Film: Snowden

With a change in tv schedules (again) today, I was left with a convenient gap in my schedule - so turned to my film backlog of Snowden, The Unbelievable Truth, Time (all on Amazon Prime), and Zero de Conduite, on the Internet Archive. All at the same rating. Snowden it was, a dramatisation of the life of Edward Snowden, who was a computer analyst for various highly sensitive U.S. government departments, until he discovered a level of surveillance of the general population that shocked him so much that he leaked a whole load of sensitive information to the world's media. Directed by Oliver Stone, it stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the title role, Rhys Ifans as his recruiter for the C.I.A., Nicholas Cage as a disillusioned lecturer at the C.I.A. training college that Snowden attends, Tom Wilkinson as the Guardian reporter that he leaks the info to, and Joely Richardson as the Guardian editor.

I saw CitizenFour, the documentary about Snowden, back in 2015 - the year before this was released. (See my post on that, linked to, for more details about the actual case.) The person that films him constantly as he's releasing information in this film is actually depicting the director of that documentary. And I'll just say this - he's much better-looking in real life than Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who portrays him! Just an observation, but it's unusual, don't you think? He does his mannerisms perfectly though.

Oliver Stone films are always nice, tense thrillers, and this is very pacy - helped along by the fact that Snowden's girlfriend plays quite a prominent role in this story - because we get more of an insight into his private life; she had nothing to do with his work or his decision to go public. We get some of his backstory too, which explains how he started in the army - had to leave because of injury, and decided to head for the C.I.A. instead. Very patriotic, you see, wanted to help his country. What I found incredible was how shocked he was at the C.I.A.'s practices - both online and in the field. Had the man never seen a James Bond film?

Anyway, he soon finds out what's really going on, and finally decides he can't take this level of surveillance of normal people. The idea seems to crystallise with him at a meeting with his recruiter, who lets slip that they've been monitoring him and his girlfriend. The meeting is by videoconference, where the whole wall of the room acts as a massive screen - and when the recruiter leant in, and his massive head filled the wall from floor to ceiling, I couldn't but be reminded of Big Brother. Very appropriate.

Snowden, in this film, is given some lines that imply that he's a sort of genius - apparently his real life role wasn't so lofty. But the basics are true enough - and yes, this is the sort of film that will make you at least think about what the government could be doing to you. Any government. But the scenery in Hawaii, where he last worked - what we see of it - is gorgeous. Stone, apparently, shot mostly outside the U.S., for fear of interference from the government. Recommended viewing.

And London Social Detours is back tomorrow, with another British Heroes and Villains talk. Well, I'll risk it - although I reserve the right to sign off again if that angry chipmunk starts chirping!

Film: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Well, after what I have to admit was an excellent day's television, when it got to bedtime it fizzled out - I'd seen everything already, or wasn't interested. So I thought.. film backlog. And topping that was The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, available on Amazon Prime. Stars Jessica Brown Findlay as the writer, keen to do a newspaper article on this mysterious society, and Tom Courtenay, Katherine Parkinson, and Penelope Wilton as quirky locals.

Now, I have to admit that I had completely the wrong idea about this film. Yes, I know what they say about not judging a book by its cover.. anyway, I had in mind that this would be a twee romantic comedy, where someone comes to Guernsey, is entranced by the locals, and falls in love. And I wasn't entirely wrong. But actually, it's not a comedy at all. The opening scene explains something of the origins of the name - it's 1941, the island is occupied by the Nazis, and the name is conjured up as an excuse for some locals being out after curfew, as club meetings are permitted. When we meet Jessica, it's just after the war - the scenes of bomb-damaged London are very poignant - and when she visits the island to look for the society, they explain to her the exact origin of the name.

It's quite moving - it takes her ages to drag information out of the locals, but her instincts tell her to keep probing. The details of the war years are harrowing - and I wouldn't blame her for falling in love with the place! The scenery is gorgeous. Although, mind you, it's filmed in Devon - close enough, I guess, and with the major advantage of not having to ship everything off to an island! The houses they film in are lovely too, all old stone and low doorways - wow, am I in need of a trip somewhere! (Yes, it's giving me ideas.) So, recommended - it's an excellent drama, with an interesting window to the German occupation of the Channel Islands, which is something I never thought of before.

Probably film again tomorrow, if I get a chance. I've just had great fun removing from my film list everything I've seen over the last while! And yes, I haven't forgotten about my film backlog of Snowden, The Unbelievable Truth, Time (all on Amazon Prime), and Zero de Conduite, on the Internet Archive. My next pick will be Snowden. Sometime. Watch this space.. as ever..

And London Social Detours is back on Friday, with another British Heroes and Villains talk. Well, I'll risk it - although I reserve the right to sign off again if that angry chipmunk starts chirping!

Film: Queen of Katwe & Who's Who in Stuart Britain - Online Talk

Ah, lovely busy day today! First off, tv played another blinder in ticking off yet another film on my list - this one was Queen of Katwe, which has been on my list for years. The true story of a Ugandan chess champion from the slums, it stars David Oyelowo as her chess coach, and Lupita Nyong'o as her embattled mother, whose husband has died, and who is trying to raise a large family on her own.

A fascinating watch, this. The young girl that plays the chess champion is a delight to watch, Oyelowo is inspiring as the youth outreach worker who starts a chess club and finds champions, and Lupita Nyong'o is moving as the mother, with little income until her chess-playing daughter starts to bring it in, but suspicious about what she's getting involved in, and whether it's sustainable. And wow, is it inspiring - through chess, she gets to go to school, which they couldn't afford before: to travel: to buy a house for them! A family's life is completely transformed - what a difference a little money makes. Keep watching for the credits, where actors appear with the real-life people they portrayed; the captions that are displayed beside them, explaining what's happened to them since (this was made in 2016) are hard to see, however.

That, conveniently, just finished in time for my latest online talk: Who's Who in Stuart Britain. A London Social Detours (LSD) online reading again, with plenty of attendees; as the organiser remarked to me before the start, must be the effect of the lockdown!

And it was very interesting! We just covered James I in this talk - and it was an interesting tale of him believing his own press, gradually becoming more and more unpopular. He was a curious character, of that there's no doubt. It was quite a short talk though, and we soon moved to the social chat afterwards - which mainly concerned itself with one elderly lady, who was worried because a workman she'd had over had just told her that his entire family was laid low with Covid, his wife in hospital! Lots of advice from people..

I hadn't thought that unpleasant person was on the call, until I saw her screen at the bottom - she must have joined last. Sure enough, she waited until she had something unpleasant to say before chiming in. Honestly, I agree with her that he was out of order to visit this lady while not wearing a mask - but listening to the other one shrilly exclaiming that he should be reported was a step too far! I signed off the call, and was delighted to be finished so early. Pity we couldn't have spent any time actually discussing the talk we'd just had..

Probably film tomorrow, if I get a chance. And I'm going to have great fun removing from my film list everything I've seen over the last while! That list could do with a trim. And yes, I haven't forgotten about my film backlog of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Snowden, The Unbelievable Truth, Time (all on Amazon Prime), and Zero de Conduite, on the Internet Archive. Watch this space.. as ever..

And LSD is back on Friday, with another British Heroes and Villains talk. Well, I'll risk it - although I reserve the right to sign off again if that angry chipmunk starts chirping!

TV Series: From Beirut to Bosnia (Episode 3)

So, I finally got around to watching Episode 3 of From Beirut to Bosnia. Available through the sterling efforts of Sands Films, who managed to find something that's practically disappeared.

The series basically seeks to explain why Muslim extremism targets Westerners - the first two episodes deal with Western-backed Israeli aggression in Palestine and Lebanon, and as promised, the last episode heads to Bosnia. Specifically, to Sarajevo. During the nastiest of its tragic history.

So, Robert Fisk dons a helmet and flak jacket to brave the streets of the besieged city. As he points out, he's lucky to have them - the soldiers don't have that luxury. Nor do the civilians, risking their lives every time they go out to buy groceries, running down the streets with their shopping bags as snipers pick them off from nearby rooftops. God, that brings back memories - I vividly remember the reports on the evening news at the time. I remember the shame that the West wasn't doing anything, as the Serbs systematically murdered the Muslim population, or packed them onto trains to go and live elsewhere, as best they could. And the West refused to arm the Muslims, to allow them to defend themselves.

Stand-out scenes, for me, include the hospital, where we see a little boy brought in after being shot by a sniper. Also receiving treatment for gunshot wounds is his mother, who tried to shield him. As the surgeon remarks, those responsible for this aren't human. At the train station, we meet some refugees - one woman, asked how she feels when she looks at a photo of how things were just a year ago, looks at Fisk aghast. She refuses to answer - how do you think I feel? she exclaims. Shortly afterwards, as the train arrives, a frail old man has to be lifted onto it, to an uncertain future.

At a press conference, Fisk asks the UN spokesman - who's just given a summary of the situation - whether there is any area under UN control that isn't experiencing bombing or shelling. A long pause follows. "I presume," says the UN guy, "that you're using the phrase 'UN control' advisedly. We are currently experiencing shelling and sniper attacks in all areas."

A devastating sequence has Fisk being escorted by Serb police to an area that has been "ethnically cleansed" of Muslims - a misnomer, as he says. This wasn't ethnic cleansing, it was a straightforward land grab. He gets them to stop at a place he recognises - he was there a year before, visited the mosque, had a cup of coffee with the imam and his wife, who had been promised Serb protection. Now, the mosque is in ruins, as is the imam's house. Photograph frames are broken, the photographs scattered on the floor. The Serbs, of course, know nothing about what happened there. (And ask not to be filmed.) And at time of broadcast, he still hadn't found out what happened to the imam and his wife, who had been so friendly to him. Last year.

Standing in the ruins of the mosque, as the camera pans over the ruined decorations, the holes in the walls - Fisk remarks that if violence like this is perpetrated on the Muslim population, you must expect retaliation. It's a nonsense to say that it's mindless terrorism - he also reveals that he feels that, at the end of each of his articles about the Middle East, he should include the warning "Watch out!"..

A very important series. And yes, I haven't forgotten about my film backlog of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Snowden, The Unbelievable Truth, Time (all on Amazon Prime), and Zero de Conduite, on the Internet Archive. Watch this space.. as ever..

Films: Mamma Mia - Here We Go Again & Angels and Demons

Films, films, films - standard for tv at this time of year. A very decent showing this evening, where I watched two back-to-back. First was Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again. Saw the original, never saw this..

I love Abba. The first album I ever bought was actually one of theirs - Super Trouper. Honestly, I think you have to be rather odd not to get caught up in the feel-good atmosphere of the music! So anyway, if you didn't know, the Mamma Mia films are co-produced by the male members of Abba, and are basically stories designed to pack in as many Abba hits as possible. In the original, Amanda Seyfried is about to get married. However, her mother, Meryl Streep, brought her up alone on a Greek island, and Amanda would really like to know who her father is, so he can walk her down the aisle. There's one small problem - Meryl was rather popular at the time, and there are no fewer than three candidates who could be her father: Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, and Stellan Skarsgård. By the end of the film, all have been reunited - the prospective fathers agree that they all want to be her father, and share the role. Julie Walters and Christine Baranski are Meryl's old college friends, who also show up.

So here we have the sequel, set five years later (and made 10 years later). Poor Meryl is now dead, and Amanda is organising a grand reopening of her late mother's hotel - all the aforementioned show up. (Interestingly, Amanda's old friends don't.) Also making an appearance - for the first time - is Meryl's mother, Cher! Particularly surprising, as the first film suggests that she's dead already. Just estranged, I guess.

A somewhat different repertoire for the second film, with a couple of songs that make an appearance in both - well, some you just couldn't resist! They get started early, and I was delighted with myself, singing along for the evening and scaring the cat. Like I say, feelgood all the way - even when Amanda has relationship problems, it just gives her an excuse to sing the sadder numbers. A lot of the film is also given over to flashbacks of Meryl's life around the time that Amanda was conceived, and it's interesting to see the casting for the younger versions of the actors - her friends are cast particularly well, and I knew straight away that Hugh Skinner was the younger version of Colin Firth. The others didn't convince quite so well. And Andy Garcia shows up as an old flame of Cher's! (So they can duet on Fernando..)

Awesome choice for a holiday film. Highly recommended as a pick-me-up!

Hot on its heels was Angels & Demons - but I thought I'd seen it, so went off and watched something else first. Which I did enjoy, so I was glad I'd done that. When it was over though, it occurred to me that I might have been thinking of The Da Vinci Code - so I switched over hurriedly, and caught most of the film. Both films are based on novels by Dan Brown, and centre on an academic, played by Tom Hanks, who dashes energetically around, solving mysteries associated with sinister cults affiliated to the Catholic Church. He picks up a lot of clues from real-life history and legend, which makes it interesting to us history buffs.

In this story, the Pope has just died, and the cardinals are convening to elect another. However, a mysterious sect - the Illuminati - have kidnapped the four most popular candidates, and scheduled to kill them, one per hour, on the hour, before detonating an anti-matter bomb. Stellan Skarsgård shows up again as the Chief of Police, Ewan McGregor is the Camerlengo to the recently deceased Pope. Armin Mueller-Stahl plays a senior Cardinal.

Despite coming in late, I didn't have much trouble in following it - the plot details are interesting, but unnecessary for comprehension. Tom Hanks races around Rome, trying to save people's lives, as they are killed every hour, and Ewan McGregor looks worried. It's a good, pacy thriller, and as well as the historical detail, we get to see some gorgeous art and architecture, and the soundtrack is suitably gorgeous to match - particularly at the end. Another fun film, for a different reason - with a good twist at the end. Which was when I realised that yes, I had seen it before - but it took me that long to figure it out, and when I remember so little, it's just as well to give it another viewing, I think.

And yes, I haven't forgotten about my film backlog of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Snowden, The Unbelievable Truth, Time (all on Amazon Prime), and Zero de Conduite, on the Internet Archive. Not to mention the last episode of From Beirut to Bosnia. Watch this space.. as ever..

Film: The Greatest Showman & TV Series: From Beirut to Bosnia (Episodes 1 & 2)

So, one of this evening's films on tv was The Greatest Showman! Starring Hugh Jackman, it's the story of P. T. Barnum, the famous showman. And it's a musical.

The second-longest-running chat show in the world is the Late Late show, and every year, just before Christmas, they do a Toy Show, to showcase different popular toys and books. These generally have a theme - and sure enough, a few years ago, the theme was The Greatest Showman. The host came on dressed for the part, and songs from the film were performed throughout. So it was good, finally - as I'd never seen it before - to see what all the fuss was about!

The songs are the stars of the show, truly. Each is a show-stopper, and the choreography that accompanies them is stunning. Apart from that - there's not much to say. P. T. Barnum seems more personable here than in the Wikipedia article about him, and you can fairly ignore most of the plot. Basically, it's rags to riches, and he's trying to prove himself to his rich in-laws. So he gets this idea to stage a show, and it's a hit. Mind you, the sound levels in the film were very off - the dialogue seemed very muted in comparison to the musical numbers, and so in order to hear what people were saying to each other, I had to increase the volume quite a bit - now, my mother screeches in complaint if anything is too loud, so there was a limit to what I could do, and I did miss a lot of dialogue. There might have been some complexity there that I failed to notice. But it is a very enjoyable film, for the musical numbers and the excellent trapeze work that is included. Not very deep, though.

Later tonight, feeling less tired, and with nothing interesting on tv that I hadn't already seen, I caught up with the first two of the three episodes of the tv documentary made by Robert Fisk, From Beirut to Bosnia, about the relationship between the Middle East and the West. Hard to find, it's available on the Sands Films site - part of an homage to Robert Fisk. And wow, it does require concentration - one of those where I feel I should be taking notes.

In short, Episode 1 details Israeli attacks on South Lebanon. They always plead self-defence in these cases, but as this documentary shows, many attacks have been completely unprovoked, and others completely disproportionate - revenge for attacks that caused the deaths of eight Israeli soldiers, for example, resulted in the killing of 150 Lebanese in retaliatory shelling. Nine of those killed were later shown to be militants.

And particularly interesting to an Irish person was the scene where an Irish UN peacekeeper was showing him around a bombed-out building. (We send out a lot of UN peacekeepers, particularly to Lebanon.) Entering a room whose front wall had been completely blown away, his guide explained that another peacekeeper (Irish-sounding name) had been in this exact room when he was killed by a shell from an Israeli tank. Indicating the Israeli tanks, observing them from a nearby hill, he explained that although the tank driver concerned had apparently been disciplined, nobody had ever actually explained why they'd done it..

Mind you, one thing about Robert Fisk was that, living among the Arab community as he did, he always had links to that side of the conflict - and another interesting segment has him visiting a Lebanese "underground prison", of the sort where many Lebanese, and some Westerners, were famously held - generally without any kind of due process. Always good to see the whole picture.

Episode 2 concerns dispossession of the Palestinians, either through bombing and shelling, or land grabs. He visits the Gaza Strip.. not a nice-looking place at all. It's amusing to watch Israeli soldiers, constantly telling him and his cameraman to stop filming, or they'll close the area and force them out. Undeterred, he manages to interview a 16-year-old girl, already married and about to have her first child, who's experiencing pains. The curfew is in effect, and there's no way to get her to hospital - the Israeli soldiers he questions about her tell him she's already left in an ambulance. Finally, he and his cameraman end up driving her and her mother to the UN hospital.

One woman is filmed, in hysterics about how all the houses in her neighbourhood have been destroyed by Israeli shelling. And, just outside Jerusalem, he highlights the case of one lone farmer holding out against the encroaching wave of Israeli settlers. Interviewing the family, he discovers that they've owned the land for hundreds of years - they have title deeds both from the Ottoman days, and also from the British Mandate period. However, the Israeli government has issued them notice to quit - they need the land for a housing scheme. For Israelis only - Arabs need not apply. Sadly, this is the same family he mentions in This is Not a Movie, who were evicted shortly after he interviewed them. It's also interesting how the Israeli settlers he speaks to are adamant that the foundation for their right to be there, and to evict the Arabs, is given to them in the Bible..

Finally, he was given directions by a Palestinian, living in Lebanon, to the house in Acre that his family was evicted from in 1948, during the formation of Israel. He's keen to find out what happened to it - he is not allowed to enter Israel, nor are any expelled Palestinians. When Fisk gets there, he finds a lovely family, happy to talk to him. The grandad, who was the first Jew to occupy the house, is a Holocaust survivor. In an interesting twist, Fisk then goes in search of this man's family history, and visits the Polish town where they were from. Once known as a Jewish town, there are no Jews there at all any more.. and no record of those killed in Treblinka, where his search takes him.

Any correlations that you might draw here are for you to decide - Fisk says nothing about them.

I'm looking forward to Episode 3 - and very glad I don't live anywhere near there..

And yes, I haven't forgotten about my film backlog of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Snowden, The Unbelievable Truth, Time (all on Amazon Prime), and Zero de Conduite, on the Internet Archive. Watch this space..

Film: Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi

Tonight's early evening film on tv was Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi. Perfect! thought I - I hadn't seen it.

Now, I missed the very beginning - and watching could be challenging, mainly because my mother had absolutely no interest, and kept talking over it. She managed to stop eventually. I will say this - it's a long one, nearly three hours - it's just lucky that it was due to finish around newstime. She really wanted to watch the news.

This is the second last film in the nine-part main story. Again, Mark Hamill reprises his role as Luke Skywalker - older now, and living as a recluse (reminiscent of Sir Alec Guinness, the reclusive Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi in Episode IV) on the Skelligs (very attractively filmed, making for a great travel ad). Carrie Fisher reprises her role as his sister, Leia Organa - her very last, as she died while the film was being made! It seems that she had already filmed all her scenes - but the sound re-recording hadn't been completed, so her dialogue had to be spliced together from other recordings. Anthony Daniels returns as everyone's favourite protocol droid, C3P0. And Frank Oz is, of course, the voice of Jedi master Yoda.

Those are the only remaining cast from the original trilogy - of course, the more recent cast members are also there, such as Adam Driver, who plays her son (now turned to evil, as Kylo Ren), Daisy Ridley as the newest Jedi, Rey, who becomes Luke's protegee, and John Boyega as a rebel pilot. We also run across Oscar Isaac among the rebels. Andy Serkis is Snoke, the supreme leader of the First Order, the replacement for the Galactic Empire of the original films. Lupita Nyong'o is apparently a collector of items related to the Force - I missed seeing her, myself. Domhnall Gleeson does a nice turn as a sinister First Order commander. Laura Dern is a rebel commander, and Benicio del Toro is a thief.

:-) It was worth watching. I loved how the Skelligs come across, and I loved every reference to the original films, of which I'm a massive fan. In fact, in scenes that are reproductions of key scenes in the original films, I even noticed similarities in the scripts! My favourite scenes related to anything to do with the Force, and there's plenty of story there, such as a confrontation between Rey and Snope (Kylo Ren in the background), which is so similar to the confrontation between Luke and Emperor Palpatine in Episode VI (Darth Vader in the background). Or the final confrontation between Kylo Ren and Luke - just like that between Vader and Obi-Wan. And the original theme music is back. Perhaps another part of the reason why this film is often considered better than other recent additions to the series is the lack of dependence on particular characters; frankly, most of the new actors just don't have the charisma to carry the story, as those from the original trilogy did. But here, the story zips along, and we're not too bothered about that. Recommended, for fans of the originals. My only regret was that I couldn't watch the closing credits, featuring the iconic theme music.. I'd promised to turn over to the news as soon as the credits started to roll. Bah humbug..

I have managed to watch about half an hour of the tv documentary made by Robert Fisk, From Beirut to Bosnia, about the relationship between the Middle East and the West. Hard to find, it's available on the Sands Films site - part of an homage to Robert Fisk. It was late at night though, and I fell asleep - not the fault of the film, I was just trying to do too much. And yes, I still have a film backlog of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Snowden, The Unbelievable Truth, Time (all on Amazon Prime), and Zero de Conduite, on the Internet Archive. Watch this space.. and meantime, have a very Merry Christmas!