i’m really bad at music. i’ve no aptitude for it whatsoever. i envy people who can play an instrument, who can carry a tune or those who can easily recognize a note or two. lucky them.
last night i was watching a local reality program cum talent show. one of the contestants sang a song with the phrase "point of no return". my musically-challenged mind; couldn’t pinpoint where i heard the song before. listening to the song actually gave me the creeps ‘coz i could remember vividly the reaction i had the very first time i heard it. it’s weird, really. thus, as soon as i had the chance, i tried looking up the song on the internet. voila!… there goes my answer: the phantom of the opera.
the phantom was one of the nicest movies i’ve seen last year [or was it early this year]. so i’m humoring myself by incorporating here the scene that for some odd reason made me cry; my favorite scene actually.
CHRISTINE (AMINTA) enters. She takes off her cloak and sits down. Looks about her. No- one. She starts on an apple. The PHANTOM, disguised as DON JUAN pretending to be PASSARINO, emerges. He now wears PASSARINO’s robe, the cowl of which hides his face. His first words startle her)
DON JUAN (PHANTOM)
You have come here
in pursuit of
your deepest urge,
in pursuit of
that wish,
which till now
has been silent,
silent . . .
I have brought you,
that our passions
may fuse and merge -
in your mind
you’ve already
succumbed to me
dropped all defences
completely succumbed to me -
now you are here with me:
no second thoughts,
you’ve decided,
decided . . .
Past the point
of no return -
no backward glances:
the games we’ve played
till now are at
an end . . .
Past all thought
of "if" or "when" -
no use resisting:
abandon thought,
and let the dream
descend . . .
What raging fire
shall flood the soul?
What rich desire
unlocks its door?
What sweet seduction
lies before
us . . .?
Past the point
of no return,
the final threshold -
what warm,
unspoken secrets
will we learn?
Beyond the point
of no return . . .
AMINTA (CHRISTINE)
You have brought me
to that moment
where words run dry,
to that moment
where speech
disappears
into silence,
silence . . .
I have come here,
hardly knowing
the reason why . . .
In my mind,
I’ve already
imagined our
bodies entwining
defenceless and silent -
and now I am
here with you:
no second thoughts,
I’ve decided,
decided . . .
Past the point
of no return -
no going back now:
our passion-play
has now, at last,
begun . . .
Past all thought
of right or wrong -
one final question:
how long should we
two wait, before
we’re one . . .?
When will the blood
begin to race
the sleeping bud
burst into bloom?
When will the flames,
at last, consume
us . . .?
BOTH
Past the point
of no return
the final threshold -
the bridge
is crossed, so stand
and watch it burn . . .
We’ve passed the point
of no return . . .
(By now the audience and the POLICE have realised that SIGNOR PIANGI is dead behind the curtain, and it is the PHANTOM who sings in his place. CHRISTINE
knows it too. As final confirmation, the PHANTOM sings):
PHANTOM
Say you’ll share with
me one
love, one lifetime . . .
Lead me, save me
from my solitude . . .
(He takes from his finger a ring and holds it out to her. Slowly she takes it and puts it on her finger.)
Say you want me
with you,
here beside you . . .
Anywhere you go
let me go too -
Christine
that’s all I ask of . . .
(We never reach the word ‘you’, for CHRISTINE quite calmly reveals the PHANTOM’S face to the audience. As the FORCES OF LAW close in on the horrifying skull, the PHANTOM sweeps his cloak around her and vanishes.
