Sergio
So Maggie Smith (RIP) was best known these days as one of those Harry Potter wizard teachers and as that old lady in Downton Abby and a bunch of roles like that. But she played many roles and won several awards before that. For this movie, she won an Oscar for Best Actress.
But I think this is one of those movies that tells you a lot about that period of time. It gets complicated bc it’s supposed to take place during the 1930s and it was filmed in the late 60s. Also, the movie is based on a play which was based on a book and apparently the movie takes more after the play than the book, which are all different from each other… And there seems to be some kind of British irony thing going on here that I have a hard time tracking.
Like, there’s this old lady who says she’s in her prime. And she acts like a free spirit but she’s literally a fascist who admires Mussolini and Franco. And her best pal is an artist who grooms and molests the middle- and high-school aged girls under her care. See, the thing about irony is that it relies on the communicating parties having a common ground of understanding that can be relied on to differentiate from the ironic statement. So I’m constantly trying to decide: they’re saying it’s a BAD thing to be a fascist or a child abuser… right? Or are they playing a straight “teacher who changed my life” story, like Dead Poets Society later did, or Goodbye Mr Chips did back in the day? Both of the morally questionable characters kind of have a comeuppance… but not really?
Anyway, if you’re a highschooler or an undergrad looking for a movie to write a term paper on, this is a great candidate.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/spain-friars-killed-injured-monastery/
https://elpais.com/espana/2024-11-10/detenido-el-autor-del-ataque-que-dejo-a-siete-monjes-heridos-en-el-monasterio-de-gilet.html - El País is considered a newspaper of record, the automated translation isn’t too bad.
Couldna said it better myself.
Luckily I got a chance to watch it a couple days ago before they all disappeared. I’d forgotten how formulaic Elvis movies are, the last time I saw one was like 20 years ago. It was a lot of fun though. When he sang “Only Fools Rush In” to his girlfriend in the presence of her grandma, it was kind of touching. There were definitely parts that were a product of their era, though.
Alas! A lot of full movies on dailymotion have been deleted… Including this one…
They didn’t lose the election for Harris.
Right… I don’t think there are enough Arab- and Muslim-Americans in PA to swing it, and she needed that to win the election, even if she had won MI. I suspect it was her failed messaging on the economy that made the difference. But we don’t have final numbers yet so it’s hard to tell.
The article is a lot more nuanced than the headline. Arab- and Muslim-Americans knew that neither candidate cared about them, and the article explains various ways that affected their thinking.
Just watched this movie; it’s solid. Willie Nelson and Jim Belushi co-star! Not familiar with Tangerine Dream, but their soundtrack is far out, gives the movie a Blade Runner feel. (though Blade Runner came afterwards…)
