Barbie, the movie, is a sparkling spectacle of absurd hilarity and visual rapture. Each film frame is packed with exquisite detail and attention to set craftsmanship, costume design, choreography, gestures and diction. The first part of the film is delightful - saturated with laugh out loud jokes, over-the-top musical numbers, rich narrative, amusing cameos, and inspired film references. The second part of the film is more serious - with Barbie facing issues of personal identity, depression, self-love, and sexual harassment on her journey from colorful utopian matriarchy into the scary world of oppressive patriarchy. But before the audience begins to feel pressure from all the female issues, Gerwig skillfully recalibrates mid-film drama with the ultimate power move of Ken stepping into the real world. Suddenly, Ken is seen, heard, respected, and brimming with hope for a future where he can make a difference. Gerwig's decision to showcase the complexities of Ken's existential journey (along with that of other Kens) gives us a glimpse into what women experience in the real world. Yet, the film never makes any definitive statement. The story flows without imposing any rigid agenda, but leaves no one indifferent to its musical and comedic sequences. Gosling outright swipes the spotlight from the entire cast with his unforgettable "I'm Just Ken" number. His "Kenergy" is unbeatable! He was destined to be Ken, just as Robbie was destined to embody Barbie. The rest of the cast also flawlessly portrays countless versions of Barbie and Ken dolls. Simu Liu and Kingsley Ben-Adir embraced the silliness of the film and had me in stitches on the Kens' side. DP Rodrigo Prieto's cinematography is remarkable - he seamlessly differentiates the two worlds using the "face-front" angle in Barbieland, avoiding shaky moves. It's like he's saying, "Smooth sailing in doll land!" while the real world gets dynamic camera work of "Hold on tight, things are getting real!" In sum, the film is a visual feast! I can see the awards for production, costumes, makeup, best actor and best director. Gerwig continues to be one of the most interesting filmmakers working today. As always, she tackles heavy topics unapologetically, but this time she does it while making us laugh. "Barbie" is an amusing ride you don't want to miss! I recommend seeing it in a packed theater.

Morning Dream

There’s a quiet sigh of a woman

a stifled regret of forlorn love

a shrug of her shoulders

And a whisper of fear

a tearful hope

of a lonely future

And a man moans in his sleep

Tossing through the night

On a solitary divan

Unaccompanied in the forest
waiting for a lover to return

A bird sits on a branch

And a flower unfolds gently

And the grass glistens in the dew

And a girl wonders

When will the love come?

And why is the wait so long

Before he appears

And the breeze scatters leaves 

As the boy strums the strings

Of his new guitar

And the woman walks alone

Small dog barks at her

And I awake

БАБОЧКА И МУРАВЕЙ

Bite rattle snake, bite

Hop speedy rabbit high

Fly spinning bullet,                    

Make it quick

Come up a hill, wheel

Come up ahead, curb

Butterfly’s in for a kick

Roar away desert lion

Watch stubborn ant buy in

Hear grasshopper cry in

                                empty cup

Come mammal cub crawling

Feel winter wind blowing

Through empty wasteland

                            Add it up

Watch little bird flying

Hear brittle hope dying

Never laborious

              Never tough

Have a care ant darling

Spare a posy with pollen

Save butterfly,  

             you have enough

a winter dream

I dreamt of summer through the smog of winter

Me and my friends in swarm of merriment

Like mineral clay solidifies to sinter

We turn to quartz in time experiment

Lazy sand snails, vanishing and aging

Through crystal frame of silver hour glass

Hawaiian sunset scattering and blazing

Fades out like nomad hunters in Alsace

Suddenly numb, I topple and fall silent,

Echo of senses follows in my wake

Outside a blizzard gathers over highlands

Treading through aspen trees till I awake

Tale of a goldfish and unspoken wish

Last time I pulled a goldfish out of water

I thought that Russian story was banal.

For what’s a fish against a human daughter?

Yet, verses of a fish have stormed my wall.

-         How many wishes can you grant me, fish?

-         Just one, but you must choose with care

-         Come swim with me until you know your wish

Said fish and smiled well; it was a fair dare.

His smile could slay a hundred hordes,

I plunged inside beside him, to abyss.

There was no dream beyond Arcadia walls;

No deed or wish undone had gone remiss.

And for a while, I enjoyed illusion,

Of lacking purpose and no goals to meet,

I sang and danced around the pond’s seclusion

Fish smiled smirk that felt a real treat.

One day he took me to an ancient pool,

Where time displaced in rivets at the shore

There were no trees or sun, no aim or rule,

Just empty silence and it was a bore.

- It’s time, he said, for you to ask your wish

Or you can stay the same way for a while

The choice is yours to make; I’m just a fish

And fishes swim, but humans dream in style.

The pond grew dim, the winds began to roar,

I heard an eagles cry beyond the wall,

Wishing a lot had proved to be a chore,

Wishing a little hardly worth the call.

We swam in circles, tired of disservice

We did to time; I floated like a cork,

He dove and only once resurfaced

Inside a cave where stream broke into fork.

The left brook marked a secret passageway

Foretelling channel of a lone crusade

I feared the ennui of a life without Cyprinidae

But he had hid again; I knew he was afraid.

The river to the right was calm and deep

I dipped my toe and felt its eerie still

I sensed inside it I would be asleep

And chose the stream that ran uphill.

I did not wait for goldfish to resurface,

Thriving in water garden of a fairy verve,

It made me wait until my wish lost purpose,

Too ripe to toss, too spoiled to preserve.

And crossing over foothills in the distance

I found a path untethered and unmanned

Through underbrush, without much resistance

I reached a peak untouched by human hand.

On mountain top, in stone, above the ocean,
I carved my wish out with a blade of steel;
As days go by, perhaps a lone Laotian
Will find my mark under his coarse bare heal.

Atop the world, where icy snow keeps heavens,
Where winter light shines on infrequent crane;
I left it here - Minoan unearthed by Evans,
Bronze Age, unseen by pilgrims of Tibetian plain.

Although in fairy tale, my name will never surface
A goldfish cannot swim up mountains through a steppe.
My wish is carved in stone, it shines for those with purpose
For those who dream of sun and climb with steady step.

rebirth

Soft darkness wraps its hands around me

Touching my shoulders ever so slightly

I let go of all thought and inhale dry air
rocking myself into slumber

A stroke of wind dishevels my hair

I tremble in surprise and it withdraws 
I sit up and pray in silence, hoping

For something I have yet to know

A stork flies through the night 
Startled, I stare into obscurity
A baby’s cry pierces the air

“A newborn”, I think; “how lovely”

a summer trail

the trail leads you

where heavens unwrap
sapphire curtains 

into jade forests

where lakes join
in beads of silver

strung on golden wire

where birds embroider
sky with ribbons of joy

laced with frivolity

where night quenches 
the thirst of virgin grass
with morning diamonds

the trail leads you

where summer dwells

in childhood memory