THREE GREAT BOOKISH FILMS

1. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Where do I start with this movie? I risk going on rambling for hours about how lovely it is! It is just my perfect cup of tea.  

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is the adaptation of a book I read back in 2010. If I liked the book,  I loved the movie! And if you enjoy movies about books and reading with a romantic touch,  you can't miss this one. The cast is adorable, the locations are awesome, the story is simple but compelling. A delightful way to spend a couple of hours.

WUTHERING HEIGHTS 2018: THE TRAILER IS OUT! + INTERVIEW WITH DIRECTOR NINA ELISAVETA ABRAHALL

Last week I posted the first installment in my Wuthering Heights 2017 series: my interview with Shao'ri Morris, the actress starring as Catherine Earnshaw in the upcoming movie. Today I've got not one but two absolute exclusive features: the fist trailer and an interview with director and screenplay writer, Nina Elisaveta Abrahall. She kindly answered all my questions, even the most insidious ones, with generosity and open-mindedness. You know, I even dared ask whether we truly needed a new version of Emily Bronte's novel after so many had been already made. I think she has a point there! Discover more reading through the interview and enjoy the trailer at the end of the post! By the way, my next interview is with Heathcliff, that is Paul Eryk Atlas.  Stay tuned!

WUTHERING HEIGHTS 2018 - BECOMING CATHERINE EARNSHAW: INTERVIEW WITH SHAO'RI MORRIS

Emily Bronte wrote the greatest , most terrifying love story of all time: Wuthering Heights.  It is a wild, passionate tale of the intense and  demonic love between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, allegedly a Gypsy foundling adopted by Catherine's father. After Mr Earnshaw's death, Heathcliff is degraded and humiliated by Catherine's brother Hindley and wrongly believing that his love for Catherine is not reciprocated, leaves Wuthering Heights, only to return years later as a wealthy and polished man to find he is too late and that Cathy has married Edgar Linton. He proceeds to exact a terrible revenge for his miseries.Unable to bear being parted from his love he curses her on her deathbed to never rest and always be with him and so begins 20 years of her haunting his every waking and sleeping hour. A tale of love, hate, horror, haunting, but most of all a story about human nature. 

WAITING FOR THE OSCARS, I'VE SEEN A FEW: BROOKLYN

Waiting to discover this year’s winners in a few hours, here's my third Oscar- nominated -movie review. I’ve been recently seeing a few of the nominees. Have you read my post about The Danish Girl? And what about the one about Labyrinth of Lies? Have I seen Leo in The Revenant, you ask? Not yet but ... fingers crossed for him! Promise,  I'll watch it soon.  

BROOKLYN tells the moving story of Eilis Lacey, a young Irish immigrant navigating her way through 1950s Brooklyn. Lured by the promise of America, Eilis departs Ireland and the comfort of her mother’s home for the shores of New York City. The initial shackles of homesickness quickly diminish as a fresh romance sweeps Eilis into the intoxicating charm of love. But soon, her new vivacity is disrupted by her past, and she must choose between two countries and the lives that exist within (from Youtube)

Can I just start saying this film is poignantly beautiful? To have a visual idea of how beautiful it is in every sense,  have a look at any of the close-ups you can find in the web of Saoirse Ronan as Eilis, its protagonist. She is the embodiment of all the beauty in this movie. Pale, sweet features, big blue eyes staring at an unkown, vast, scary world.

WAITING FOR THE OSCARS, I'VE SEEN A FEW: LABYRINTH OF LIES

Waiting to discover this year’s winners in a few days, I’ve been watching a few of the nominated films. What about discussing one of them each ay till the Oscars Show on Saturday Night?  Have you read my post about The Danish Girl? Here's the second one.

Labyrinth of Lies 

The year is 1958. The war has been over for thirteen years and the Federal Republic of Germany is not only recovering but even booming. But where are the Nazis? Who has ever heard of the death camps? It looks as if everything is for the best in the best of all possible worlds in this land of milk and honey... At least, until the day journalist Thomas Gnielka recognizes in the person of a teacher the former commander of the Auschwitz concentration camp... At least, until Johann Radmann, a young prosecutor, decides to investigate the case... Nobody knows it yet but this is the dawn of a new era. Even if the road to awareness will be long and rocky... (from imdb)

WAITING FOR THE OSCARS, I'VE SEEN A FEW: THE DANISH GIRL

Waiting to discover this year’s winners in a few days, I’ve been watching a few of the nominated films. What about discussing one of them a day till the Oscars Show on Saturday Night? Here's the first one. 

The Danish Girl

Synopsis

Copenhagen, 1926. Danish artist, Gerda Wegener, painted her own husband, Einar Wegener (Eddie Redmayne), as a lady in her painting. When the painting gained popularity, Einar started to change his appearance into a female appearance and named himself Lili Elbe. With his feminism passion and Gerda's support, Einar - or Elbe - attempted one of the first male-to-female sex reassignment surgery, a decision that turned into a massive change for their marriage, that Gerda realized her own husband is no longer a man or the person she married before. A childhood friend of Einar, art-dealer Hans Axgil (Matthias Schoenaerts), shows up and starts a complex love triangle with the couple (from imdb)

PERIOD & MORE PERIOD - "MR HOLMES" AND "SUFFRAGETTE"

Are you in for a couple of good recommendations? Movies this time. The latest I've seen and liked, both released in theatres in the last months of 2015: Mr Holmes starring Sir Ian McKellen, directed by Bill Condon and based on 2005 Mitch Cullin's "A Slight Trick of the Mind", and Suffragette with a stellar cast including Carey Mulligan, Anne-Marie Duff, Romola Garai, Helena Bonham-Carter, Meryl Streep, Ben Whishaw and Samuel West and directed by Sarah Gavron.

Ian McKellen as the retired Sherlock Holmes with little Milo Parker (Photograph: Allstar/BBC Films)

HOW ROMANTIC IS FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD? FROM THE BOOK TO VINTERBERG'S MOVIE (2015)

The story

Independent and spirited Bathsheba Everdene has come to Weatherbury to take up her position as a farmer on the largest estate in the area. Her bold presence draws three very different suitors: the gentleman-farmer Boldwood, soldier-seducer Sergeant Troy and the devoted shepherd Gabriel Oak. Each, in contrasting ways, unsettles her decisions and complicates her life, and tragedy ensues, threatening the stability of the whole community. The first of his works set in Wessex, Hardy's novel of swift passion and slow courtship is imbued with his evocative descriptions of rural life and landscapes, and with unflinching honesty about sexual relationships.

PERIOD & MORE PERIOD - AT THE CINEMA: A PROMISE

Germany 1912.  Friedrich  is a young man of humble origins with a degree in chemistry employed by Karl Hoffmeister,  who immediately understood the character and potential of the young man and decided to make him his protégé. Suffering from a serious heart disease, Hoffmeister is forced to work at home, where he lives with his wife,  Lotte,  and her son Otto. Impressed by Friedrich’s   zeal, he promotes him as his personal secretary and  urges him to move into his large mansion.

Happy but confused by the feelings he starts feeling for his master’s and benefactor’s young wife, Friedrich accepts both accommodation and challenge, anyhow. The proximity feeds the feeling and reveals an affinity difficult to control,  at least until Hoffmeister decides to send Friedrich to Mexico to follow a new and important project. Lotte can’t hide her own feelings any longer, especially because the idea of living without Friedrich is now unbearable.  However the two young lovers resist their passion and promise one to the other to wait until Friedrich is back and Lotte free from her duties to her husband.

PERIOD & MORE PERIOD: BELLE - NOW ON DVD & BLUE RAY

Out on DVD/Blue Ray today, Belle is a movie inspired  by the true story of Dido Elizabeth Belle, a mixed - race woman raised by an aristocratic white family. Three times unlucky in the 18th century English society: Belle was a woman, a mulatto and an illegitimate child. 

The daughter of a Royal Navy Admiral and an enslaved African woman, Dido is brought up by the family of her great uncle, Lord Mansfield, in Hampstead, just north of London.
The family social standing affords Dido great privileges and she grows close with her cousin, Lady Elizabeth Murray. But Dido can never escape the colour of her skin  and, therefore, never be on the same social standing as her adoptive family. When Lord Mansfield, the Lord Chief Justice, must rule on an important slavery court case, Dido and the idealistic young man she falls in love with, John Davinier, will help to shape his decision, thereby paving the way for the eventual abolition of slavery.

PERIOD & MORE PERIOD - THE INVISIBLE WOMAN

Directed and starring Ralph Fiennes  as Charles Dickens, THE INVISIBLE WOMAN is the latest period  movie I saw. It is an adaptation of Claire Tomaline's book of the same name. It was released in 2013, it hasn’t made it to Italian theatres so far, but it is fortunately already available on DVD.  

The invisible woman of the title is Ellen Ternan , played by Felicity Jones, seen as Catherine Morland in Northanger Abbey 2007 or more recently in Hysteria. Ellen, Nelly, was  a beautiful young actress with whom Charles Dickens had a  secret 13-year affair and who was 27 years his junior.

Abi Morgan (Shame)   adapted Claire Tomalin‘s novel.  Tom Hollander , as the author Wilkie Collins,  Kristin Scott Thomas, as Nelly's mother, Tom Burke (The Musketeers)  as Ellen’s husband, George Robinson,   are also in  the cast.

AT THE THEATRE (AND NOT ONLY): THE GREATEST LOVE STORY OF ALL TIME OR THE MOST ANNOYING TEENAGERS IN LITERATURE? - MY ROMEO & JULIET WEEKEND

I've been recently involved in a discussion on Facebook about Romeo and Juliet, the young protagonists of Shakespeare's tragedy (1595),  who were included in a top ten list of literary annoying teenagers. I really couldn't agree with that dismissive judgement nor with the low consideration given to such finely written characters. Please, don't touch my Shakespeare!

I have myself kindly underestimated Romeo as a dreamer and an incostant lover at times (dying for love for Rosaline and suddenly desperately in love with Juliet?) but he is such a realistic embodiment of teenage fast crushes and violent passions, and that cannot be denied. I couldn't agree with whom  defined the two young lovers as annoying characters.

The audience at the Gran Teatro - Rome

Virtual discussion apart, my real life has been full of emotions connected to the story of the two star-crossed lovers from Verona of late.

Last Saturday afternoon I was at Gran Teatro in Rome with niece and sister and friends to see a musical: Romeo e Giulietta, Ama e cambia il mondo (adaptation of the original French work “Roméo et Juliette” by G. Presgurvic).

I had decided to join  them out of curiosity,  knowing nothing about the show and its cast. As you can

THE GREAT GATSBY? NOT QUITE, BUT THERE IS GOOD TO BE FIND

Baz Luhrman's latest movie is still in some  theaters and has so far divided audiences - as expected - and overcome any promising financial plan. Either you love it or you hate it. This is   what usually happens after you watch one of Luhrman's films. Lisa Keys has seen The Great Gatsby and wants to share her musings with us, here at FLY HIGH. Do you agree with her? Did you like Leonardo Di Caprio's Gatsby? 

Having seen the trailer for The Great Gatsby, which plays like a pretentious R&B/Rap video, one can be forgiven for entering the cinema with fairly low expectations of this adaptation of the American literary classic. Was this to be another flashy, CGI laden, piece of film making folly, all style, no substance? It teeters on the brink at times, as the occasionally over the top set plays threaten to drown the heart of the movie in a soup of visual trickery, modern music and rather out of place slow motion violence. However, the film does manage to remember that at it's heart is the 1925 novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, constantly referring back to the book almost word for word at times. This, combined with some notable lead performances, serves to save the film from itself.       

PRISONERS OF TIME AND ROLE, VICTIMS OF LOVE: ANNA KARENINA & CAROLINE MATILDA

(I used Grammarly to grammar check this post, because even good English teachers aren't perfect!)

I've been watching (or re-watching) several different movies lately, some very good ones too.
After depressing hard-working days, wrecked and exhausted, I've found some solace in very beautiful stories ( or in shallow romances if not in silly comedies!)
I've chosen a couple of good ones to share with you and write about: A Royal Affair and Anna Karenina.  They are both costume movies and stories of women prisoners of a male-oriented world.  For similar  reasons the two heroines suffer exclusion, condemnation and solitude before their lives end tragically.  I was touched, moved and emotional most of the time while watching, but grateful for the great emotions they gave me. I could deeply relate with the protagonists and forget myself for a while.

THE GREAT GATSBY: THE BOOK, THE MOVIES AND THE VALUES

(by guest blogger Prima Santika)

When I heard that Baz Luhrmann was taking on this classic novel into his production, I was thrilled with great expectations. And to put a long story short, after seeing the movie at its first day screening in Indonesia, May 17th 2013, I walked out from the cinema with GREAT satisfaction. Baz Luhrmann did a remarkable job! I do LOVE the movie!

ANITA B. - ROBERTO FAENZA DIRECTS ROBERT SHEEHAN AND ELINE POWELL

Robert Sheehan  and Eline Powell as Eli and Anita

Roberto Faenza has started shooting his new film, Anita B.,  in Bolzano, Italy, with an international cast: Robert Sheehan, Eline Powell, Antonio Cupo, Nico Mirallegro are among the young protagonists. The movie is based on a novel by Edith Bruck (read about her HERE), titled Quanta stella c'è nel cielo, which,  for what I know, hasn't been translated into English so far. 

The book

Edith Bruck won the Premio Viareggio Narrativa 2009 for  «Quanta stella c'è nel cielo». There's no grammar mistake in the title. It was just meant to sound "How much star is there in the sky" in the quoted line of Sàndor Petöfi's ballad.  
Anita (Eline Powell) , who's  only 16,  has just the great Hungarian poet's  lines to warm her heart and little else sweet left in her mind.  She keeps so many ripping memories inside herself, memories nobody wants to listen to.  She survived the concentration camp, is beautiful and sensitive, life trials have tattoed her soul forever. She's running away from a Hungarian orphanage to join her aunt, Monika. 

UPCOMING COSTUME MOVIES AND INTRIGUING NEW PROJECTS: ROMEO AND JULIET, SUMMER IN FEBRUARY AND THE INFERNAL DEVICES

I won't miss these upcoming movies  and  I really hope they will be good. They are all set in the past and this is something I've always been charmed by. Good stories set in the past... period movies! What's in this post? A new Romeo and Juliet whose set was near my home but  I unfortunately missed, Summer in February starring Dan Stevens and Dominic Cooper,  as well as a fantasy YA saga set in the Victorian Age - Cassandra Clare's The Infernal Devices - soon to be adapted for the silver screen . 

My Favorite Romantic Movies Based on Books by guest blogger Jack Meyer

We all have our favorite romance movies. Some of us like Elizabethan romance, some of us like fantasy romance, and some of us like modern romance. However there is one thing we can all agree on. The best romantic movies all come from books. From books written long ago to those written today, there is just something complex and wonderful about a well-written story with a romantic twist. Here are some of my favorite romantic movies that were originally books:

1.   Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen is a romantic film staple and her works are well worth watching. The 1995 adaptation of her book of the same name is one that is filled with great actors, including Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman, and oozes with charm and grace. It also has lots of timely humor and great performances by the actors and actresses that do the famous novel justice. Thankfully it is succinct as well as sensible and never seems to drag. Definitely a romantic film I would recommend for Austen lovers.

2.      Pride and Prejudice – Another Austen based film, I know, but her work is just so relatable even to the present day.  There are actually many movies based on her most famous work, but the one I am talking about is the 2005 adaptation. Starring Keira Knightley and Matthew MacFadyen, this film is bright and quick while still sticking with the novels key points. Though it lacks some of the pomp and circumstance that usually follows an Elizabethan film, it more than makes up for it with the acting and quick story line. Romantic and fun to watch, I would recommend this film for anyone who loves a good conflicted and complex love story.

AUTUMN AT THE MOVIES WILL BE BY THE BOOK

Do you have the slightest idea how much I love screen adaptations of the classics? Maybe, if you've been reading FLY HIGH! for a while. Well, the next season at the movies will make me and many other fans very happy with a few interesting titles: Anna Karenina, On The Road, Great Expectations. 

September (Ireland, UK, Spain) - Anna Karenina 

"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way " (L. Tolstoj)

Joe Wright,  after directing Keira Knightley in Pride and Prejudice (2005) and Atonement (2007) , has  chosen her again to play the role of the tragic heroine in Tolstoj's 1877 novel, Anna Karenina. With a  screenplay by Tom Stoppard (Shakespeare in Love),  Anna Karenina 2012   also stars Jude Law as Alexei Karenin, Anna's husband and  Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Count Vronsky, Anna's lover. Other familiar faces in the cast Matthew MacFadyen (who played with Keira Knightley in Pride and Prejudice as Mr Darcy, now her womanizing brother, Oblonsky) , Ruth Wilson (Jane Eyre), Michelle Dockery (Mary in Downton Abbey),  Emily Watson (Miss Potter, War Horse), Holliday Granger (Sparkhouse, Robin Hood, The Borgias) and Olivia Williams (Miss Austen Regrets, An Education).

REVISITING THE GREAT GATSBY - BY GUEST BLOGGER KELSEY

The Great Gatsby is a great American classic that everyone should read at least twice. Here is your chance to brush up on the novel before the new movie comes out. The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1925 is a book based in during the time when American had made it through World War I and the country was regaining its footing with prosperity. The Roaring 20’s was in full swing and alcohol was banned, causing trouble for the rich. The plot follows a Midwestern named Nick Carraway as he moves into an affluent and young community in Long Island that has a taste for extravagance. Here he meets the mysterious neighbor Jay Gatsby and the young couple Daisy and Tom Buchanan. Nick gets consumed with Jay Gatsby’s ways and witnesses what really goes down behind a troubled man and his muse.