(Dutch
movies are discussed in Dutch)
The
World of Sophie (Sofies verden)
Film
reviews often tell you what would be
commercially attractive or to the common
expectations. Therefore these descriptions
of movies you might want to see but did
not decide about yet.
The
latest films.
11.27
- 01.13 , 2001
Seen
01.13.01.: Dir.:
McG.
Starring:
Bill Murray, Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy
Liu. Action, action, action: it is a concept for a
good digestion. Undoubtedly there was a lot of fun in
making and seeing this superfast story of three lady
Bonds in a comedy of heroism. The girlpower of the
Spice Girls is nothing compared to this. These ladies
are really unbelievable, and who wouldn't want them
with their captivating smiles and super slim figures?
The serious underlying consideration is the ridicule
of all masculine power. What's the use of it anymore?
Doesn't matriarchy herald the end of the culture of
this epoch? Men forsaking and woman dominating? That
must end in natural chaos! Or would natural order be
the goal? We men have a problem with our honor and
duty and even the cinema isn't safe anymore against
our false pretensions. On itself I think that's good
to expose. We already had Schwartzeneggers Last Action
Hero and now we have this: the Ladies are of the world
and know the world much better than the men.
Nevertheless did Arnold and James and the other male
heroes continue with their shows and dreams and will
also do so after this movie. But it will never be the
same anymore... I won't forget these three. Never. Of
course this movie is in fact all for fun, girls are
there for the fun and not really to be taken serious
of course. One shouldn't think in this but enjoy. So
the music is fast, the jokes fast and the shots
unbelievable. Its art, its the new movies. The story
itself is to the expectations: some software for
voicerecognition must be retrieved and the crooks who
stole it must be defeated. But that is not the point
thus. One may enjoy the cartoon-like style of action
and adventure. Doing impossible things and dreaming of
the all-powerful has now its female version. Maybe
that will wake us men up to our duty. And what would
it be? I do not expect a Charlie's Angels part two. We
men must somehow prevent it. But then real (or should
we rejoice that now also the woman are dreaming of the
all-powerful?). One such a fun meal of cinematic power
and gender-role criticism really satisfied my appetite
completely. I've got the message.(website)
Seen
01.13.01.: Dir.:
M. Night Shyamalan
Starring:
Bruce Willis, Samuel J. Jackson. Taking off from the
previous movie of this director, the sixth sense, one
has the wrong expectations. In fact the director plays
with ones idea that the material world could be the
world of ones afterlife. That is what we get if we do
not believe in reincarnation. Thus is his world one
big sad and dark madness show of spiritual insecurity.
This time the suggested eternal life of our hero, as
if he is unbreakable, is not to be mistaken for the
real thing. Would he be in hell because of wanting to
be unfaithful to his wife? He is almost shot by his
own son who thinks his father is unbreakable. One is
confounded. The cause of this delusion is the
mysterious collector of comic books who pretends to be
his friend suggesting him having special powers. This
he thinks because our hero, who is a simple security
guard in a stadium, has survived as the only one a
disastrous train accident. More accidents had happened
but none of them gave the alter-ego of our comicbook
character who has to sit in a wheelchair being born
with bones as glass: he broke them a fifty times or
more. This peculiar genetic twist of fate gave him the
odd philosophy that for each person there must be a
counterpart (wasn't it Plato who also suggested this
for lovers?). As he would be breakable as mr. Glass,
there also has to be an unbreakable one. To the end of
the movie one is held in fascination of the suggestion
of the beyond, the paranormal and diverted from the
real danger of the twisted mind of the one
manipulating. Of course does the sick one end up in
the asylum, but who would that be? Who is the
disbeliever in this world? Is it the realistic
skeptic, trying to stay sober or the disturbed lunatic
with his superstition and paranormal delusions? Go and
see the sober conclusion. (website)
Seen
01.05.01.: Starring: Richard Gere, Winona Ryder. How
about a love affair between an aged bachelor of 48 and
a young girl of 22 years old? He is a well-to-do
restaurant owner and she fabricates fashion hats. He
falls for her innocent and open hearted attraction,
She is a mature child and he was never a father. Freud
could think about this too, but that point is not
stressed. When he tells her that he can't promise more
than what it was at the moment, does she tell him that
she's about to die with an inoperable tumor in the
chest. She dies of it in the movie leaving everything
and everyone behind. I thought it masterly done to
make a difficult and predictable story like this
interesting, not too melodramatic and properly
balanced. He has to pay for his old habits and she has
to conquer her despair with his conversion to the true
of love. That point is made. Gere is one of the stars
who's personality is more important than the story and
it must be concluded that the combination with Winona
Ryder is a successful one. She is a real woman and a
real child in one and a pleasure to see. Gere is
always smiling within contemplating his consistency.
It is the worldly life combined with this inner vision
that makes him such an attractive actor. Go and
contemplate with him. You won't fall
asleep.(website)
Seen
01.05.01.: Starring: Arnold Schwartzenegger, Robert
Duvall. Director Roger Spottiswood. The movies of
Arnold are consequent in their setup: they
consistently picture the near future with all the high
tech one can think of: self-directing cars,
holographic commercials and cloned people this time.
The story is about the latter subject. A decade ago it
still seemed Science Fiction, but this time one really
wonders what of what has been shown cannot be done.
Well, sure is that cloning people within 24 hours is
pretty impossible, but it is done here. This creates a
completely different society where people, especially
criminals, are more and more careless about losing
their lives. They can be cloned back with in a day.
Arnold shoots some guy his leg off and the crook
starts complaining about the new boots that are
ruined. The jokes are sometimes a bit corny about
cigars and sex, and some James Bond Style remarks that
seem pretty anachronistic to the modern setting. In
the future some type of humor should also be renewed.
Apart from the sometimes a little forced humor is the
movie good old fashioned Schwartzenegger
entertainment. The scenes, decors, and technology are
all amazing and the story is sometimes even
complicated when we have to figure out which
Schwartzenegger is the cloned one. Enfin, the two
start cooperating and defeat that way the crooks and
the mad scientist . The story is action-hero type 1
series so and so about a pilot who accidentally gets
cloned because an anti-clone-activist thinks he can
kill clones but shoots the wrong ones. The company
covers up and wants to eliminate our hero because
cloning humans is illegal while the clone (yes or no?)
was home first. The rest can be guessed and goes as
expected. Good buy for what one expects to
see.(website)
Seen
12.29.00.: Starring: Nicolas Cage. A single living
business man who has everything his heart desires ends
up in a parallel universe making up for a missed
chance. Accidentally he is a good man and is rewarded
for it. He suddenly finds himself in the life that he
has missed for 13 years with the great love he
exchanged for his business career. Entertaining the
movie sets the contrast on the difference between a
life of love and modesty and a life of success and
money. Of course love wins. of course walking the dog
and making and raising babies is better. Of course is
love better than money. In the end after his trip
through the alternative universe he has to return and
take that final chance to prevent the love he was
dreaming about to leave on the same airplane to Europe
he had taken years before. This time it works: he has
the vigor to convince that lovely woman. End of the
movie. Everyone who missed a chance in his life for
real love should see this movie: it is never to late
and always good to remember what the Bible already
said: what is it worth to win the world but lose ones
soul? (website)
Seen
12.29.00.: Dir: Marleen Gorris, starring JohnTurturro,
Emily Watson. The defence of a genius chessplayer is
the subject of this story. At a worldchampion chess
contest does Alexander Luzhin meet a young attractive
woman. Completely estranged from the world he only
lived for chess and now he falls in love. Meanwhile he
tries to win the contest. An ex-patron of him who gave
up on him because he was too defensive and thus would
never win tries to block his victory by conspiring
against him. This is too much for the childlike
innocent chess-player living in his own chess-world
vulnerable now being in love. God has left him and he
breaks down. Just before marrying the woman he commits
suicide. A drama. After his death she finds his worked
out defense by which he posthumously wins the game.
His life was complete: he had developed the perfect
defense in chess and was thus master of the game.
Chess is bad for your health he had remembered from
his youth. His life was bad for his life, his mission
was to end the madness of chess, ergo his end. With
the opposition and the pressure, the stress of the
love-affair and everything the man seemed to have lost
control. But the movie shows his christian victory; he
loses himself in the woman, loses control over his
nerves, goes psychotic with the conspiracy, but he has
won. Never will chess conquer the world: the Luzhin
defense is immortal now. (website).
Seen
12.19.00.: Dir: Erik Gustavson, starring: Silje
Storstein. Norwegian (subtitled) Film to the
bestseller by Jostein Gaarder. Sophie is a young
dreamy girl with a strong feeling for philosophy. In
her magical reality she meets a talking dog that turns
out to be her spiritual guide Alberto Knox that leads
her into the forest towards a gateway of philosophy.
This gateway brings her in contact with the world of
Greek philosophy, Shakespeare, the philosopher
Berkeley, the phenomenon of the Revolution and more of
European history and intelligence. Meanwhile there is
a parallel universe where her alter-ego Hilde lives
who has a father who is an officer serving for the UN
in Serbia during the war. He is the creator of her
dreamy life as he is writing the book while it is
played out by Sophie and her guide. Apart from being a
highly interesting visit through the ages of
philosophy it is also an interesting view on how the
arts relate to modern politics: the writer saves the
honor of the intellect and thus puts the war of
ignorance to an end. Sophie is happy with her story
and the world is happy in the parallel reality. End
good all good. Sophie is has become immortal and is
beautiful, the movie is beautiful and the intellect is
beautiful. A masterpiece from Norway in the best
ability of Europe and its intellectual life.
(website)
Seen
12.19.00.: Dir: Jay Roach: Starring: Robert de Niro,
Ben stiller. A male nurse is in love with the daughter
of a slightly paranoid ex-cia-agent. The parents have
to be seen and our hero joins with the family for
initiation. Literally everything goes wrong and thus
the slapstick is complete. The whole movie is a
constant comedy-sketch without losing coherence. The
jokes are great and de Niro is the perfect man for the
father-role. Go and see how the guest ruins and knocks
out his own marriage proposal, the ashes of grandma on
the mantelpiece, a beautiful eye of the sister to be
wed, the pet, a marriage entourage, the septic tank ,
the so called circle of trust of daddy, his spy-cover
and more of the completely impossible of mishap.
Nevertheless we may expect a happy ending. First laugh
and then be happy. It is a form of logic concealing
how difficult it really is to get properly married
these modern days. Don't think to much about that
though, that's not what this movie is for. Have fun.
(website)
Seen
12.19.00.: Dir: Woody Allen: Starring: Woody Allen,
Tracy Ulman, Hugh Grant: Rob a bank and end up rich
selling cookies. However one arrives at ones
destination: it is not the money of course that is the
goal. The little people playing big time, big bucks
because they desire so, stay the same in this comedy.
To begin from the start: a middle aged guy goes out
with his friends to rob a bank, buys a pizzeria and
starts digging in the cellar while his wife sells
cookies in the storefront because that's all she can.
Being very clumsy they never get to the bank next
door, but end up in another store. Meanwhile the
cookies are a great success. They get very rich and
enter the art scene of New York. She wants to do
something good for the community and starts
collecting/protecting the arts. They have no idea what
they are doing being distaste personified and contact
an expert who sneaks into the marriage of the two
small time crooks. Of course for the money. End of the
story: the small time crooks lose everything because
of corrupt bookkeepers and the art-expert runs as fast
away as the money itself. The marriage is restored
upon the poverty regained. Also he failed in robbing
an expensive necklace from the rich and famous because
he can't tell the difference between the real stuff
and the fake to replace it with. Woody Allen is never
tired of being the critic ridiculing everything
hypocrite and obscure from the modern time neurotic
society. This time the hypocrisy of the art- and
moneyscene is his target. It's all as fake as it is
rich. The civilized person turns out to be the
greatest crook and the smalltime crook in the end
returns to his original love falling back to it like
with gravity to the earth. Happy the poor and clumsy,
because they will never win anything but the heart. It
is no deep philosophy and Woody is no real rough guy;
trying to act like one saying ' I rip your head of'
and such really doesn't do the job and half way the
movie he gives that up. No big deal. With Allen
reality is inevitable; that's the purpose of the
neurosis: doubt until the illusion drops... So be it,
he did his job and spent the money himself too
returning to where he started in his quest for serving
intelligence. He proves that losing ones money is the
way of the heartful intelligent. Would the other
wealth become clear with Allen also? Keep him in
check! (website)
Seen
12.13.00.: Dir: Steven Soderberg: Starring: Terence
Stamp and Peter Fonda. An ex-convict released from
prison returns to society finding it further degraded
than it was before. In the sixties he was part of the
l.a.-scene having many friends that were no real
friends. He simply robbed a bank and went to prison,
while others like a smart music-producer made millions
with illegal productions and a sophisticated
intelligent security defense for covering up his
million-dollar cheats. The movie is an artistic and
cinematographic masterpiece. It has a complicated
daring cut of flashbacks very realistically showing
the ways of thought of the characters. It takes full
attention, but gives a perfect profile of the
situation. The characters are all set in a kind of
worn-out and degraded sixties-atmosphere showing how
the good days of drugs and feasting all ended in crime
and murder. All the criminals are really smart and
really as human and real as one can be in the
situation. The story itself though it nothing special:
the daughter of the ex-con was murdered by the
music-producer and he is out for revenge. This movie
proves that behind each stupid story there is a
universe of human reality that factually makes it
true. Without doubt this movie is an example for all
the others in the out-for revenge category
(website).
Seen
12.13.00.: Dir: The Coen Brothers (Joel en Ethan).
Starring: George Clooney, John Turturro, John Goodman.
The story dedicated to Homers Odyssey is really an
odd-i-see of three escaped prisoners in search of the
value and liberation of their own freedom. Freedom in
itself is worth little if ones wife is still in
illusion and evil ruling all around. Thus our heroes
very hilariously overcome all kinds of hindrances in a
series of most entertaining separate scenes through
which the brothers travel in the south of America in
the early thirties. They become blue-grass-heroes
without knowing it. They attend a meeting of the Klu
Klux Clan and they are cheated by a one-eyed crook of
a Bible-preacher. One of them seems to turn into a
frog and another returns to prison from which he has
to be liberated again. And always is the Dapper Dan
pomade running out of stock and is the coiffure ruined
despite of the hairnets. Damned! They are saved by the
flood (why not the flood) and ultimately are stars on
the stage of victory winning the hand of the queen. It
was a sheer delight to see such a serious business as
a life's odyssey roll on as one big comedytrain
fascinating at each turn of the story. A true delight
filmed in burnt out ochre colors one mustn't miss!
(website)
Gezien
13.12.00.: Regie: André van Duren. Met: Laurien
v.d. Broek, Hans Dagelet, Kim van Kooten en Willeke
van Ammelrooy. Dit is het klassieke nederlandse
verhaal over de omzwervingen in de middeleeuwen van
het weesmeisje Mariken van Nimwegen. Het is het
verdienstelijk bioscoop-debuut van deze regisseur naar
het boek van Peter van Gestel en is meteen een
waardevolle klassieker in de nederlandse
filmgeschiedenis. Al onze klassieke verhalen zouden
zo'n mooie verfilming moeten krijgen. Mariken is een
prachtig meisje met korenblauwe ogen die als vondeling
op de hei wordt aangetroffen door kluizenaar
Archibald. Deze voedt haar in het 'Woud der Wanen' op
met een alternatieve bijbel genaamd 'De mensheid een
Klucht'. Als de geit wordt opgegeten door een
hongerige jager gaat Mariken op zoek naar een nieuwe
en beleeft ze zo het avontuur van dit verhaal. Ze komt
in de stad bij een theatergezelschap terecht na eerst
door de plaatselijke heks de z.g. Zwarte Weeuw, die
overal de duivel in ziet, gevangen gezet te zijn. In
de stad wordt Mariken bijna geadopteerd door de
kinderloze zure gravin die haar als opvolgster wil
opvoeden. Maar de liefde voor haar vrienden van het
toneelgezelschap wint het van haar liefde voor de
gestrenge adel en stijve kultuur der welvaart.
Uiteindelijk bevrijden haar vrienden haar als ook het
andere kind, de rattenjongen die lang daarvoor steeds
door de zwarte Weeuw gevangen werd gehouden. Dan volgt
er een min of meer verrassende ontknoping. Het is een
prachtig verhaal over middeleeuws bijgeloof en de
middeleeuwse kultuur. Alles is schitterend in
scène gezet en het oeroude hollandse gevoel
krijgt een zeer verfrissende nieuwe kijk. De
oorspronkelijke middeleeuwer die we waren was een heel
wat speelser en vrijer (maar ook viezer, gevaarlijker
en eigengereider) mens dan de gereformeerde
zelfgenoegzame confectiemens van na de reformatie. Dit
laatste aspekt wordt vertegenwoordigd door de Zwarte
Weeuw die de grote verliezer en de, over God een door
de builenpest verbitterde, persoonlijkheid is. Alle
overige personages laten mooi het half-duivel-half-god
begrip zien waarmee samen met 'De Mensheid een Klucht'
Mariken opgroeide. Veel moderne films kunnen leren van
deze oorspronkelike menselijkheid van een warmer
begrip dan de gepolariseerde schizoidie van de moderne
kilte en haar karikaturale goed-kwaad tegenstellingen
die de geschiedenis ook nog wel eens zal
loochenstraffen. Meer van dit en de Hollander redt
zijn ziel en kennis van God met zijn eigen verhalen!
(website)
Seen
12.10.00.: Dir: Roland Joffe. Starring: Gérard
Depardieu. This beautifully filmed true story about
the master of ceremony of a Prince de Condé in
the year 1671 is a feast to the eyes and a
contribution to european filmhistory. It shows how at
the original court of Louis the xiv France in its best
times one was delving in all kinds of cultural
extravaganza. The viewer is almost put to a test with
it witnessing a couple of days out of the life of the
master of the feast who is forced in the position of
God. Almost to the point of nausea the beauty of the
art of cooking and the theater is displayed without
much betraying about how the story turns out half way
the movie. First there is just the feasting which
baffles in its utter materialism and infatuation. The
only reference to God is the sunclock that would link
the nobles to the reality of God;s nature. But that is
not enough this story proves. Going at the cost of not
only the lives of animals but also at the cost of the
lives of the members of the staff, the commons and the
honor of the woman, the master Vatel becomes the
victim of the game of honor and cultural perfection:
he cannot keep the idea of perfection up when, because
of a storm, the fish is not in time arriving at the
kitchens. The whole illusion of perfection comes down.
He, playing as a god, which can even refuse the
requests of King Lois xiv falls victim of the power of
illusion. First he is tempted by a favorite of the
king, the courtesan Anne de Montausier (Uma Thurman).
Then seeing himself failing in the defense of the
woman who is abused by the corruption of silence, he
finds that he cannot defend the honor of his master
who has to win the favor of the king with the feast.
Vatel commits suicide and throws the whole setup in
disgrace. After his demise the fish somewhat late
still arrives and the feast is simply continued as
there is no respect for suicidal people punished by
the power of illusion. Still the movie is a beautiful
accusation against the unenlightened nobles of Europe
that lost their rule because of their lack of purity
and envious-with-God offensive strategies of control.
It indeed could all have been this beautiful if they
only had known that the God of their sunclock is the
Lord of Yoga and that the progress to that respect
should be a loyalty to the nonviolent, pure sharing of
the natural truth the way the vedic scriptures command
it. What a pity to lose all our cultural hopes and
power of Vatel-like theatrical and culinary sacrifices
on this historic suicide of an illusioned control over
the ceremonies of our cultured divinity. Vatel is also
the best part Depardieu ever played in a movie.
(reviews)
Seen:
12.04.00. Dir.: Wes Craven, starring Meryl Streep,
Gloria Estefan. A real-life story about a divorced
woman, a violin teacher, who begins violinclasses for
Harlem-schoolkids in New York. Films about american
heroes make the american cinema for what it is.
Especially when the stories truly happened they bring
emotion and compassion. America shows it is important
that individuals take initiative, the state is built
of self-reliant individuals. Poor people have to fight
their own way for their own upliftment. And thus one
has to take initiative to make the society a bit
better for all. The movie doesn't really criticize the
society as it is. It it a plea for human compassion
and cultural involvement important for all people
everywhere. The american backdrop behind this story is
coincidental. A subsidized person in Europe just as
well has to struggle for minority kids to pull
themselves up in society this way or whatever dream of
emancipation to realize. It is always a pleasure to
see people catch love for the real drive of our
western culture: never give it up to associate for the
subliminal. It is our way of selfrealization and proof
of God. Only with the human lead will one attain.
Everyone. Also the mature Meryl Streep is at her best
in this movie. (website)
Seen:
11.27.00. Dir.: John Singleton, starring Samuel L.
Jackson. Sometimes one thinks the actors do not really
act at all. They just play themselves and that's the
real frightening of this side of the cinema. I really
don't want to meet the guys in this movie I can tell
you. Not even Shaft himself running around without a
badge, as usual in conflict with the system, to have
his own way of crime-fighting. Sometimes I wonder what
the ideals of the present cinema are. Or should I
worry about the fact that one has the recurring dream,
or nightmare of policecontrol in an never ending
shoot-out and carchase. Of course, the picture is
professionally made good entertainment and Shaft is
another interesting detective and so on. But really
what does it add to movie-history? That the real bad
guy is a white man and and the hero a black man? Is
that the progress? I don't think so. Another
accusation of criminal materialism? Why? Aren't we in
fact stuck in this interest collectively? Just to keep
the audience awake one has to invent more and more
corrupt schemes and people for this kind of movies. We
do not really get rid of the problem (and what is it)
this way. America, and the rest of likewise mankind,
wake up from your police-dreams! Now be a real hero
and work for real progress, real ideals and real
success. This orgy of the predator human being is a
worn-out theme only fit for digestive purposes. Maybe
Walt Disney's Dinosaur is right: maybe all the bad of
this violence is predominantly the meateaters thing.
Can't we stop? (website)
Seen:
11.27.00. Dir.: Guy Ritchie, starring Brad Pitt. Of
this director we saw a movie earlier called Lock,
Stock and Two Smoking Barrels which he pretty much
repeated this time, be it that his budget permitted
him a more flashing presentation. Sometimes the movie
flashed beyond comprehension very fast associating up
and down the story with all different characters and
scenes. Still the puzzle can be assembled in the
course of the movie which has in effect the same charm
as his former one had. Again a bunch of rightout
gangsters are confronted with their own madness of
revenge and coercion, powerplay and illegal
activities. One group of gangsters tries to steal from
the other and all wrestle along about a diamond as big
as an egg. At some point all their mishap coincides
(pleasing the righteous audience immensely) and ends
in a hilarious shoot-out with only some 'decent types'
surviving, although... One sees the same ingredients
as used before, it is the same formula. One is acting
out a man-only society which knows nothing better than
to destroy itself in a violent game of power. The show
of characters is saved by the role played by Brad
Pitt, operating as an Irish Gypsy who's knuckles are
hard as steel, whose words are incomprehensible and
whose revenge is even more terrible than that of the
sitting gangsters. There is a lot of good wit and
entertainment and surely if one liked the first movie
this one will also entertain. For newcomers though it
might seem a bit chaotic and a bit too onesided in its
perverse masculinity. It is made as boys-fun for boys.
What if they would compete for woman in stead of the
feeble and cold of stolen riches for itself? The
latter is, I think, more to the common understanding
of crime.(website)
Seen:
11.27.00. A Walt Disney Production. Starring: the
computer.
From the
BBC-series we know the magnificent realistic of the
reconstruction of more or less authentic Dino's in
their more or less original habitat. This Animation of
Disney is of the same quality, with the same
computeranimated dino's in a like wise natural
landscape. This time we see the Disney-dino, talking
and all, inviting us to identify with the beasts and
search for our own cultural themes in their lives.
They are now also cute and endearing dino's with an
altogether human heart, being in love and attached to
kith and kin, leadership and loyalty. The star of the
movie is a Inguanadon baby growing up with some type
of monkeys who raise them on their island playing with
them all their lives. How the egg got there is shown
in the the opening scene with the breathtaking
fly-overs one expected. Then the story takes
off: a meteor storm destroys the old habitat and a
herd of veggie-saurusses travels to the breeding
grounds of which they are uncertain whether they can
reach them at all. They travel trough the desert
craving for water headed by the macho type competing
with our hero who fell in love with his daughter.
Meanwhile the bad carnosaurs - raptors and t-rex-types
- follow them awaiting the weaker of them. Without too
much disclosing of the story it must be said that it
catches ones heart. These humanized animals live a
real life and have all kinds of emotions and
adventures thus making a story with familiar human
themes. Interesting is to see how all the bad guys are
meateaters and the good, though surely heavy and also
tough macho-guys are the veggies. In the earliest days
thus we still knew what good and bad was. Thank You
Walt Disney, this is the progress of the preaching by
cinema. Congratulated! (website)
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