love. When Dean asks Jonathan whether why he risks his relationship with Halley for searching for Sara, I love Jonathan’s answer: “Maybe everytime you fall in love with somebody, it’s a complete different experience, so it’s a mistake to compare them. I get it, but, it’s like Halley is “The Godfather Part II”. That was an incredible movie. Might be better than the original, alright? But no matter how much you love “The Godfather Part II”, you still have to see the original to understand and appreciate the sequel, don’t you?” Indeed in life, we would meet more than one person whom we feel so connected somehow, soulmates; yet there’s only one person whom we feel like the original version of any movie or song, not a sequel or remake, a soulmate.


source: imdb.com

How do we know when the person we meet is true love? Dean says in this movie, “They say that once in your lifetime, someone comes along whom you’re absolutely meant to be with. Everything feels great, stars are aligned, body and spirit are in balance.” Well, the love of your life could be anywhere, even in line for popcorn when you watch a movie at a cinema. And again, love’s about quality, not quantity. One day could last forever. When Eve asks Sara to tell her something that makes a little bit of sense about going to New York to look for Jonathan, I love Sara’s answer: “I’ve just spent the entire flight staring into the sky, thinking, not about my fiancé, but about this mystery guy I met a million and a half hours ago. A guy I don’t even remember, except for this vague picture I have inside my head. It was just a few seconds. A fragment, really. And it was like, in that moment, the whole universe existed just to bring us together. That’s why I’m here. That’s why I’m gonna let fate take me wherever it wants to go. Because when all this is over, at least I’m never gonna have to think of him ever again.”
Destiny could take us anywhere, and we could make the decision to go everywhere. A feeling can’t be wrong. And all we can do at least is trying. You’ll never know, right? Unless you’ve tried. I know that in this story, for people like Halley or Lars, perhaps it’s cruel and unfair that their lovers leave them just before the wedding. However, that’s their part they have to do in this life. Ironically, Halley is the one who gives Jonathan a copy of “Love in the Time of Cholera” which has Sara’s name and phone number in it. Well, that’s just the way destiny works. It’s funny, isn’t it? Life is bitter-sweet in a funny way. We only need to trust our feelings, and follow the signs. Because I believe, true love doesn’t wait, it needs to be found. And for the note, I love what Dean writes for Jonathan after their search for Sara leads to nothing: “Life is not merely a series of meaningless accidents or coincidences. But rather, it’s a tapestry of events that culminate in an exquisite, sublime plan. If we are to live life in harmony with the universe, we must all possess a powerful faith in what the ancients used to call ‘fatum’, what we currently refer to as destiny.”


source: imdb.com

“Serendipity” gained both commercial and critical success. It was a box office hit and received positive reviews from some critics. Following the 9/11 attacks, images of the World Trade Center towers were digitally removed from all skyline shots of New York City, as the movie was mainly shot in there. I remember the feeling that I felt when I watched “Serendipity” for the first time; it was heartwarming. That was years ago when I was just a naive girl who used to love every movie with a happy ending for the main characters. It was recommended by my friend, who was like an older brother that I never had, Harwanto Bimo. Some times ago, when I watched it again after so many things had happened, I saw it in a different light, well, not much the differences, but I believe, in a more mature light, as you can read above in this review. And I guessed I knew why he recommended this movie for me back then. For a closing note, I love one tagline from this movie; “When love feels like magic, it’s called destiny. When destiny has a sense of humor, it’s called serendipity.” Yup, life is indeed a comedy, and all we need to have is the right sense of humor to be able to enjoy it.


Jonathan: “Let me tell you something. This is the ultimate blended drink. Where did you find this place?”
Sara: “I first came in because of the name. Serendipity. It’s one of my favorite words. ‘Cause it’s such a nice sound for what it means; a fortunate accident. Except I don’t really believe in accidents. I think fate’s behind everything.”
Jonathan: “Fate’s behind everything? Everything’s predestined? We don’t have any choice at all?”
Sara: “No, I think we make our own decisions. I just think that fate sends us little signs, and it’s how we read the signs that determines whether we’re happy or not.”
Jonathan: “Little signals.”
(Serendipity, 2001)
Wrote by Mashita Fandia

Source: here

Time is a significant independent variable that influences many dependent variables in life. Time will eventually keep going by, and everything will always pass. As a human, we will eventually keep growing old, but we will not always be a grown up. Some people say that being old is definite, while being a grown up is a matter of choice. Even now, though I think that I’ve matured enough for my age, at some point I still feel like I’m being childish for no reason. However, there’s one thing that I understand; as we grow up into an adult, the depth of our sensitivity gets matured. That’s why I begin to feel it when I become childish. And actually, having that thought itself is a sign that I’m growing up. In the process, with the passage of time, there are some things that build the matured sensitivity; it’s the Lost and Found.

“I already know that this is the end of our love, that this is the last time for our love. Even if we want each other, we don’t have forever. In front of time that keeps ticking, it won’t last forever.” –Choi Ho Seob, When Time Passes (세월이 가면)

Today’s song for Lost and Found is a Korean classic track by Choi Ho Seob, titled “When Time Passes (세월이 가면)”. The rock ballad song was first released on March 30th 1988 as the title song of Choi’s debut album. The lyrics were written by Choi’s older brother, Choi Myung Seob, while the melody was composed and arranged by his little brother, Choi Gwi Seob, which made this song is so meaningful for Choi himself. “When Time Passes (세월이 가면)” was a huge hit and remade by many other singers. This song has been beloved by people for its sorrowful emotions, sadness, and longing sipped through time. It became more popular as it was often used in various television dramas and movies. Even until now in South Korea, it’s still a lot of people’s favorite song to sing in karaoke.

Choi Ho Seob's first album cover - source: maniadb.com

Even when time passes by, there’s a love that cannot be forgotten. The lyrics of “When Time Passes (세월이 가면)” tells about that love; the old love and its lingering scent in the faded memories; the love that was so beautiful yet so sorrowful, because it had to come to an end. “Even if you give out a smile for the sake of me, you can’t hide your sad face from me. I’m looking at you in these streaming tears, as you’re helplessly turning your back away.” A separation is always hurtful, whether you’re the one leaving or being left. It’s hurt for both parties. As a human, we’re helpless in front of time and fate. At some point, for whatever reason, even a true love has an end when it doesn’t meant to be. “I already know that this is the end of our love, that this is the last time for our love. Even if we want each other, we don’t have forever. In front of time that keeps ticking, it won’t last forever.” However, there’s one thing that time cannot control, or at least doesn’t have much power of it; memory. Memories stay, no matter how deep they’re buried. “When time passes, although you would forget the feeling of aching longing in your heart, don’t forget that there was a person you once loved with all your heart. Please remember.”
“When Time Passes (세월이 가면)” was performed in South Korea’s entertainment music program, “Immortal Songs 2: Singing the Legend”. It was during the “Sing the Season of Autumn” special episode, when the song was performed by Bada, the former member of legendary girl group, S.E.S. The 167th episode was aired on KBS television station on October 4th 2014, and later was broadcasted by KBS World channel on October 25th 2014. Her rendition was a sentimental ballad arrangement, which went well with her sincere voice that deeply touched the audience. One other remake that catched my attention was the one performed by rocker Park Wan Kyu on a music program aired by MBC television station, “Music Travel: Yesterday”. It was a rock ballad arrangement, with not many changes from the original one, but with a more modern vibe, which suited well with Park’s husky voice. As the original version was already memorable, “When Time Passes (세월이 가면)” didn’t lose its charms when it was remade.

“When time passes, although you would forget the feeling of aching longing in your heart, don’t forget that there was a person you once loved with all your heart. Please remember.” –Choi Ho Seob, When Time Passes (세월이 가면)






“Geudae nareul wihae utseumeul boyeodo heotarhan pyojeong gamchul sun eobseo
(Even if you give out a smile for the sake of me, you can’t hide your sad face from me)
Himeobsi dwidoraseon geudaeui moseubeul heurin nuneuro baraman bone
(I’m looking at you in these streaming tears, as you’re helplessly turning your back away)
Naneun algo itseoyo uriui sarangeun igeotsi majimakiraneun geotseul
(I already know that this is the end of our love, that this is the last time for our love)
Seoroga wonhanda haedo yeongwonhal suneun eobseoyo jeo heulleoganeun sigan apeseoneun
(Even if we want each other, we don’t have forever, in front of time that keeps ticking, it won’t last forever)

Sewori gamyeon gaseumi teojildeuthan geuriun maeumiya idneunda haedo
(When time passes, although you would forget the feeling of aching longing in your heart)
Haneobsi sojunghaetdeon sarangi itseotseumeul idjimalgo gieokhaejwoyo
(Don’t forget that there was a person you once loved with all your heart, please remember)”
Wrote by Mashita Fandia

Source: here

When we talk about the things that we found and lost in life, we can’t not talk about first love. Well, how many lucky people in this world are lucky enough to end up marrying their first love? Only a few, I may guess. First love is Lost and Found. In my case, I’ve found my first love, and I’ve lost it. And one thing that losing a first love had taught me is that how a breaking up could be that hard. However, beyond that, having my first love has taught me many precious things. It taught me how to love and to be loved. It taught me how to feel gratitude, to feel blessed, to appreciate, to respect, to forgive, to understand. It taught me love. And it taught me to move on. Moreover, it taught me to grow up. For whatever reason, first love stays forever. And keeping the memories doesn’t mean that we’re not being able to move on, but it means that we’re not losing grip of ourselves. We cherish it as a part of ourselves, as a part of being a grown up.

“‘Never look back,’ we said, how was I to know I’d miss you so? Loneliness up ahead, emptiness behind, where do I go?” –Britney Spears, From the Bottom of My Broken Heart

Talking about first love and how a breaking up can be that hard, today’s song for Lost and Found is a classic by the Princess of Pop, Britney Spears, titled “From the Bottom of My Broken Heart”. It was released on December 15th 1999, as the fifth and final single from her debut album, “...Baby One More Time”. The ballad R n’ B track was written by Eric Foster White, who was also in charged as the producer of the song.

"From the Bottom of My Broken Heart" single cover - source: en.wikipedia.org

“From the Bottom of My Broken Heart” tells about the longing for our first love; the longing that takes us back to the feeling of losing that first love. When a first love ends, we keep saying to ourselves to never look back, that it’s just a beginning of the real life, that everything will be just fine. But how do we know that it’s true? Will everything be just fine? What if the real life itself is the love that has just ended? “‘Never look back,’ we said, how was I to know I’d miss you so? Loneliness up ahead, emptiness behind, where do I go? And you didn’t hear all my joy through my tears, all my hopes through my fears. Did you know, still I miss you somehow?” As we think back to those moments, we realize that there’s nothing but loneliness and emptiness. As we look back to the moment of separation, we wonder where everything started going wrong. “‘Baby,’ I said, ‘please stay, give our love a chance for one more day’. We could have worked things out, taking time is what love’s all about. But you put a dart through my dreams through my heart, and I’m back where I started again. Never thought it would end.”
First love is indeed a dream-like love. We never realize how great it is until the moment we don’t have it anymore. We have never guessed that it would end. It might not last forever, but the memories stay. It might be over, but the longing feeling lingers. “You promised yourself but to somebody else, and you made it so perfectly clear. Still I wish you were here.” When a first love ends, that’s when people have their first broken heart. And they say that the first cut is the deepest. And yes, breaking up can be that hard. Though the time goes by, the memories of first love wouldn’t be forgotten, as it’s our first for everything in love. Though the time passes by, the memories of first love would remain, as it’s the one that taught us love. “From the bottom of my broken heart, there’s just a thing or two I’d like you to know. You were my first love, you were my true love, from the first kisses to the very last rose. From the bottom of my broken heart; even though time may find me somebody new, you were my real love, I never knew love ‘til there was you.”

Britney Spears on the "From the Bottom of My Broken Heart" music video - source: fanpop.com

The music video of “From the Bottom of My Broken Heart” was released on December 17th 1999. It was directed by Gregory Dark, and unlike Spears’ previous videos, this one didn’t showcase a dance routine. This because both Spears and Dark agreed that they wanted to build a much more story-oriented video without dance, the one that was serious and emotional. And yes, it represented the song very well and beautifully.

“From the bottom of my broken heart; even though time may find me somebody new, you were my real love, I never knew love ‘til there was you.” –Britney Spears, From the Bottom of My Broken Heart






“‘Never look back,’ we said, how was I to know I’d miss you so?
Loneliness up ahead, emptiness behind, where do I go?
And you didn’t hear all my joy through my tears, all my hopes through my fears
Did you know, still I miss you somehow?

From the bottom of my broken heart, there’s just a thing or two I’d like you to know
You were my first love, you were my true love, from the first kisses to the very last rose
From the bottom of my broken heart, even though time may find me somebody new
You were my real love, I never knew love, ‘til there was you, from the bottom of my broken heart

‘Baby,’ I said, ‘please stay, give our love a chance for one more day’
We could have worked things out, taking time is what love’s all about
But you put a dart through my dreams through my heart
And I’m back where I started again, never thought it would end

You promised yourself but to somebody else
And you made it so perfectly clear, still I wish you were here

‘Never look back,’ we said, how was I to know I’d miss you so?”
Wrote by Mashita Fandia
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