One night in Indonesia

I decided to take an evening to myself and just relax. I present an accounting of that evening.

Early on, I watched Adam-12 (season seven, episode 10, I think) and Willie Aames was on as a kid named Billy Ray. This is gonna be a good evening!

I have found some Indonesian cinema. A movie called "Foxtrot Six." It looks like a good old shoot-em-up kind of movie. I'm psyched. This evening is getting even better.

30 minutes into the movie. I don't think I understand what's going on in this movie. I mean, I might understand, but I don't know. That's only because I don't know what's going on.

I thought I was pretty expert at watching movies and following a story line. All my skills are proving useless for this movie.

Thirty-five minutes in and I'm now convinced that I officially don't understand what's going on in this movie.

Regardless of my understanding, there is a VERY FUNNY scene at about 36 minutes or so. There is a very violent combat scene in which 10 men, all covered in oil compete to see who can climb a greased pole and ring a bell first. So they spend their time beating the hell out of each other and squirming around in their oily mess until one of them can somehow shimmy up the pole. After our hero wins, he is approached by others who get him into a conversation. As he speaks, he flicks open his lighter to light his cigarette. The man with whom he is speaking stops and says, "isn't that all oil?" The hero says, "yeah, why?" There's a pause and the other guy says, "no reason."

And at about 39 minutes there is another great moment. Look, I'm getting on in years and I should be a mature adult at this point but I just can't stop laughing at a good (for lack of a better term and apologize for the crudeness) "nut shot." The one at 39 minutes is pretty damned good. I laughed for a while.

At a little over an hour in, I got to a part where I thought it would be the kind of place that make sense to some one if not multiple ones, but it ended up being the wrong kind of place and it only made the non kind of sense.

My new hit single inspired by the movie, "I don't want to get flash fried."

I can't keep track of who the characters are or what the story line is and this traditionally counts against a movie. I feel like they used more than a single actor for each role within the movie which explains why i can't keep anyone straight. I can imagine an interesting version of Hamlet, made from spliced performances, assembled from pits of other performances but it doesn't work in this piece of Indonesian cinema.

I feel like there was a more cohesive and compelling backstory begging to be told while this movie was being made but the decision was "no."

Actual line from the movie, "Let's show this clown what pain really feels like." I have many, many questions.

It is a very bloody movie and I am very squeamish. I am how I am and that's it. It seems to be an instinctual response -- I flinch when I see certain things and hide my eyes to prevent and more messy response. Some would say that my response must be learned and not innate (though aren't some instincts inborn? The blink-response or a scare-flinch, or other things that reflect the "flight" response) but this would beg some unremembered trauma which taught me to not like bloody things. I'll stick with reacting by instinct and just put my head back under the covers.

I have no idea what's going on in this movie. Of that I am now totally sure.

There was a post credit scene which was amazing because I can't imaging anyone wanting to take any credit for this movie.

Thus endeth Foxtrot Six.

Next up, reflections while watching a baseball game in a mirror.