So far in my blog I’ve done the following: write about a topic that has popped into my head or share an image or video. This time I thought I would try going with a theme for my next set of posts: 30 days, 30 movies.
I will do my best to name a different film each day, though certain films might apply to certain subjects, so here goes….
Day 1: Favourite film
Starting with an easy one, my favourite film is Leon (known as The Professional in some countries). starring Jean Reno as the cool, calm lone hitman, Gary Oldman as a corrupt, psychotic drug-addled DEA agent and a 13 year-old Natalie Portman in her debut feature. The film is about Leon, the hitman living a simple, solitary life who takes in his neighbour Mathilda, a young girl whose family was murdered by corrupt DEA agents. In exchange for saving her life, Mathilda cleans the place, irons clothes and teaches Leon to read and write while he teaches her the ways of his craft, such as showing her how to use a sniper rifle (albeit loaded with paintballs) and how to disassemble and reassemble various weapons. Mathilda begins to desire revenge on the DEA agents; not because they killed her family – her older stepsister was abusive towards her and her father and stepmother simply didn’t care – but because they killed her 4 year-old brother, the only family member she cared about.
It’s not exactly a film about revenge, more about the strange relationship between the hitman and the orphan girl. When Mathilda first discovers what Leon does for a living, she accepts it without question. She also teaches him to read and write after learning Leon is illiterate, and also takes to looking after Leon’s houseplant, who he says is his best friend. It is also shown that while Mathilda has reasonable knowledge of public events (Marilyn Monroe singing happy birthday to the US President) and various films (Charlie Chaplin to spaghetti westerns), Leon has only ever seen Gene Kelly musicals. She also starts to follow the same daily routine as him, from doing stomach crunches in the morning to only drinking milk to caring for the houseplant.
Their relationship isn’t one I can easily describe. You wouldn’t call it a father-daughter relationship, or a master-apprentice, or brother-sister relationship. They simply care for and depend on each other; aside from Tony, the man who raised Leon and gives him jobs, neither of them have anyone else in their lives, and they give each other a purpose in life, a life beyond just getting revenge and just getting paid to kill.