Quatrain CCXIII: Dead of Red
When red fruit ripens ‘neath the silent loom,
And blood of kings runs thin upon the ground,
Then watchers blind shall whisper still of doom,
While death walks soft where laughter once was found.
It’s not often that the Good Book speaks of fruit, so when it does, it is wise to shut your trap for a second and pay attention. Yes? Yes. So, strawberries! Modest and great-tasting squishy little things they may be, but strawberries inspired, quite literally, an entire universe of movies…
Strawberry Mansion (2021)
As with all great & beautiful things, the strawberry started small. It started out as… a mansion. Yes. A very weird & wonderful mansion, indeed. It belongs to Arabella Isadora (Penny Fuller), an elderly lady who lives in the titular house in the year 2035. In this strange & near future, the government is taxing our dreams, and it is up to Dream Auditor James Preble (Kentucker Audley, also directing) to find out why ‘Bella’ is unwilling to submit her dreams to be taxed. What follows is a bizarre trip through what a high school art project would look like if it were made into a low budget indie film about dreams, fantasy, and imagination. So, paper-mache frogs play the saxophone, brightly colored things appear at random, as do buffaloes, and the whole thing is just utterly strange and fantastic. I loved it.
The strawberry started here. But it grew bigger.
Wimbledon (2004)
Because up next, it started representing the world’s most famous tennis tournament. (For all you Netflixing philistines out there: strawberries and cream are a staple at Wimbledon.) It did so in the form of this fluffy romcom, starring Paul Bettany and Kirsten Dunst. What’s that? You want the story? No, you don’t. Because you’ve heard it a million times before. I mean, it’s a romcom. Not Ingmar Bergman or something. Speaking of which…
And the strawberry grew bigger.
The Seventh Seal (1957)
Wouldn’t you know it! His greatness himself, yes. And his magnificent movie about Antonius Block, a 14th-century knight, and his cynical squire Jöns, who return home to find their land plague-ridden and generally very bleak, black & white, and without much fun or hope. So, it is kind of weird that when he encounters Death, instead of embracing him and thanking him for liberating him from his dreary existence, he challenges him to a game of chess, thinking that while the game continues, he may survive. I mean, why? Why on Dirt would you want to stay alive in a time period that has become synonym for brutal and barbaric?
I know why. Because of the strawberries. He eats them with a bowl of milk (gross!), yet it seems to make him really happy. And of great content. Just eating strawberries, at dusk, with some friends. That’s all you need to be alive and happy, apparently. So, suck on that, Death! With milk and cookies.
And it grew bigger.
Across the Universe (2007)
After having played chess with Death himself, the strawberry is now forever. At least its fields are. Forever and ever, and spanning the cosmos itself, yes. We meet a young British dockworker named Jude (Jim Sturgess) who travels to the United States in the 1960s. There he falls in love with Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood), an American college student, while both become caught up in the turbulent era of the Vietnam War, political protests, and cultural change. Their story unfolds through a series of musical numbers based on songs by The Beatles.
And the strawberry? It witnessed it all. This beautiful story of love, death, and war, eclipsing along a firmament of bugs with guitars, and culminating in the greatest of all victories: that of the holy heart itself! Yes! Fields of the stuff, forever! As far as the eye can see! And then, even more! And then… And then…
And then it imploded. Jelly everywhere. Luckily, it was in black and white.
Wild Strawberries (1957)
Because sadly, we have to turn back now. Back to planet Dirt, and wallow. Wallow in stark, bleak, and monochrome loneliness. Emptiness. Pointlessness. Let’s thank Mr. Bergman for once again killing the mood drastically, fantastically. Because he made another strawberry movie! All very grave and doom-laden again and full of soul-crushing melancholy, images of death, and childhood traumas. Ugh. I mean, lighten up, dude! What’s with that? Put some color into that desolate and bare existence! Some red, perhaps… The Blood-Red Stain of the Dying Strawberry! (Also known as: jam.)
The story follows Professor Isak Borg, an elderly man who sets out on a long drive to receive an honorary degree. Along the way, he is confronted with memories of his past, lost opportunities, and strained relationships. Through dreams, flashbacks, and encounters with strangers, he reflects on aging, regret, and the meaning of his life.
Yeah. So, is it possible to apply an adjective like ‘boring’ to a noun like ‘masterpiece’? The Book of MoMo says, Yes. Yes, it is.
The Beatles had it all wrong, you see. We all do NOT live in a yellow submarine. Instead, all existence is incorporated into the Great and Never-Ending Strawberry. Let us all put whipped cream on it and bow down. The Good Book has spoken. Now goeth forth and germinateth.
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