I recently saw Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien’s "Flight of the Red Balloon" at the Paris theater and "Harold and Kumar," at Muvico in Boca. Such is the paradox of my life. More importantly,  I can honestly say I don’t know what either of these films are about.

The plot of "Harold and Kumar" escapes me because I went to see it with my mom by accident and we left after I’d say a minute or two.  I found the prison guard terrifying and my mom was just beside herself from the get go.  We were hoping to see "The Visitor" but it was sold out, so we, inappropriately, opted for Harold.  On the way home my mother said, "God that was awful, but wasn’t it funny when they thought they said ‘bomb’ instead of bong?" and I said, "no."

The plot of the Balloon movie escapes me because apparently insanely cool film makers aren’t required to bother with plots. I hope to be that cool one day and write a book without a plot.  I’m going to call it a blog. Anyway, whoever played the balloon was excellent.  The rest of the cast played their roles with equal  subtlety, except for Juliette Binoche, who can now join my list of actresses who shouldn’t quit. Until now, if you recall, it was just a one person list. Oddly, Juliette still looks the same age as she did in Chocolat, which is weird because she was never young, and I’m beginning to think she’s never going to be old. At first I thought it might be her hands.  They’re sort of older looking than the rest of her, and yet younger.  And then I thought it was the shape of her mouth, which is sort of babyish and yet old ladyish. Whatever it is, there’s something wrong with her for not aging in one particular direction. She’s pretty though, and, like I said, very good at her job.

The jury is still out on "Harold and Kumar," seeing as how I never actually saw it, but I wouldn’t go so far as to recommend the Balloon movie either, at least not to anyone I know. But for those of you with a great deal of patience and a deep appreciation for the beauty and nothingness that is every day life, I’d say wait for the DVD.