Romeo & Juliet ’96

There are a few little things that I have to do in certain seasons, often because I did them for the first time in those seasons.
Autumn is for watching Texhnolyze, Winter is for watching Haibane Renmei, Spring and Summer are for watching films in chilly air-conditioned theatres and walking out into the baking heat.

Also in Summer, I watch Romeo and Juliet ’96.

In 1996, on opening day, Boxing Day, myself and a few good friends went and saw Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet and were totally stunned by its beauty. Years later of-course, the film grew to be more and more releavant to my own personal emotions and expressions upon multiple viewings. Let me make a few things clear though; firstly I am no Shakespeare fan and couldn’t care less how honoured or dishonoured he and his style were. Secondly; the main characters are perhaps the least relevant to me, at least in a direct sense. What I am in love with in R+J’96 is the sense of volatile youth that it presents, brilliant colours and settings that scream of young love, lust, companionship, joy, anger and anguish. It is everything we wish to feel as teenagers, or perhaps just me 😉 but that feeling of swaggering down a street with your best friends having a lark, falling into bed with a lover and deeply kissing, caressing for hours, the euphoria of being at a party and feeling exaulted in the moment, this one film captures so very well in it’s heavilly stylised frames.

I’m at work, it’s 5 PM, and I’m going home.
Tonight I’m watching Romeo & Juliet.