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Jennifer Fox recommended Roma (2018) in Movies (curated)

 
Roma (2018)
Roma (2018)
2018 | Drama

"What I love about “Roma” that is that the director created a story where you can see the force of society in the background of the narrative in such a way that feels so truthful to the way we live history as human beings – in fact we don’t notice history even as it is creating us. As the maid lives her ordinary life, caring for her upper-class family, the world is swirling around her, yet she must continue to do her job even while the very fabric of the society she lives in is being torn apart, ransacked and recreated. This film is about so much and of course it is about class and the complexities of class, but yet despite class, in this story the “sisterhood” of women triumphs over station in such an ordinary and surprising way. It is this aspect that was glorious. The father disappears to follow his wandering desires and the mother, grandmother and the maid and cook are left to fend for themselves and the children. Yet even as the mother rages against the loss of her husband and takes it out on the maid, she completely accepts her maid’s accidental pregnancy and includes her in the family tribe without a second thought"

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Allan Arkush recommended The Lady Eve (1941) in Movies (curated)

 
The Lady Eve (1941)
The Lady Eve (1941)
1941 | Classics, Comedy, Romance
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"I feel about The Lady Eve the same way I feel about A Hard Day’s Night. Both movies are on my all-time top ten list of favorites. The first time I saw them, I had the same impression of comic density. Enormous energy that I was running to keep up with. I felt like I had to see this movie again, if only to have another shot at laughing at the hundreds of jokes. I love movies that make you feel like you are not getting it all the first time, that there is much more to be had. Eve is my favorite Sturges. I love the chemistry between Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda—like when she takes him back to her stateroom, manipulates him into making a pass, and shuts him down with “Hopsie, you ought to be kept in a cage.” On a pure filmmaking level, the honeymoon night on the train when Eve confesses to all her premarital dalliances is a tour de force of writing, acting, and editing, and it’s one of the best musically scored comic sequences in any movie ever! Sturges’s mother was an adventuress, a confidante, and traveling companion of Isadora Duncan. I like to think there is more than a little of his mother in Eve."

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Erika (17789 KP) rated Yellow Rose (2019) in Movies

Oct 18, 2020 (Updated Oct 18, 2020)  
Yellow Rose (2019)
Yellow Rose (2019)
2019 | Drama, Music
Luckily, I had a free ticket for another theater chain, so I was able to see this in theaters (I was the only one there).
My initial interest in the film stemmed from it being filmed in Austin, where I live. The story is about a teenage, Filipino girl and her mother, both of whom are undocumented. When customs and immigration pick up Rose's mother, she escapes to Austin from Bastrop (EW). Rose dreams of being a country singer, and ends up making music with Dale Watson, who's a well known Texas Country artist.
That's basically the story, and yes, perfectible, it ends the exact way you imagine it to end. The music is good, and Eva Noblezada, the actress that plays Rose, has an amazing singing voice.
To answer the question as to what the title means - yes, it's racist, and a nickname Rose got when she initially sang at school. BTW, the myth of the 'Yellow Rose' is one from history, supposedly, a woman was sent in as a spy by the Texas army during the revolution, and she... distracted Santa Anna, the general of the Mexican army. There's no actual evidence, but it's incredibly believable.
Anyway, this was a great movie, with good music, and a tight running time.
  
    Cat in the Hat

    Cat in the Hat

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How Much Of These Hills is Gold
How Much Of These Hills is Gold
C. Pam Zhang | 2020 | Fiction & Poetry
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is not your typical Western, although it set in the old Wild West. Lucy and Sam, two Chinese-American children, set off on their own to bury their father and to find the life that their mother wanted for them. Their father had gold fever and gambled their money away, their mother wanted an education and choices for her children - as well as somewhere safe to live. The fact that this story is based on two children alone is enough of an indicator that their parents wishes weren’t successful.

There are flashbacks to the life that they had prior to the death of their parents, and these really showed what a hard life gold prospecting and coal mining was - particularly if you weren’t seen as true Americans.

I loved this book - the descriptions of the landscape were stunning, the story of the difficult, uncertain lives the main characters experienced was at times heart-rending. I liked that we weren’t involved in the thought processes of their persecutors - we see everything from Lucy, Sam and their parents perspectives. We get a glimpse into the world of an immigrant family and of how little it seems to have changed with regards to attitudes.

I’d really recommend this book - it was a rewarding, if sad, read.