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Kirk Bage (1775 KP) rated Waltz With Bashir (2008) in Movies
Mar 11, 2021
This is the fifth in the series of films I would recommend to an alien to explain humanity. Not, as posted on the Instagram account, #6 – sorry for the confusion, I think I skipped #4 on there when posting for Schindler’s List a few weeks ago. Anyway… today’s choice is Ari Folman’s extraordinary antiwar film from 2008, which combines several forms of animation and live action footage to create a dreamlike landscape of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon, and one man’s journey to reconstruct his own lost memories of events.
I saw this when working at The Cameo Cinema in Edinburgh on release. It was the kind of thing I loved to discover that I wouldn’t normally have paid to see. Its impact on me was immediate, and I went back to see it 3 more times. When it was released on DVD in 2009, it became my go to movie to gift to people who I knew would love it but may not have even heard of it, due to its low profile arthouse origins. It was nominated in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the Oscars, but otherwise went under the radar in many ways. I still doubt it has been seen by a quarter of the people who would immediately say it was one of the most amazing films they had ever seen.
The animation may seem gimmicky at first, but once you identify its utility in this context and understand this is not a film for children, it becomes a transcendent trip of vibrant colour, emotion and… humanity. I would call it as indispensable an antiwar movie as Apocalypse Now, and in many ways so much more moving than that classic. If you have yet to see it, do yourself a favour, pick a time you can reflect and allow the dreamlike quality to carry you away.
I saw this when working at The Cameo Cinema in Edinburgh on release. It was the kind of thing I loved to discover that I wouldn’t normally have paid to see. Its impact on me was immediate, and I went back to see it 3 more times. When it was released on DVD in 2009, it became my go to movie to gift to people who I knew would love it but may not have even heard of it, due to its low profile arthouse origins. It was nominated in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the Oscars, but otherwise went under the radar in many ways. I still doubt it has been seen by a quarter of the people who would immediately say it was one of the most amazing films they had ever seen.
The animation may seem gimmicky at first, but once you identify its utility in this context and understand this is not a film for children, it becomes a transcendent trip of vibrant colour, emotion and… humanity. I would call it as indispensable an antiwar movie as Apocalypse Now, and in many ways so much more moving than that classic. If you have yet to see it, do yourself a favour, pick a time you can reflect and allow the dreamlike quality to carry you away.
Alex Kapranos recommended track Golden Apples by Country Teasers in Destroy All Human Life by Country Teasers in Music (curated)
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Lottie disney bookworm (1056 KP) rated Before the Crown in Books
Jun 14, 2020
Thank you to Netgalley and Flora Harding for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Before the Crown is a beautiful historical novel which delves deep into the romance between Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip of Greece, perhaps better known as Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh.
However, this is not a traditional romance and Harding does not hold back in laying out all the struggles Elizabeth and Philip faced. From the King and Queen's disapproval of the match for their daughter to the effects of public opinion on the relationship, Flora Harding covers it all.
Nor does this novel present the engagement as all hearts and flowers. Despite Elizabeth being attracted to Philip from a young age, this is initially a one-sided crush and a political arrangement for the couple. However, due to Flora Harding presenting her novel from the perspective of both Elizabeth and Philip, the reader is able to experience first hand the doubts, worries, longing and evolution of this infamous relationship.
I will be honest it is hard not to envision the Netflix series when you read this novel but it is by no means a copy cat situation. Harding provides such interesting insights into Philip's lifestyle and his family that it is hard not to pity the sacrifices that he makes in order to be with Elizabeth.
In 'The Crown' young Philip was a bit of a dirt bag and, although Harding's Prince is no angel, he is clearly fighting an uphill battle against the aristocracy's view of him. It is difficult not to sympathise.
I would have liked an author's note to know how much of the story is fact and how much is fiction or speculation. However, given the privacy of the Royal Family I imagine any factual insights are rare.
In summary, 'Before the Crown' is a captivating read, exploring the sacrifices and struggles where we often blindly see prejudice, all against the backdrop of WWII Europe.
Before the Crown is a beautiful historical novel which delves deep into the romance between Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip of Greece, perhaps better known as Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh.
However, this is not a traditional romance and Harding does not hold back in laying out all the struggles Elizabeth and Philip faced. From the King and Queen's disapproval of the match for their daughter to the effects of public opinion on the relationship, Flora Harding covers it all.
Nor does this novel present the engagement as all hearts and flowers. Despite Elizabeth being attracted to Philip from a young age, this is initially a one-sided crush and a political arrangement for the couple. However, due to Flora Harding presenting her novel from the perspective of both Elizabeth and Philip, the reader is able to experience first hand the doubts, worries, longing and evolution of this infamous relationship.
I will be honest it is hard not to envision the Netflix series when you read this novel but it is by no means a copy cat situation. Harding provides such interesting insights into Philip's lifestyle and his family that it is hard not to pity the sacrifices that he makes in order to be with Elizabeth.
In 'The Crown' young Philip was a bit of a dirt bag and, although Harding's Prince is no angel, he is clearly fighting an uphill battle against the aristocracy's view of him. It is difficult not to sympathise.
I would have liked an author's note to know how much of the story is fact and how much is fiction or speculation. However, given the privacy of the Royal Family I imagine any factual insights are rare.
In summary, 'Before the Crown' is a captivating read, exploring the sacrifices and struggles where we often blindly see prejudice, all against the backdrop of WWII Europe.
Taskmaster
8.8
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Taskmaster is a British comedy panel game show originally created by British comedian Alex Horne...
OffMaps 2 · Offline Maps for Travelers
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"A Cheaper Way to Navigate Abroad, No Costly Data-Roaming Required", NYT GadgetWise Blog "OffMaps 2...
Death by Leprechaun: A Saint Patrick’s Day Murder in Dublin (Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mystery #6)
9.0
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When an old friend is arrested in Dublin, tour guide Lana Hansen will need the luck of the Irish to...
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Naomi Forrest (42 KP) rated City of Ghosts in Books
Dec 31, 2018 (Updated Dec 31, 2018)
I haven't read any Victoria Schwab before though I do have another of her books to read and I know that she is extremely popular, particularly for fans of the young adult genre. This book piqued my interest as a middle grade ghost story so when I found it at a gorgeous second hand book store in Alnwick, Northumberland (you trade your old books in for new ones, it is amazing!), I snapped it up.
Cass is a brilliant protagonist....she's weird, she knows she's weird and she embraces her weird. We live in a world of fashion rules and being told that being different is wrong, even now in 2018. To be the generic carbon copy makes you popular. As Cass says:
'I know you're supposed to want to be one of the popular kids....It just seems like it would be exhausting...Smile, but not too wide. Laugh, but not too loud.'
From this quote alone, you just know that Schwab understands pre-teens and teens. She has been there. Cass is a brilliant character to empower the intended audience and show them it's good to be different. The other big character in the book is Cass's best friend, Jacob, who often has amusing little retorts to Cass and adds humour throughout the book. Oh yes, and he's dead! Apart from this interesting fact and also that he saved Cass's life, the bond between the two is like any other friendship and I get the feeling we will see more of these characters. It is hinted at in the story that Jacob remaining in the world of the living may create problems so it raises a lot of questions about what is coming. I was constantly questioning throughout the book, where did Jacob come from? Did he die saving Cass? Why has he not crossed over? How can he come through the veil? The writing just flows so easily and is told through Cass's eyes. I'm not always the biggest fan of present tense writing in novel's but the use of first person really put me into Cass's world and I had to know about the veil! (I was also a big Ghost Whisperer fan).
This book also has one of my favourite things, a cute little map at the start. However, unlike the often fiction maps that enhance the story, this is Cassidy's map of Edinburgh, which is pretty awesome, especially as I know the places on it, living just an hour's train ride from the city. It shows the main places you would expect, as well as Blackwell's book shop (it is a good Blackwell's too, bigger than Newcastle!). I just love maps in books, I spend ages pouring over them and it really adds to the pictures in your mind.
Of course, being a ghost story, this novel is quite edgy for middle grade but absolutely age appropriate and Schwab is so skillful at pushing the tension right up before diffusing it at just the right point. I get scared even by some young adult ghost stories (no lie) and this one was borderline comfortable for me. The description perfectly set the scene and I truly felt like I was in a foggy graveyard in the dark, or underground in Mary King's Close. I love how Schwab drew on Scottish history and Scotland's love of ghost stories and seamlessly weaves them with the fiction of this ghost hunting American family. I think a lot of children who I come across and potentially across the country may have been to Edinburgh so it makes the story a little bit more accessible while the fantasy creates a boundary from it being too scary. Cass is also a big fan of Harry Potter and the frequent references throughout will really resonate with contemporary children who also love the series.
I loved this book and can't wait for what follows on. It is definitely an exciting addition to a class bookshelf for the ghost story lover but would be a gripping book to share with your class just for pleasure. Brimming with tension, spine tingling atmosphere and completely relevant to the modern day pre-teen, I recommend whole heartedly.
Charles Mackerras
Nigel Simeone and John Tyrrell
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By the time of his death in 2010 at the age of 84, Sir Charles Mackerras had achieved widespread...
No Stone Unturned: A History of Farming, Landscape and Environment in the Scottish Highlands and Islands
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