Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Movies Monthly: June

Here are some notes on what we enjoyed watching most in the month of June.


Serials

The ones (by BBC) which came back with a new season:

  • Grantchester 3 - (drama, detective story);
  • The Tunnel 2: Sabotage - (crime story) - I enjoy watching the process of gradual development of Elise's social skills;
  • Broadchurch 3 - (crime story) - the previous season was disappointing. We expected a new thread to be presented then. Instead of it, the old plot was munched. Good, it is not repeated as we would have stopped watching the series.

A new one:

Prime Suspect: Tennison - 2017 (detective story) - set in the 70s, with all the props from the decade, including the Grundig radio, the interior of the flats, fashion and car models. It all brings my childhood to my mind. The reality in Poland looked very similar then. Everyday stuff which we used and had was similar. All in all, we were not so much behind the rest of Europe as someone could think. A lot of the music of the 70s was included in each series episode. I watched them all with some sentiment, recalling the long gone era. On the other hand, the story was very interesting as well.

Mini series:

The Passing Bells - 2014 (WW1) - I have seen quite a few movies depicting WW1 events/times. In Passing Bells, the first time the partitioned Poland was mentioned.

To Your Knowledge: Poland was partitioned for the third time in 1795. Three empires Prussia, Austria, and Russia divided Poland into three parts and took control over it. It meant Poland no longer existed as a country and the Polish people automatically became citizens of the suppressant empires. They not only were forbidden to speak Polish but also, when WW1 began, had to serve in the Prussian, Austrian or Russian army, depending on where they lived. In that way, Poles fought against their own people as well. My great-grandpa was one of them. Anyway, Poland regained its independence after the war, when the peace treaty was signed in 1918.

A great series showing individuals and their families involved in the war. Personal tragedies which they had to face and deal with. Each episode includes testimonials of ex-soldiers, the war participants, the words of original letters written by the army men. What is more, parts of original documentaries are merged with the TV show scenes. There is no us and them in the series. Just people.



Movies of June

9 - 2009 (animation) - quite deep and dark for a cartoon. Lots of work and thinking (the plot, setting, and characters) included in making it.

Dirty Pretty Things - 2002 (drama) - at first I did not know which country the plot was set in as each character spoke English with a foreign, non-British accent. Soon, I realized it was contemporary London. Quite an Immigrant Song.

The Boy - 2016 (horror) - different than we thought it would be - with quite an unexpected plot turn.


Tale of Tales - 2015 (fantasy) - modern type fairy tales in which nothing tends to be beautiful, cute, characters are not good or bad only and there is no such a thing as a happy ending. They did not live happily ever after.

Slumdog Millionnaire - 2008 (drama) - horrible living conditions of slums in India, crime, love, brotherhood and more. I know the name of the third musketeer but if I was asked questions on India and its culture, I would most probably fail to answer.

Stage Beauty - 2004 (drama) - quite tragic was the faith of those male-female stage beauties when their acting was no longer needed/admired.

Classics of June

The Killers - 1946 (crime) - based on the novel by Hemingway. The movie is the origin of the Dragnet series. We learned something again as we had thought Dragnet was the original crime story serial but, as it appeared, it was just a sequel of a former idea.

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying - 1964 (comedy) - a bit weird as most of Kubrick's movies. Entertaining, though. Besides, Kubrick is one of my favorite film directors.

The Lost Patrol - 1934 (WW1) - with Boris Karloff - when you think WW1, you most likely associate it with France, Germany, Europe in general. Not a Mesopotamian desert. Another front of the war.



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