I fell in love with a movie

Tags

elderly care, India, Love, movie review, movies, postaday2013, second chances

I fell in love with a movie and a phrase “everything will work out in the end and if it isn’t working out, then it isn’t the end”; the movie’s title is “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”. It was fantastic! I adored all of the actors; Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, the young Indian Actor from Slumdog Millionaire, the actor who played Victor in “Underworld” the vampire movies and other talented British actors. The setting was tremendous; the Indian countryside, villages, towns and market places, the colors, the people, the animals; every thing in the film had a place and a purpose. One of the messages that resonated with me, was the one discovered by Judi Dench’s character Evelyn, even without experience, you can forge ahead on your own and move forward, one step at a time.

The implantation of older English people in this rundown Indian Hotel is all about “elderly care outsourcing”. How unfortunate retirees cannot afford to grow older in their own countries and are forced to seek economic refuge elsewhere, preferably in places that still respect and revere the elderly. That premiss was slightly shocking, because although I am well versed in the conflict over job outsourcing, I had never extended that economic policy to elderly care. Could we really be heading to that end?

The tension that lay within each character was how open they each were to new experiences, foreign culture, foreign tastes, heat and plumbing in all respects. It was such a treat to see those who went from trepidation to acceptance and then love of their new home. On the flip side, it made me sad to see those who couldn’t wrap their minds around the new possibilities of their life in India. This movie, like life, couldn’t afford everyone a happy ending, some had to be disappointed, thankfully it was the few and not the many.

This movie needs to be seen. Seriously.

Your ideal home

You have all the resources you need to build your ideal home. Tell us about it.

Since I already have the necessary resources, thanks to Plinky, I would try to build the most energy efficient, green and sustainable home possible. The total square footage would be fairly conservative to keep heating and cooling energy demands low. I would try to use as many energy alternatives possible such as solar panels, geothermal heating and wind energy. I would use recycled insulation throughout the house. I love stone, so a stone house well insulated from the inside would be my preference. I think that I would use bamboo for all of my wood flooring and furniture since bamboo is one of the most replenish-able wood sources around.

In terms of plumbing, I am not entirely sure what avenues to explore to extend the same philosophy of sustainable, recyclable mediums to use, but I know that I would love to have heated recycled tile floors in the bathrooms. The same research would have to be done for the kitchen in terms of the oven, the stove top and the counter tops. Would granite or marble be in keeping with the sustainable theme? How about limestone or other stone for the counters? which would be better, electric or gas ovens?

I think that these questions are definitely worthwhile exploring because the less energy wasted, the greater the energy left in the world where it belongs.