I watched the movie Mona Lisa Smile sometime back. I am sure Wikipedia will do a good job describing about the general theme of the movie, so I will not. But as the movie got over, it had mildly stirred me. The underlying theme of the movie, seemingly, is feminism. But to me, it makes an attempt to awaken that human spirit dwelling in one and all; and that has nothing to do with gender really. For the seeker, the movie inspires and challenges her to reach where her heart points to. It is about fierce honesty to oneself and the great original work that is born of it.

The protagonist, an Art teacher, makes a reference to  Van Gogh‘s Sunflowers and The Starry Night, the contemporary masterpieces. These, as all his other paintings, were painted by the artiste of what he felt and not what he saw. He refused to conform to popular taste and went where his feelings and spirit led him. His paintings appeared crude and child like to the world initially. It took years for them to understand his technique, and to see “the way his brushstrokes seemed to make the night sky move”…

(Reproduced below is The Starry Night, courtesy Wikipedia)

And  Van Gogh never sold a painting in his lifetime. What honesty! What courage! What art… for the sake of art!