I've been watching "Wallander" -
a series about a police investigator named Wallander, starring Kenneth Branagh, one of my favorite actors. I just watched "Conspiracy" several days ago - the story of a meeting of high-ranking Nazi German officials who planned the "Final Solution," that is, the extermination of the Jews from Europe en total, and Germany in particular. His character, Reinhard Heydrich, was a spot-on portrayal of a true sociopath.
But...back to "Wallander."
Branagh's character, a troubled man, policeman with a conscience and compassion, struggling to always "do the right thing" not only for himself but for others, has an aging father in the story. His father, a brilliant man in his own right, is suffering from dementia, and as he flip-flops between reality and his brain-deprived view of what is really happening to him and around him, has these moments of true lucidity that just make you grab an extra helping of air in order to capture the moment.
Povel, Kurt Wallander's father in the series, played by David Warner, an actor with over 200 movie titles to his own credits, is quite ill and has just asked his son to take him home. He doesn't wish to die in a bed alone in some hospital ward. When they arrive at Povel's home, a lovely spot by the sea, Kurt gets out of the car and says he'll open the studio. Povel has always been a painter, landscapes were his passion, and they are beautiful paintings. He spent most of his time in the studio. But Povel says "No, ahhhh, finished. Just wanna sit." He turns to Kurt and says, "You don't look do you? You don't look at the world. You just drive straight through it. Stop. And look." He adds, "Go on, off you go. I'll be all right." Povel heads toward the sea shore to a familiar spot, a lovely wooden bench overlooking the sea. His wife says to Kurt, "I'll sit with him." Povel turns once again and speaks to Kurt. "Find someone to sit with you. You're not strong enough to do it on your own. Nobody is. Find someone to sit with you."
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