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Dianne Robbins (1738 KP) rated Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles (2019) in Movies

Apr 22, 2021 (Updated Apr 22, 2021)  
Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles (2019)
Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles (2019)
2019 | Documentary, Musical
10
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Fascinating
I haven't seen Fiddler in the Roof yet but watched this documentary about the creation and history of the play on PBS. I was enthralled from start to finish. I was always intrigued by the Jewish religion but didn't know anyone who practiced it while I was growing up so it remained a mystery to me. A very sacred mystery that is filled with tradition and ceremony and secrets. It always felt like Fiddler was not meant for my eyes as it would unveil those secrets so I did not seek out to view a production of it. Watching this documentary brought the story of Fiddler, religious and cultural tradition, and a Jewish family from a Russian settlement to life. As soon as this quarantine, I am determined to find the nearest production of Fiddler and view it immediately.
  
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Awix (3310 KP) rated Red Joan (2018) in Movies

Apr 21, 2019 (Updated Apr 21, 2019)  
Red Joan (2018)
Red Joan (2018)
2018 | Drama, Thriller
Good-looking but turgid romantic melodrama. Sweet old granny (Dench, not in it much) is hauled in by special branch when her history as a Russian mole on the A-bomb project nearly sixty years earlier comes to light. Most of the film is made up of flashbacks of her as a young woman, dealing with the reasons why she spilled the radioactive beans.

The problem is that the film is so preoccupied with the protagonist's romantic life - she's in love with the dashing mysterious foreign guy! she's in love with her colleague! etc - that the nub of the issue never really comes into focus. Crucial character choices aren't properly explained and some potentially interesting historical material recedes into the background, eclipsed by hackneyed and corny melodramatic scenes that even performers like Dench and Sophie Cookson can't elevate much. Decent production values can't save such a sub-standard script.