The "I don't know how to swim" scene makes me cry like a 5th grader.

Absolutely right!

That scene has two other great parts that may have guys and gals shedding tears. Nemo and Teen-age Anna are sitting on a blanket side by side on the shoreline looking out into the water.

1. Another girl comes by and asks Anna to go swimming with her. Anna replies, "No, I can't. I've got my period." How many times have you heard THAT line in a film?

2. The special features on the DVD shows a camera dolly with low-placed camera slowly moving up directly behind Nemo and Anna. The kids are sitting, with Anna on the right. There is about a 2-inch gap of sky showing between their arms. Anna leans slowly and slightly to the left, until their two upper arms touch for about 6-7 continuous seconds. No words are spoken. No close-up of the boy and girl from their front. Fade to black.

This director targets our emotional gut reactions with such creativity coupled with beautiful photography and rapid-paced editing. The director often deletes verbal or image explanations for shots that go directly to the emotional centers in our brain.

I'm definitely looking for more of this director's work to watch. John Ford, Tarkovsky, Malick, and very few others (but, including this director) aim for our brain and all its possible emotions reactions.

It's like psychoanalytic free-association. It's challenging for the viewer to take it all in.



E pluribus unum

I know what it feels personally, seeing as I've been married for 9 years to someone who can't swim, ride a bike, skate, or drive. In his case, his mom abandoned him when he was 9 and his dad gave up on life and didn't care to teach his sons much of anything. I remember him telling me this and when I watched this scene, she did the same thing I do for my husband- Protect him. I try my best to teach my husband, but it seems it's ingrained in him to never want to learn, now, thanks to his parents.