dual personalities

I made it through the week with my sunny disposition largely intact, and I feel kind of proud of myself. Faith, stoic philosophy and a healthy dose of Anglo-Saxon pragmatism got me through. On the downside, my sugar consumption broke previous election week records, but if that’s what it takes to stay sane in this crazy world, I’ll risk obesity.

Part of the sugar problem stemmed from the DH’s choice of birthday dessert. Since we celebrated a milestone birthday (I leave the exact number to your imagination), I figured it would be okay to make the caramel, apple, pecan pie that he wanted to try. You can find the recipe here.

Be warned about three things. First, it may take Pioneer Woman only 45 minutes to prepare this recipe, but for those of us who are not professional cooks and don’t own an apple peeler, it takes longer and is very fiddly. Second, the recipe calls for two different amounts of flour. Don’t mix them up! I did and had to wash my apples and start all over again as a result. Third, don’t try to prepare the pie while attending a Zoom meeting, because even with one’s video and microphone off, the background yammering is distracting. This is a very yummy pie!

After my culinary struggles, I watched an interesting movie called Far from Men that is based on a short story by Albert Camus, a translation of which you can find here if you are interested. Personally, I prefer the 2014 film to the typically grim story from 1957.

Set in the Atlas Mountains during the start of the Algerian Independence movement in 1954, the story involves Daru, a Spanish/French school teacher who grew up in Algeria, and Mohamed, a local villager who has killed his own cousin. Daru is forced to escort Mohamed across the mountains to turn him in to the authorities for trial and execution. This is NOT a French version of 3:10 to Yuma; it is a character study and philosophical exploration of duty, national identity, friendship and freedom. Yet somehow it manages to avoid the existential angst we expect from Camus.

The two main characters are played by Viggo Mortensen and Reda Kateb, the latter of whom you may recognize from Zero Dark Thirty or the French TV show Spiral. The characters do a lot of walking around before running into a group of resistance fighters and briefly getting caught up in some fighting.

Having taken the escort job with great reluctance, Daru is not at first interested in Mohamed (and vice versa). After a while, each man comes to recognize that the other is honorable but trapped by cultural expectations and circumstances beyond his control. Mohamed must adhere to village custom, and Daru must recognize that, despite having been born and raised in Algeria, he will never belong there. It was a pleasure to watch a movie that took its time to develop characters and actually had something to say.

Have a great weekend. Be patient and be steadfast. Everything will work out in the end.

*Daru to Mohamed in Far from Men