The Movies of My Life : A Novel

Beltr?n Soler is from Chile, a land in constant movement. A seismologist who knows more about the science of tectonic plate movement than about life, he is cocooned in a world of seismic data, scientific articles, and natural disasters. Beltr?n believes he can protect himself from the world around him by losing himself to theoretical pursuits, but thousands of feet above the ground he so meticulously analyzes, on a flight to L.A. -- the capital of film and the city in which he was raised -- he has a conversation that sparks in him a firestorm of nostalgia. Suddenly, Beltr?n finds himself recalling the fifty most important movies of his life -- films both precious and absurd that affected him during his childhood and adolescence in the 1960s and '70s. From Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory to Close Encounters of the Third Kind to kitschy disaster films such as Earthquake!, as well as cult classics of '70s sci-fi such as Logan's Run, Beltr?n connects with his past by remembering the films he saw, the people with whom he saw them, and even the theaters in which they were shown. Recalling one movie after another, he reconstructs the unusual history of his eccentric and dysfunctional family, coming to terms with his obsession with the movies that helped define him -- often whether he wanted them to or not.Set in the oddly parallel worlds of Nixon's suburban California and Pinochet's Santiago de Chile, this ingenious novel throws us into the claustrophobic world of an adolescent who tries to escape from a tumultuous and fragmented existence, one caught between two languages, two cultures, and two families that watch the same movies. Written in the eloquent, compelling, and often hilarious style that has brought Alberto Fuguet world renown, The Movies of My Life is a book about film and about how movies embed themselves in our souls, helping us all share a blinding fondness for the magic of make-believe. "Beltran Soler is from Chile, a land in constant movement. A seismologist who knows more about the science of tectonic plate movement than about life, he is cocooned in a world of seismic data, scientific articles, and natural disasters. Beltran believes he can protect himself from the world around him by losing himself to theoretical pursuits, but thousands of feet above the ground he so meticulously analyzes, on a flight to L.A. - the capital of film and the city in which he was raised - he has a conversation that sparks in him a firestorm of nostalgia. Suddenly Beltran finds himself recalling the fifty most important movies of his life - films both precious and absurd that affected him during his childhood and adolescence in the 1960s and '70s." "From Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory to Close Encounters of the Third Kind to kitschy disaster films such as Earthquake!, as well as cult classics of '70s sci-fi such as Logan's Run, Beltran connects with his past by remembering the films he saw, the people with whom he saw them, and even the theaters in which they were shown. Recalling one movie after another, he reconstructs the unusual history of his eccentric and dysfunctional family, coming to terms with his obsession with the movies that helped define him - often whether he wanted them to or not." "Set in the oddly parallel worlds of Nixon's suburban California and Pinochet's Santiago de Chile, this ingenious novel throws us into the claustrophobic world of an adolescent who tries to escape from a tumultuous and fragmented existence, one caught between two languages, two cultures, and two families that watch the same movies. Movies of My Life is a book about film and about how movies embed themselves in our souls, helping us all share a blinding fondness for the magic of make-believe."--Jacket Title Page......Page 3 Dedication Page......Page 4 Contents......Page 5 Sunday January 14, 2001 6:43 A.M. Santiago de Chile......Page 15 Sunday 7:14 P.M. In a TransVip van on Alameda Bernardo O’Higgins Near the Universidad de Chile, Santiago......Page 25 Sunday 7:25 P.M. In a TransVip van on Alameda Bernardo O’Higgins Near Estación Central, Santiago......Page 27 Sunday 7:36 P.M. In a TransVip van on Alameda Bernardo O’Higgins Near Pila del Ganso, Santiago......Page 28 Sunday 8:41 P.M. Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez......Page 32 Sunday 8:57 P.M. Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez......Page 35 Sunday 9:15 A.M. Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez......Page 39 Sunday On board LanChile Flight 511 A Boeing 767 on the SCL/LIM leg of the SCL/LAX flight......Page 46 Monday 12:03 A.M local time Temperature: 13°C......Page 48 Monday On board LanChile Flight 511 A Boeing 767 on the LIM/LAX leg of the SCL/LAX flight......Page 51 Monday On board LanChile Flight 511 A Boeing 767 on the LIM/LAX leg of the SCL/LAX flight......Page 55 Tuesday January 16, 2001 9:23 A.M.......Page 153 Wednesday January 17, 2001 10:43 A.M.......Page 287 Acknowledgments......Page 296 About the Author......Page 297 Praise......Page 298 Also by Alberto Fuguet......Page 299 Credits......Page 300 Copyright Notice......Page 301 About the Publisher......Page 302 Thirty-something seismologist Beltrán Soler knows about earthquakes, but he doesn't quite grasp the notion that life, like the tectonic plate movement he studies, is in constant motion.One day he begins to remember the fifty most important movies of his life, ones he saw as a child and teenager growing up in California and Chile. As his mind ranges from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory to Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Beltrán reconnects with his past. Through his cinematic journey he ultimately comes to terms with his eccentric family's search for what makes the world physically shift around them -- and for the other, not so easy to measure, cultural shifts that throw us all off balance in different ways. Thirty-something seismologist Beltran Soler knows about earthquakes, but he doesn't quite grasp the notion that life, like the tectonic plate movement he studies, is in constant motion.One day he begins to remember the fifty most important movies of his life, ones he saw as a child and teenager growing up in California and Chile. As his mind ranges from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory to Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Beltran reconnects with his past. Through his cinematic journey he ultimately comes to terms with his eccentric family's search for what makes the world physically shift around them -- and for the other, not so easy to measure, cultural shifts that throw us all off balance in different ways. Thirty-something seismologist Beltrán Soler knows about earthquakes, but he doesn't quite grasp the notion that life, like the tectonic plate movement he studies, is in constant motion. One day he begins to remember the fifty most important movies of his life, ones he saw as a child and teenager growing up in California and Chile. As his mind ranges from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory to Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Beltrán reconnects with his past. Through his cinematic journey he ultimately comes to terms with his eccentric family's search for what makes the world physically shift around them--and for the other, not so easy to measure, cultural shifts that throw us all off balance in different ways