olivia’s review published on Letterboxd:
my watchlist: please, we're begging you, watch something from us.. anything. it doesn't matter. just watch one movie, PLEASE.
me: do yall hear something..?
lol no but jokes aside.. i do love this movie a lot, and this time around i really connected with it for the writing aspect of it. it may be a breezy kind of rom com, but it does have a lot of meaning for me. in it, julie creates a blog about something she's enthusiastic about. at first it's just for herself; documenting what she loves to do. a passion project, if you will. but it grows into something more than herself. people read what she writes, they really truly pay attention to her thoughts. and it makes me nostalgic because it reminds me of why i started my letterboxd account in the first place.
for about two years prior to the start of my account (which has now been alive for a little over two years, itself), i had been itching to write a blog or something like a blog about film. keeping track of what i watched, and my thoughts on everything. i never thought anyone would want to read them, though, so i kept hesitating on starting. then one day i happened upon a site i'd never heard of before: letterboxd. i thought, "this has to be the coolest thing i've ever seen." i still think that, actually. again, though, i thought, "no one will read what i have to say. no one will care or be interested." so i once again put it off. but something kept nagging at me: it said do it, do it, do it. so finally, i did it. and here i am two years later.. and i'm just so beyond grateful. that's really what i want to express with this review. how much i appreciate every single one of you who reads what i post. sometimes i don't always have the energy or mental capacity to write an in-depth review of a film, whether it be because of the movie itself or because of a myriad of things going on in my personal life at the time of watching. sometimes i just want to make a joke and call it a day. but then other times i feel so inspired by a piece of cinema that i have to write a poem, a lengthy summation of thoughts, etc. no matter what i end up posting though, you all are somehow always here to read it.. which still amazes me. it still doesn't even feel real. i aspire to be a professional film critic (and filmmaker), so i look at this account as not only as a part of my personal life, but practice for my future goals, as well. every serious film i watch is an education on cinema, and every stupid or bad movie i watch is an exercise in patience; to have the ability to sit through something you don't like and come out the other side, and to still be able to articulate yourself on why it was that you hated it. i have learned so much in the past two years; about film, about art, about myself, and about the world around me. and i can't wait to continue learning. this year i really want to focus on watching more foreign film and more old hollywood classics. i feel really motivated and really inspired to keep diving into what makes this life special, captured on screen for all of us to see. this inspiration has really hit me, maybe for the first time in a long time, to continue in the craft of watching films, and of writing about them.
but, no matter what i watch, you all are here, with every film, with every keystroke of my keyboard, with every thought. and i can't thank you enough. thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for reading. for liking. for commenting. for recommending me films. for caring. you all truly have no idea what it means to me.
the biggest takeaway i have from this rewatch of julie & julia is that julie thinks she isn't a writer until she's published. until she has something in print saying, "this is me, i wrote this, and people bought it." others in her life gradually make her aware that she's still a writer, regardless of whether people read her work, regardless of whether it's in print, regardless of whether she has success from it. so, while i may only be a girl on the internet sharing her thoughts, you all make me feel like a real writer. one who has a real voice and something to say. thank you. here's to 2021: a year of more films, of more writing, and of more passion. i hope you all can feel that fire to keep watching, too.