I was reminded the other day of a wonderful movie I had forgotten: Me And You and Everyone We Know. It stars Amanda July, who also wrote and directed this intimate study of how we connect with people and the things that motivate us to do so: attraction, desire, loneliness, fear, curiosity, and the need to find someone who shares our unique perspective.
The hand-burning stunt at the beginning lends a sense of foreboding (hint: use rubbing alcohol instead of lighter fluid) but no malevolence ever comes of it, or anything else for that matter. Instead, we just experience the diversity of human relationships, their ebb and flow, and how they create something that eventually feels like wisdom.
A detailed review can be found here (spoiler alert: Roger Ebert gives a pretty concise rundown on the various plotlines). If you haven't seen the movie, just forget the review and go rent it. It's that good.
