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Truly Madly Deeply (1990,
UK)
In director Anthony Minghella's romantic ghost fantasy:
- the scene in this fantasy drama in which devoted
boyfriend and cellist Jamie (Alan Rickman) returned from the dead
as a 'ghost' to join his inconsolable, bereaved lover Nina (Juliet
Stevenson), an interpreter, and speak to her
- he gave an explanation for his return:
("I dunno, maybe I didn't die properly. Maybe that's why I
can come back. It was like standing behind a glass wall while everybody
else got on with missing me. It didn't hurt. And you know, I'm
very sensitive to pain. It really didn't hurt")
- after they kissed, he spoke
about her pain on the back porch: (Jamie: "Thank you for missing
me." Nina: "I have. I do. I did." Jamie:
"I know. But the pain, your pain, I couldn't bear that.")
- his description of a local neighbor girl who died
- a story about how parents should lovingly embrace their children:
("There's a little girl. I see this little girl from time
to time. Alice, who's three, three and a half. And she's great.
Everybody makes a big fuss, but she isn't spoiled. Well, she wasn't
spoiled. She was knocked over and she died. And her parents and
her family and her friends from kindergarten. Well, she used to
go to this park. And she was telling me, they made an area in the
park, gave the money for swings and little wooden animals. And
there are these plaques on each of the, on the sides of the swing,
the bottom of the horse, from Alice's mum and dad: 'In loving memory
of Alice, who used to play here.' And, of course, Alice goes back
there all the time. You see parents take their child off the swing
and see the sign. And then they hold onto their son and daughter
so tightly, clinging on for dear life. And yet the capacity to
love that people have. What happens to it?")
- the scene of their lengthy proclamation of their
love for each other: (Nina: "I love you." Jamie: "I
love you." Nina: "I really love you." Jamie: "I
really, truly love you." Nina: "I really, truly, madly
love you." Jamie: "I really, truly, madly, deeply love
you." Nina: "I really, truly, madly, deeply, passionately
love you." Jamie: "I really, truly, madly, deeply, passionately,
remarkably love you." Nina: "I really, truly, madly,
deeply, passionately, remarkably, uhmm... deliciously love you." Jamie: "I
really, truly, madly, passionately, remarkably, deliciously...
juicily love you...." Nina: "Deeply! Deeply! You passed
on deeply, which was your word, which means that you couldn't have
meant it! So you're a fraud, that's it!...(They hug) You're probably
a figment of my imagination. (pause) Juicily?")
- their singing of "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine
Anymore" (accompanied by his playing on the cello) and then
their joining together in a piano duet
- toward the end of the film, Jamie recalled the first
night that they spent together when Nina asked him to describe
it: "What did we do?" - he remembered: ("We talked...Well,
talking was the major component. You played that piano. Then I
played, then we both played. Something, duet. Something, I can't
remember. And then you danced for about three hours, until I fell
asleep. But you were fantastic. And then we had some cornflakes.
And when we kissed which was at about 11 o'clock the following
morning, we were trembling so much, we couldn't take off our clothes")
- later, he recited Pablo Neruda's Spanish poem La
Muerta to Nina (which she translated line by line from Spanish
to English) when she was beginning to decide that she was ready
to move on from Jamie: ("Forgive me...If you are not living...If
you, beloved, my love, if you have died... All the leaves will
fall on my breast... It will rain on my soul all night, all day...
My feet will want to march to where you are sleeping... But I
shall go on living.") Jamie then asked Nina: "Do you
want me to go?" She tightly hugged him: "No, never,
never, never."
- however, Jamie's fellow ghosts came to him and asked
if he was going to leave Nina if she was ready to move on to a
new relationship - with art therapist-psychologist Mark (Michael
Maloney). One asked: "Well?", and Jamie responded: "I
think so. Yes."
Ghosts Asking If Jamie Was Going to Leave Nina
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Jamie's Response to Ghosts: "I think so. Yes"
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- in the next scene, Nina admitted
to Mark: "I think I am free. I did love someone very much, you
see. Very much. But he died. He died. And I found it quite hard to
get over it"; that night, she would be sleeping over at Mark's
house after purchasing a toothbrush at a pharmacy
Nina to Mark: "I think I am free"
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Sleeping Over at Mark's Place, With Her Toothbrush
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- the next day, Nina cleaned up her apartment knowing
that she was moving on in life; that evening, the ghosts with Jamie
watched from her upstairs apartment window as Nina kissed Mark at
her front gate and left for good to be with Mark from now on
Ghostly Jamie (with Other Ghosts) Watching Nina
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Nina Kissing Mark at Her Front Gate
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Jamie's Final Goodbye While
Watching Nina and Mark Leave
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"Maybe I didn't die properly"
Kissing - And Then Telling Her on the Back Porch: "Your pain, I couldn't
bear that"
Story About Neighbor Girl Who Died
Lengthy Proclamation of Their Love
Singing "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore"
Nina Listening as Jamie Recalled Their First Night Together
Jamie Reciting Pablo Neruda's Spanish Poem
Hugging Tightly After He Asked - "Do you want me
to go?"
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