2002-11-18 | 8:27 p.m.

corduroy licorice had never sat through a whole porno movie. he always walked out after the coming attractions.

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film forum du jour

daughter from danang is the moving documentary about a 22-year-old woman named heidi who returns to vietnam to find her birth mother, mai thi kim, after being raised by a not-so-loving adoptive single mom in the united states.

her birth mother had given her up at age six as part of "operation babylift," a kind of pr campaign the u.s. ran during the vietnam war to shine a more flattering light on its participation in the conflict. the premise was that orphaned (or not) children of vietnamese women and u.s. soldiers could be sent to america for a chance at a better life. fearing that her illegitimate, half-asian daughter would be mistreated or killed, mai sent the child overseas.

more than a dozen years later, a journalist, through an adoption agency, was able to help heidi reunite with kim. the film begins as heidi flies to vietnam for the reunion. it begins on a wonderful note as heidi sobs in the endless embraces, kisses and hand-holding that the welcoming extended family give to her. they are terribly poor, but greet her with hospitality.

as time goes on, the family begins to make modest requests of heidi to help them financially and she loses it. it was so painful to watch this woman reject this new family when money matters arose. while she wasn't living that large in the u.s. herself, it was obvious by the diamond-ringed hand clutched to her forehead while crying that she was much better off than this family who didn't even have running water.

although they sincerely apologized and reassured her that they would understand if she said no, she wrote them off. i couldn't believe the incredible selfishness of this woman who went to this family hoping that they would fill the hole in her heart, only to shut them off when they asked her to fill the hole in their bank account. i left the theater so damn angry at her, but then started to think. how many times do i walk by a person in need and try to pretend they aren't there? even though they aren't blood relatives, the lesson still applies. quite the eye-opener.

far from heaven is the breathtakingly beautiful creation of writer/director todd haynes. it is an homage to the 1950s melodramas of director douglas sirk. jewel tone colors drench the screen with luscious daubs. at times, i was a bit distracted by the cool, mid-century furnishings--finding things to covet in almost every set. the art direction is begging for an oscar.

julianne moore brought her wincing-through-the-smiles executive's wife character to life and made a potentially unlikeable person into a very sympathetic soul. dennis quaid was terrific as her conflicted husband and dennis haybert turned in a touchingly subtle performance as the gardener with the heart of gold. the script was true to the time period in delightful ways, using the quaint slang of the day and often leaving just the right amount unsaid. a brilliant gem of a truly american movie.

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this weekend i tried yoga for the first time. is it supposed to make you walk like a duck afterwards? if so, i may take to this stuff like said fowl to water.

my new gym offers a couple of yoga classes, so i decided to see what all the fuss was about. just why does christy turlington have her leotard in such a knot over this enduring exercise fad? and will i really get cut biceps like madonna if i can morph myself into the shape of a pretzel on a weekly basis?

the teacher, a gray-haired, gay gentleman with a booming (very non-zen) voice ordered us newbies to the front. i ended up sitting within an om's throw of him, and he kept me under a watchful eye. at one point in the "down dog" position, he grabbed my thighs to get me into the right posture. a little too full service, if you ask me.

today i noticed little fingertip-sized bruises on the front of my legs. i realized that there's got to be something wrong with my social life when the only way to get my thighs grasped by a man is when my homosexual yoga teacher chides me for doing the doggy position incorrectly.

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