Footage: Inane Debates over Verrocchio's Putto with Dolphin
Channel: Scenoptica
Date: 2022-11-10

The conversation:

Joaquim: Yeah it is.
Lelly: No, it's not. It doesn't even—
J: It's a cherub.
L: What is a cherub?
J: Basically a baby angel.
L: Oh, a baby angel. No it's not Cupid. So, I mean... is it growing up to be an angel?
J: They never grow up. 
L: Oh... kinda find that cute... you don't like it yet you take a picture of it.
J: Trying to capture the water.
L: Why? It's CLICHÉ.

Is a putto a cherub? Is filming water cliché? Lovers of Renaissance art will bristle at these idle transgressions against the Putto with Dolphin (albeit a copy) by Andrea del Verrocchio, the teacher of Leonardo da Vinci, but on this very early morning, subtle appreciation wasn't on our mind. And so, the answers to those questions don't really matter, for the outcome of the debate itself doesn't matter. This was just idle conversation, the contents of which would have been forgotten forever had I not been filming something at the time. 

In cinema, conversations are driven by necessity; they move the plot forward or punctuate some point; they mean something. But life is more diverse than that. Some conversations will start or end relationships, and others will be what gives relationships their flavour—the idle ones, used to pass the time or which serve as an excuse to spend time with someone. Watching this back, I'm honestly amused by the nonsensicalness of the back-and-forth with my wife, who has no familiarity with Christian mythology (and thinks filming a fountain is cliché), but more than the subject of the discussion, what I hear is her voice, and for that alone, I will cherish this little video. To punctuate my point: for most of life, what we discuss isn't the important thing. What is important is that we talk to each other.

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