By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
Maestro director Wong Kar Wai proves himself to be the last romantic of his generation with ``My Blueberry Nights,'' his first English-language film that opened the 2007 Cannes film festival.
It's sensual, though without bearing an inch of skin, and it's sentimental -- in our age of instant coffee and relationships, ``Blueberry'' is like a sugary comfort food that will offer a tinge of sweetness to hardened hearts.
The film keeps the viewer spellbound with its luminous audiovisuals featuring a star-studded cast of great actors and of course, mouthwatering blueberry pie, and a mellow soundtrack. Wong's genius of capturing beauty in the mundane as he draws a beautiful portrait of the American landscape, from shaky New York subways to the stark Nevada desert.
``Blueberry'' unfolds in a gritty and far from romantic side of New York City. Grammy Award-winning singer Norah Jones makes her acting debut as Elizabeth, a young woman going through an agonizing breakup.
She finds refuge in a small diner run by Jeremy (Jude Law). No longer finding use in the keys to her ex-boyfriend's house, she makes an addition to a collection of such ``useless'' keys in the diner. She asks Jeremy to give her ex the keys if he ever stops by. But unable to let go of her feelings, she drops by every night, and nurses her broken heart with generous servings of blueberry pie.
Just as the two begin cherishing their time together, however, Elizabeth disappears. She takes ``the longest way to cross the street'' ― a journey across America to get away from it all.
Elizabeth embarks on a soul-searching road trip, stopping by cities and working non-stop to save up for a car. In the meantime, she keeps in touch with Jeremy by sending him postcards without disclosing her exact whereabouts. Jeremy has realized he is in love with Elizabeth, and makes futile attempts to track her down. As Elizabeth encounters different people with different love stories, Jeremy anxiously awaits her return, to cross the street back.
In Memphis, Elizabeth takes on jobs at a diner by day and bar at night, and witnesses the bitter remnants of a once passionate love. She meets Arnie (David Strathairn), a police officer who resorts to alcohol to deal with the estranged relationship with his wife Sue Lynn (Rachel Weisz). Their love has long died, but Arnie clings on obsessively while Sue Lynn violently resists.
In Nevada, Elizabeth comes across a love between a daughter and father. Leslie (Natalie Portman), a big-time gambler, makes her a tempting offer in return for borrowing some gambling money, and Elizabeth accepts. They end up driving together to Las Vegas where Leslie can get emergency cash from her father. But when they arrive, Leslie realizes the deep affection for her father too late.
Over the course of almost a year, Elizabeth has traveled across the country and soothed not only her own heart but also that of others. And when she crosses the street back to Jeremy's cafe, a slice of juicy blueberry pie awaits her.
The hopelessly romantic -- but believable -- story says that there's someone for everyone, like no matter how unpopular a blueberry pie may be, there's always somebody who'll order it.
Good luck to those who will, undoubtedly, start their own search for a slice of blueberry pie in Seoul, which would probably be as difficult ― but rewarding ― as stumbling upon love in the big city.