Aw.ay We Go (by Craig)

We went to the movies yesterday. It was Mirne's birthday, so her choice. Today it is my birthday, so we'll probably go to a movie of my choice. Either way, we have pretty much the same taste in movies so it doesn't really matter who chooses what we see - it's just nice to do it this way for our birthdays. Anyway, we went to see "Aw.ay We Go". A word of warning for any babyloss mamas and papas out there whose nerves are still super raw (they'll always be raw - I mean those of you for whom this is a relatively new thing) - there is a scene in the movie with a babyloss couple.

CAUTION - spoiler alert for the plot of the movie. If you haven't seen it and have read the warning about the content above and still want to see it, you might want to see it before reading the rest of my post.

The movie is about a young (well, they're in their thirties, so they're young to us) couple, Burt and Verona, who are having their first baby. They moved to some out-of-the-way place to be near his parents, and then his parents decide to move the month before the baby is due. So, they decide they will move also, and the movie is about their search for the perfect place to bring up their (unborn) child. Terribly optimistic, we all know, but that's what most people seem to do when they get pregnant. They visit many old friends and family members, some of whom are very quirky.

The crunch time comes when they visit Munch and Tom in Montreal. They have an adopted family of about 5 children of varying ages, but I knew there was a reason for this when Munch asked Verona if there had been any problems yet. I knew immediately that she was a babyloss mama. Anyway, the couple go out and have a lot of fun, but they end up at a bar with a kind of Karaoke thing happening with people doing dance acts as well as singing. Anyway, Verona goes to the bathroom (as you do when you're 6 months pregnant) and we see just the two men talking. Tom looks around for Munch, and we finally see her pole dancing, but in a very slow, sad, and poignant way. The song being played is Oh! Sweet Nuthin' by Velvet Underground, which is perfect. Part of the lyrics say:

Oh sweet nuthin'

She ain't got nothing at all

Oh sweet nuthin'

She ain't got nothing at all

She ain't got nothing at all

Oh sweet nuthin'

Tom explains to Burt that Munch has just had her fifth miscarriage. There is no explanation of how pregnant she was, or whether this was a miscarriage or a stillbirth (most people don't seem to know the difference), but it is obvious that he is deeply affected by this. He stares at Munch, sadly, while she dances, sadly. He can barely talk, and it is obvious that he feels as useless to help her as I always feel with Mirne when she is feeling particularly sad. It is a beautiful scene, which I think many people will not understand, but if you want to show your non-babyloss friends what it is like, if they just don't get it, send them along to see this film and tell them that if anything, this scene is a little under-done in the grief stakes.

I found myself crying uncontrollably in the cinema, to the point where I was so sad I almost felt that I had to leave. I'm glad I stayed for the rest of the film, because it is quite cool (and quirky, as I mentioned), but I was so sad I think I will have to see it again to really know what happens. In fact, I might need to see it several more times before I can remember the scenes immediately following this one.