HOWLING AT THE WATERS EDGE

The ending of Spike Jonze's adaptation of Maurice Sendaks "Where The Wild Things Are" has a moment of such personal resonance for me that it actually startled me in the theater, and stays with me still a week after seeing it. Indeed, the whole movie struck me on such a personal level that I can't really guage whether or not the movie is actually any good or not, all I know is that I found so many parallels to what I am going through that the whole movie has an accumulative power that moved me in unexpected ways.

The movie contains two distinct seperate worlds, and the characters in both worlds are profoundly moved and changed by their experiences together. What makes the movie special is that both worlds are messy, this is no wish fulfillment fantasy where someone sails off to a magical palace and finds that all their dreams come true in the land of Eden, but instead it is a rather melancholy exploration of emotions and feelings, and the different ways we all have of coming to grips with ourselves and our place in the world. The movie doesn't cheat in any way, the Wild Things are just as fucked up and confused as the rest of us, but somehow Max is able to discover what he needs with them, and their world is forever changed by Max.

In my little world I don't identify with Max, but with the Wild Things. She is my Max, and she can visit me whenever she wants or needs to, but she will always have her own world to return to, and that is how it should be. I want her to find the mystery, the happiness, the warmth that she deserves whenever she feels like sailing over to my island, and I want her to take what she can back to her world to make it a better place. Her world has shadows in it, but there is also an abundance of light where she can escape them, and she has so many possibilities in front of her, so many paths that lead to a better place.

My world right now consists of a single light: her, but everything else is kind of dimming around the edges. I am not complaining about this, the fact that she has brought a light and warmth to my world is more than enough for me, but it is for this very reason that the ending of the movie struck me so deeply.

When the time comes for Max to return to his world, the Wild Things gather at the waters edge to watch him sail away, and instead of some dumb-ass dialogue or sappy music, they just stand there and howl. It is a moment so perfect, so right, that I felt like a fool sitting in a theater full of kids trying to keep tears from rolling down my face.

I know why the Wild Things howled, I feel it everytime she leaves, everytime we are apart. The feeling is so strong, so deep, and filled with sadness and joy, that no words would be able to express the emotion.

I stand at the waters edge, howling. For all that could have been, for all that will be missed, and for all that has been given to me. It is a sad, wonderous feeling that I wouldn't trade for anything in the world, because it means that I am alive and that I care. And I owe it all to her.

I hope she howls for me on occasion.