The movie that really gets me #1: High Fidelity

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Hi steemian, I’m going to start a series of blog about something that I really love: Movies. The idea is simple. I will write about movies that left a deep emotional impact for me. It’s not a review, nor critics, just a personal sharing about what happened, or thoughts and feels after I watched the movie. It will be a short series though. And most of the movies are coming from the 90s and early 2000s decade.

For the first entry, I’m gonna talk about “High Fidelity”. It was really special.

I watched High Fidelity for the first time in 2003 at my friend’s DVD rental in Yogyakarta. At that time, I was learning about filmmaking and there were not so many person I know who own a good computer with adobe premiere installed. But Karyo, my friend of another friend have it. After a short introduction via phone call, I went to his place, took me 4 hours of driving to get there.

Karyo’s DVD rental was awesome. He has the computer and editing software, and he has a great collection of cool movies. But it was also a mess. Karyo is not a good businessman. He just loves movies. The rental was situated in a slum area near a traditional market. So imagine this, a really crowded place with the mixed smell of onions, cabbage, fish, and poultry. And there is one small kiosk at the corner, painted yellow with bad murals, You’ll never know if you’ll find the cool collection of movies in a place like this.

I spent several days at Karyo’s place, busy with cutting videos and making a montage. And one day, Karyo drop a DVD case in front of me.

“I think you should watch this movie.”

“What’s the movie about?” I ask.

“It’s a movie about me,” said Karyo with his annoying laugh.

That night I left my editing and put the movie on the player. Yes, the movie was High Fidelity, starred John Cusack and Jack Black. And damn, Karyo was right. The movie is about him! I started to laugh so hard when the film end.

In short, High Fidelity is about a messed up man who owns a cool record store, with a great collection, and he was not good at business. He opens the store just because he loves music, and he loves to make a good catalog of it. This is quite similar to Karyo. Sit around all day, getting rid of potential customers who are just not cool enough to be allowed to buy their records. Hell, even the love story was similar!

I love how High Fidelity felt so real. What's really got me was the character of Rob Gordon, played greatly by John Cusack.

“Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?” said Rob Gordon.

I was hit by it. The words stuck in my head. His question was a real question. Because yeah, I had a similar question.

There were too many great quotes from this movie that resemblance my personal life. My other favorite quote from Rob Gordon:

“The making of a good compilation tape is a very subtle art. Many do's and don'ts. First of all, you're using someone else's poetry to express how you feel. This is a delicate thing.”

Thank you, Rob Gordon. You’ve said it really well. That would be my argument to start creating a list of great music.

And this one too:

”I’m not the smartest guy in the world, but I’m certainly not the dumbest. I mean, I’ve read books like “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” and “Love in the Time of Cholera”, and I think I’ve understood them. They’re about girls, right? Just kidding. But I have to say my all-time favorite book is Johnny Cash’s autobiography “Cash” by Johnny Cash. ”

Wow, Rob Gordon, you’re my hero. You were speaking the Truth! I too, read Milan Kundera or Gabriel Garcia Marquez. They were all the greatest books of all time. But yeah, I would prefer “Cash” as my all-time favorite.

So, You see, this kind of thinking, and Rob Gordon breaking the 4th wall to speaks directly to the audience was a great device to deliver a good story. It's really got me.

Annaugh, Dick, and Rob. (source)

As a whole movie, High Fidelity is a great one. It’s funny and witty. There are a lot of entertaining scenes.

I laughed so hard at the scene where they debating about what song should be played at the record store. Dick, the shy employee put Belle and Sebastian song. It was a mellow morning. But when the ultra-confident Barry came, he threw the record out, and replace it with more energetic “Walking on Sunshine” by Katrina and The Waves.

I also love the scene when Dick met Annaugh Moss. The shy guy saw the girl, and we know, they will end up as a couple. But the using of pop culture reference as a flirting material was lovely to see. Dick informs her that Green Day was heavily influenced by London Punk Rock band The Clash, and by Northern Ireland band called Stiff Little Finger. When He put the “Suspect Device” by Stiff Little Finger on the player, another customer asked, “is it a new Green Day?”. Both Annaugh and Dick smiled and their eyes met. Sweet.

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I haven’t read “High Fidelity” by Nick Hornby. So, I don’t know if this movie is a good adaption to the novel or not. Judging from the setting, the novel was set in London, while the movie was set in Chicago, I can only guess that the movie will give a different feel compared to the novel. Because surely London and Chicago have different tempo and nuances.

I found this movie is really entertaining. The perfect cast, the cameo, the witty dialogue, all great. And the pop music references! There were so many of it. That was the best part for me.

I must thank Karyo for recommending this movie to me. It has everything that I love, and Rob Gordon is easily relatable. A broken-hearted man trying to figure out what’s wrong with his past relationship. Why breaking-up if everything seems so normal. I could jump on the street right now and start to meet people and I’m sure I will find a lot of Rob Gordon. Even better, maybe some of them will have well-curated mixtape (or Spotify playlist) that defines a relationship.

It’s really great movie, how the story keeps relevant to this day. With record store struggling as music goes online, the relevancy still high, I guess it’s because of the truth that lies as the backbone of the story. The fear of commitment, the desire to revive the past, the desire to be a devoted fan, and the obsession to rank/curate something. Damn, this movie did it so well. The reflection of pop culture was accurate and poignant.

I’ll put this In Rob Gordon way:

“Books, records, films – these things matter. Call me shallow but it’s the fuckin’ truth.”