Hiruharama (Jerusalem)
You catch a glimpse of the steeple of St Joseph’s Church some way ahead of actually driving into Hiruharama (Jerusalem) up the Whanganui awa (river). It peers out at you from between the over grown fringe of tree foliage hiding its eyes. Foliage, like hair that no mother I know wouldn’t hesitate to brush out of their child’s eyes.
Hiruharama
I feel the soft embrace of the final bend in the road usher us quietly into Hiruharama. It feels like a pulling-to-oneself kind of embrace. Into the arms of someone we have no wish to be apart from. I have a moment with this thought. Two blue signposts with their white border trim stand at attention like local constabulary. Despite being somewhat off the beaten track I appreciate their bi-lingual good manners and greeting to me to ‘Hiruharama’ and ‘Jerusalem’. We’d arrived.
I don’t often take photographs of sign posts, in fact I never do, but something made me this time. Perhaps I was being a bit dramatic. I’ve been sick all this while. The cancer is back. It’s a nuisance, it makes me feel tired, symptomatic only of the fact that it exists. I sense that deep feeling of chaos rising up inside me again. It’s unnerving, especially for someone like me who has been a go-to person most of my life. I was determined to come up the awa. I’ll always feel grateful to Craig for bringing me.
Tell me, who do go-to people go to? They go to a good man. A man of twists and turns. A man whose actions define his intent. And what does he give them that the others do not? A sonata written in flesh and blood. The Sonata of a Good Man. It’s original music written for the film ‘The Lives of Others’ by Gabriel Yared. The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen) is a 2006 German drama film, marking the feature film debut of Writer and Director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. It’s a film that resonates deeply with Craig.
The Lives of Others
“Set in the former East Germany (known then as the German Democratic Republic) in the early 1980s, The Lives of Others revolves around Stasi agent Gerd Wiesler (Ulrich Mühe). An expert interrogator and committed Socialist, he’s one of the star officers of this Secret Police Force and a personal friend of his section chief, who has bigger ambitions for both of them.
For his latest assignment, he has been ordered to bug the apartment of the country’s leading playwright, Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch) following a tip-off from a high-ranking minister that the writer may have Western sympathies. At first, he goes about his task with eager efficiency, wiring every inch of his target’s dwelling and setting up shop in the abandoned attic where he makes note of everything Dreyer says and does, including all of the intimate moments he shares with his girlfriend and leading lady, Christa (Martina Gedeck).
Wiesler’s attitude changes, however, when he learns the real reason behind the operation: the same minister who gave the order to bug Dreyman is also in love with Christa and simply wanted to gather enough damning information to get rid of his rival. The knowledge that his skills are being used for something so tawdry and selfish infuriates the idealistic officer and leads him to secretly shift his role in this whole affair from spy to protector.”
There is something deeply protective about being here at Hiruharama finally. As we drive up the short winding road to the the church, the old convent, and the grounds, I feel my heart in my mouth for different reasons this time. Inside the gate, at the top of the hill the Hydrangeas are a deep soft tea-rose colour. My heart melts. The peacefulness is totally pervasive. It’s as serene a feeling as you can get. In that single moment I never want to leave, but I know I will.
