{"id":98306,"date":"2016-05-18T14:00:10","date_gmt":"2016-05-18T18:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/?p=98306"},"modified":"2016-05-18T14:07:30","modified_gmt":"2016-05-18T18:07:30","slug":"and-thou","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2016\/05\/18\/and-thou\/","title":{"rendered":"And Thou"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I pity you, because presumably you\u2014unlike me\u2014do not own an apron that features a loaf of bread, a jug of wine, and the word\u00a0thou<\/em>. So how could you possibly celebrate the birthday of\u00a0Omar Khayy\u00e1m? You could read from the\u00a0Rubaiyat<\/em>, of course. If you happen to be in\u00a0Nishapur, you could visit his stunning mausoleum<\/a>. Or you could try a little light non-Euclidean geometry or take out your telescope and ponder his many astronomical discoveries \u2026<\/p>\n

Even if you do all of those things, though\u2014even if you own the same apron I do\u2014you can still devote an hour or so to 1957\u2019s\u00a0Omar Khayy\u00e1m<\/a>. \u201c<\/em>In this dramatic adventure,\u201d Paramount\u2019s capsule description says, \u201ca Persian philosopher poet attempts to thwart conspiring assassins.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Alternately titled\u00a0The Life, Loves and Adventures of Omar Khayy\u00e1m<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0The Loves of Omar Khayy\u00e1m<\/em>, the movie was directed by\u00a0William Dieterle and filmed\u2014visibly\u2014on the Paramount lot. Cornel Wilde makes a singularly unconvincing\u00a0Omar Khayy\u00e1m, and it\u2019s as goofy and Orientalist and ahistorical as one can possibly imagine. (Although, who knows? Maybe\u00a0Omar Khayy\u00e1m\u00a0was<\/em>\u00a0a famous ladies\u2019 man of the Persian court pursued by assassins.) But what really catapults it to\u00a0oddity status is the presence of the novelty singer Yma Sumac, known for her wide and bird-like range and wild peculiarity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There are many days when the sheer bulk of information overwhelms with its demands. There\u2019s too much to love, to hate, to appreciate ironically. And then you see Yma Sumac shrieking in the face of a hunky\u00a0Omar Khayy\u00e1m as he ponders the mysteries of the universe and you\u2019re glad of the instant access we have to these things. This belongs to all of us now, for good or ill. It is what we have.\u00a0As Khayy\u00e1m said, \u201cBe happy for this moment. This moment is your life.\u201d<\/p>\n