God Help the Girl

ALSO SPRACH ZARATHUSTRA — This is that song that basically everyone needs in their life. “Also Sprach Zarathustra” by Richard Strauss. You’ve probably heard it a thousand times if you’re a sci-fi fan:

If you’ve never heard it before, then you’re welcome and enjoy.

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MONSTER WORM BABIES – I was watching some Monsters Inside You shows when this couple was shown that went on vacation to an arid yet somewhat lush environment. They were both infested, but the man got it much worse. He had giant fly babies growing under bug bites on his back.

They had to be removed by a doctor, and they were frickin’ huge!

The funny thing is that the couple was staying in the local equivalent of the high-roller suites. They probably had some of the best furniure and bedding in the entire village. The only thing they didn’t have was a mosquito net.

If they’d had a net around the bed while they slept, they would have had some protection. It was a case of perceived luxury defeating commonsense. The funny thing is that no one in the area gave them a warning. “Hey, watch out while you’re sleeping. Horrible bugs will lay their eggs in your body and it’s a pus-filled and disustingly painful experience you’ll probably want to skip this vacation.”

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There were things moving under the surface of her skin. She didn’t know what they were, just dark brown shapes darting along the rivers of her veins, but she could feel them tugging and shifting at her as they moved. She wondered if they were gobbling chunks of flesh to make room for themselves. It was horrifying.

When she was a young girl on Earth she’d heard stories of flies laying eggs under peoples’ skin. But this seemed so much worse. Because she could not move, could not scream, could do nothing but feel the movement she could not stop and watch as she was transformed into the birthing chamber of alien parasites.

Tears trickled from her glazing eyes. The only mercy was the lack of pain–the paralytic had affected her nerves, keeping everything distant and surreal. Otherwise she knew her last days would have been filled with torturous agony rather than regret.

There were so many other choices she would have made in her life if she could go back.

But even though every person traveled through time, forward was the only direction. She could only dream of going back.

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F: “You’re really going to trust me with all this?”

A: “Sure. Just prove to me you’re trustworthy.”

A: “I see a bright future ahead for you, Flo. As long as you don’t screw things up, you’re going to be someone amazing.”

F: “Your confidence in me is both delightful and soul destroying.”

A: “Good. That’s the perfect balance. Now off to work with you.

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GOD HELP THE GIRL — I gave “God Help the Girl” a try on Amazon and I’m glad that I did.

I kinda hated the first few minutes, but it got better and better as the story unfolded. It’s a good movie. You should give it a try. If it’s not your thing, all you’ve lost is a little time. If it is your thing, you’ll have gained a favored movie.

Emily Browning plays Eve, a girl battling anorexia and herself. She leaves the hospital against advice and is determined to find some joy and adventure. It’s during her first outing that she meets James in passing, a young man that helps her without taking advantage. She tells him that she will find him again. Which she does during her second, longer break from the hospital.

It’s a story of friendship, growing up, and one glorious summer. Eve, James, and a girl named Cassie form a band together and create some great music. With Glasgow in summer as the backdrop and a series of visually appealing outfits and near-music video musical scenes, there’s almost subversive about “God Help the Girl.”

I don’t want to ruin the story, so I can’t say much more, but this movie does create some feelings and a lasting impression. It’s Eve as the Girl in the Red Dress, with James and Cassie under her spell, pulled along by her magnetism and the magic she seems to bring everywhere that she appears. Yet she has a sadness and a desperation to her that they don’t see and don’t help, emotionally privileged children that they are.

It’s a good movie. Well worth the hour and 52 minutes of runtime.