Going "Up"

This weekend, I watched the movie “Up” once again. I got in the mood when I saw this link from The Wedding Chicks, which shows a couple using the movie as inspiration for their engagement photos.

There is something so incredibly special about this movie. Comparing “Up” to other movies in the Pixar pantheon of films, there is no question that some of the other movies do far better when it comes to telling stories and creating worlds and characters – such as “Wall-E,” “Finding Nemo” and “The Incredibles.” But I think that “Up” has something that none of the others do. And it’s that impeccable scene.

It’s track three on the DVD, and it’s simply called “Married Life.” But the truth is that it’s a sequence so perfect that I’m sure that film classes will talk about it, and why it works so well. There are no words, but rather Michael Giacchino’s beautiful and memorable score bringing back the movies of yore, and the images. Pixar understands the image possibly better than anyone, and how a simple movement can affect the audience.

And what does this sequence show? Really, it shows a life – the life of the main character, Carl, with his wife Ellie. Through picnics, coins in a jar and even in ties, it tells us everything we wanted to know about them – their joy and love, their hopes and smiles, their deferred dreams and their broken hearts. We see life in its purest form – in the little moments that show us everything we ever wanted to know about two people and their relationship.

It’s enough to make you need to break out the hankies. My cousin Karen said she cried so much during that sequence she had a hard time enjoying the rest of the movie, because she was curled up on the couch with a box of tissues. But for me, that sequence took a simply cute kid movie to something that almost reached sublime.

I don’t remember a movie from last year being so in touch with humanity and how we behave. Not even “The Hurt Locker,” the Oscar's best picture winner, came close to touching the soul and understanding people in their pure form, and “Up” did it in only five minutes. In many movies, we strive to see characters that we can identify with and be a part of. We don’t go to the movies to see fancy art – we go to feel something. It doesn’t matter what you feel, but it should reach you in a way that nothing else can.

Sometimes, when we go to the movies, we need to see ourselves on the screen. I realized how powerful this sequence was tonight simply hanging out with friends. We were laughing and eating, and eventually we all were dancing and singing to the music playing. It may not seem like much to most people – in fact, it’s probably not even a blip in the time-space continuum. But the love that we shared was so obvious in just this one moment of our lives, and it's something that I will embrace during dark times.

It’s a little slice of life that means everything in the long run. When I see Carl and Ellie, I see Ari and me, me and my friends or even me and my family being in each other’s lives and celebrating life and all the little moments that make it special, at the same time coming to terms at what may be the things that are unobtainable (I still try, although I’m not very successful, not to get a tear in my eye when I see Carl and Ellie at the doctor’s office) or dreams that we have put on the back burner.

Time passes, and people grow, move on, or come together. But some things will never change. Hopefully, among those it will be the love and the laughter we bring. We will see each other with new eyes, embrace life as it comes, and hold on to each other and go forward. I feel that this is the Jewish way of life.

So, in honor of seeing things with new eyes all while being true to home, I give you this brisket recipe. It’s a new take on an old favorite, and I happen to love the flavors, as it’s exactly what I wanted to achieve – a barbecue taste cooked in a Jewish fashion. Enjoy!

REINA’S BRISKET

2 large onions

36 cloves of garlic

1 2-pound brisket (see Quick Tip)

¾ cup ketchup

¼ cup soy sauce

3 tablespoons coffee grounds

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons black pepper

Preheat the over to 325 degrees.

Chop the onion thickly and layer at the bottom of a roasting dish with garlic cloves. Place the brisket on top.

In a small bowl, combine ketchup, soy sauce, coffee grounds, brown sugar and black pepper. Thin out slightly with water and pour over the brisket. Cover with foil.

Put in the over for 3 to 3 1/2 hours, spooning the juices over the brisket every so often to keep the meat moist. Once out of the oven, let rest for 10 to 15 minutes to redistribute the juices. Serve hot.

QUICK TIP: A brisket can be a very expensive cut of meat in the kosher world, so make sure that you pick out a good one, otherwise you may end up cooking it for even longer. The most important tip is to make sure it has enough fat – otherwise it will not get tender enough.