Next Stop, Wonderland

“Being alone is fine. Being alone together is perfect”.

That is the very catchy, yet truthful tagline of the British movie “Next Stop Wonderland”. It is about a lady nurse who just broke up with her fiancee, and has decided to live the life of a spinster. Her family however, led by her over eager mother has decided to put on an offensive strategy to get her back on the saddle. Her mother posted a personal ad in the paper. The ad resulted to several funny encounters and dates, including a group of blokes who wagered over who would have a successful date with her. In the end, being the smart and phenomenal girl that she is, she was able to detect the ‘big joke’. She then met a Brazilian Casanova, charming her with his wit, sense of humor and sex appeal. He asks her to go with him to Brazil, and she seriously considers his offer. All this action happened while the movie was also focusing on another character – THE GUY. The male lead, let’s call him ‘guy’, is working in the city aquarium, which houses a very popular (yet weird-looking fish), I forgot what it’s called. Then because of the guy’s desire for self-actualization I guess, he enrolled in night school, studying marine science. The movie details both characters’ (the girl and the guy) daily struggles and their quest for something more important in life. One central object in the movie is the train/subway. The major characters are always seen contemplating about their lives inside the train. Near the end of the movie, the girl finally decides to go to Brazil with Casanova. She packs her bag, picks up her ticket and hails a cab going to the airport. By the forces of nature, traffic suddenly gets jammed, that she had to go down the cab and take the train instead. She goes inside the packed train and endures the claustrophobic feeling amidst the swarm of bodies. She suddenly feels dizzy because of the maddening crowd, and misses the airport stop. She struggles to get off the train, but fails. Instead, she got blocked by the hordes of people coming in and going out of the train. Just as when she almost collapsed because of claustrophobia, she was caught by THE GUY. Incidentally, the guy did not really make an effort to get near her. Somehow, the crowd pushed him towards her, and suddenly, he was there, in front of her, with no effort at all. Right on cue, the PA system of the train announced, “Next stop, Wonderland”. (Wonderland is the name of the stop after the airport.) End of movie.

I really loved this movie. Not only because this is a really feel-good movie, a movie you would want to watch after depressing ones like Talk to Her, Leaving Las Vegas, etc. I also liked it because of the soundtrack. It features bossa nova music. That is why I developed my love for Sitti Navarro’s (the pinoy version of Bebel and Astrud Gilberto) music.

I also liked the movie because it gives hope. It shows that even if you think that you have missed your stop – and that people might be pushing you in all directions, that you just want to lie down and take a break from it all – there is still a next stop. Don’t fret for the missed opportunity. The next stop may not be where you planned to get down, but it may be better than your destination.

Sometimes, you will have moments when you just want to be resigned to the idea that what is in front of you is IT. But after watching this movie, I felt that I need to wait for things that are really meant for me. I should not settle for things that don’t feel right, for these are just crumbs. The whole loaf is there for the taking. I just have to learn to decipher the crumbs from the loaf (which is actually not a hard thing to do! Sometimes, we just refuse to see it). When you feel lost and alone amidst a crowd of nameless faces who try to push you, stand your ground, minimize resistance, be open to getting down on the stop next stop. After all, it could be Wonderland.


17 June 2006
Saturday
12:26am
Penang