A Look Into "Paulie"

My high school classmate, Paul, recommended to me the movie Paulie. I was very eager to see it when he asked me to look at obvious parallelism with my journal entries and our high school life back in 1982. I thought I'd try to find a copy of this movie. I didn't have to search far since my sister has a tape of the film.

Paulie is a about a parrot that was given to Marie (Hallie Kate Eisenberg), a little girl who stuttered. Paulie (voiced by Jay Mohr) learned to talk as Marie was undergoing speech therapy. Paulie was separated from Marie and was transferred from one owner to the next until he ended up in the basement of a research lab where he met Misha (Tony Shalhoub), the Russian janitor. Paulie related to Misha how he had tried to search for Marie all this time and why he was sent in the basement, away from sunlight and any companion. Misha formed a friendship with Paulie, nourished him and helped him search for Marie.

An Alumnus of Carlos P. Garcia High

My Classmate Paul's Insights About the Film "PAULIE"

Dear Irene,

Here are my insights upon viewing the film, Paulie.

The film has many flashbacks. And I am fond of reminiscing the past.

Oops, another point of similarity between us. We are both capable of recalling such minutest details of our lives with keen nostalgia. In fact, every time, before closing my eyes at night to sleep, (this may or may not be triggered by what I was doing all day) a rundown of all the past events would occur in my mind, from the very recent down to the remotest.

And since human mind can think on several thoughts almost simultaneously, my flashback takes me many, many years back through momentous events, scenarios, & unforgettable faces.

This is one of the many areas or facts of life, which I would like you and I to tackle on a forum of some sort. And this forum will end up in a piece of writing that will be contributing something in the aspect of (a) memory enhancement (b) study aids to help students (c) reading & writing that perhaps will help would-be writers like our kids to fan into flame the budding talent they have right now -- all geared towards helping our kids. Read more here.

On Talking and Speaking Up

Hi Paul,

Yeah, I am up for that forum that you were proposing. Hence, we are publishing our insights on Paulie, side by side. I hope that our readers will join us, as well.

I have watched the movie and have seen a few similarities in my life.

One parallelism I saw was this. Paulie was transferred from one owner to the next. I have lived and moved from one place to another. I grew up in Noveleta, Cavite. When I was 12, my parents separated and Mama, my sister and I went to live with my aunt's family in Pandacan, Manila. After a year, Mama was able to get back up on her feet and we moved back to Cavite, this time in Imus. Two years later, Mama applied for a working visa in Canada, was luckily approved and went abroad, leaving sis and me with Auntie in Pandacan. I lived with Papa for a little while in Sampaloc and then in Mandaluyong before both sis and I settled in Pasig, where I met my future husband, Ronald. And now I am here in Winnipeg, Canada.

I think there are two important themes in the film.