This month we watched The Last Word, a recent film starring Shirley MacLaine.
Genre: Dramatic comedy Plot: Harriet is a retired businesswoman who tries to control everything around her. When she decides to write her own obituary, Anne takes up the task of finding out the truth. When Harriet does not like the truth of her life, she sets out to show she is different, resulting in a life-altering friendship between Harriet, Anne and Brenda, an “at risk” coloured girl. Key Characters: Harriet (Shirley MacLaine), Anne (Amanda Seyfried), Brenda (AnnJewel Lee Dixon) Review: This involved some superb acting by Shirley MacLaine. At 83 and after over 60 years of acting, she can still portray a great character. Her character was not likable at the beginning, but as she touched the lives of the other two key actors, the depth of her character became apparent. There are many humorous scenes, but overall it has deeper meaning, revolving around a range of relationships: couples, parent/child, work colleagues, mentors. A thoroughly enjoyable movie, which we rated as between 4.5 out of 5. Further: We are planning to watch the new Murder on the orient Express at BPACC on 5 December at 10:30am. Anyone is welcome to join us. We will be discussing the movie over coffee the following week as our end of year activity. With all the movies we watch, we look at them as literature – literature in a different medium, the medium of film. This helps to focus the discussion, covering ideas around genre, characters, plot, but also adding the aspects that relate to film, such as cinemascope, music and atmosphere. We are looking forward to welcoming all interested movie goers in 2018. Joy Shirley This month we watched Barefoot in the Park. Genre: Romantic comedy Plot: Paul, a conservative young lawyer, marries the vivacious Corie. Their highly passionate relationship descends into comical discord in a five-flight New York City walk-up apartment. Key Characters: Paul Bratter (Robert Redford), Corie Bratter (Jane Fonda), Victor Velasco (Charles Boyer), Ethel Banks (Mildred Natwick) Filming Location: Filmed in various locations around New York City Review: In general, an enjoyable film. Even the bit characters were enjoyable, from the telephone installation man to the eyes peeping around doors or out the window. The four main characters were full of contrasts – serious to “ditsy”. Ethel was the opposite of Corrie, her daughter; Paul was the opposite of the neighbour, Victor. In the end there is role reversal, with Paul less serious and Corrie realising she loves his serious side; Ethel becomes more outgoing and Victor realise he is getting older. There were some similarities with Breakfast at Tiffanys because of the slightly “ditsy” characters. We rated it as 4-5 out of 5. Other comments: This was originally a Neil Simon play, with Mildred Natwick also performing in the role of Ethel in the play. Predominantly a character actor she preferred the stage to film. She was nominated for best supporting actress for her role in the movie version of Barefoot in the Park. Our November session is on 8 November. We will be watching The Last Word, a recent Shirley MacLaine movie. It is another light movie to finish the year. With all the movies we watch, we look at them as literature – literature in a different medium, that of film. This helps to focus the discussion, covering ideas around genre, characters, plot, but also adding the aspects that relate to film, such as cinemascope, music and atmosphere.
Joy Shirley This month we watched Saving Mr Banks. Genre: Biography, Comedy, Drama Plot: Author P.L. Travers reflects on her childhood after reluctantly meeting with Walt Disney, who seeks to adapt her Mary Poppins books for the big screen Key Characters: Major characters are P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson); Walt Disney (Tom Hanks); Ginty (Annie Rose Buckley); Travers Goff (Colin Farrell); Ralph (Paul Giamalli) Filming Location: California, but story setting included Australia, London as well as California. Review: This was enjoyed by the group. The performance by Annie Rose Buckley as Ginty (the young PL Travers) was considered as outstanding. It provides some history to the making of Mary Poppins, as well showing a lot of the linkages between the author’s early years in Australia and the story she tells in her books. These include a lot of references to flying, the umbrella her aunt brought when helping the family, references to the wind, even the tuppence that Michael wants to use to buy food for the birds is similar to the tuppence the author’s aunt gave her. When discussing who we would recommend the film to, we decided it would be suitable for anyone. We rated it as 5 out of 5. Other comments: The author’s real name was Helen Goff, but wrote under the name P L Travers – her much loved father’s name was Travers Goff. There were some aspects of Australia that we felt were not quite correct, for example, a kangaroo on a lead. If made today, could it be improved by filming the relevant parts on location in Australia? While based on the early life of the author, as is often the case, there are some inaccuracies, one of which is the author’s age when they moved to Allora in Queensland. In real life she was only three, but the movie has her as considerably older. For information: A movie that is topical now is called I Am Michael, recommended by one of our group as worth watching. It is available from the library and for streaming on Netflix. Our September session is on 11 October. We will be watching Barefoot in the Park, filmed in 1967 and starring Jane Fonda and Robert Redford. With all the movies we watch, we look at them as literature – literature in a different medium, that of film. This helps to focus the discussion, covering ideas around genre, characters, plot, but also adding the aspects that relate to film, such as cinemascope, music and atmosphere.
Joy Shirley This month we watched The Third Man. Genre: Mystery, thriller (spy) Plot: Pulp novelist Holly Martins travels to shadowy, post-war Vienna, only to find himself investigating the mysterious death of an old friend, Harry Lime. Key Characters: Major characters are Holly Martins (Joseph Cotton), Anna Schmidt (Alida Valli), Harry Lime (Orson Welles) and Major Calloway (Trevor Howard) Filming Location: Austria and UK Review: Comments after the movie covered the location – post war Vienna – and how the ruins added to the atmosphere of the movie; the quality of the performances; and the music which is well known. One scene was noted – Harry Lime (played by Orson Welles) was standing in the underground sewers listening to the calls and footsteps of the people chasing him echoing around him, trying to find out which way to run. There was a little bit of comic relief as well – a parrot, a cat finding Harry Lime just after a comment that he only liked Harry, a little boy chasing Holly and Anna, and a scene where it looks as if Holly has been kidnapped only to find he is being taken to a lecture he was to give. Other comments: Cinematography was by Robert Krasker, and won an Academy Award in 1951 Our September session is on 13 September. We plan to watch the movie Saving Mr Banks, the story behind the making of Mary Poppins. We will be in our new location at the Senior Citizens, and will start promptly at 1:00pm. With all the movies we watch we can look at them as literature – literature in a different medium, that of film. This helps to focus the, covering ideas around genre, characters, plot, but also adding the aspects that relate to film, such as cinemascope, music and atmosphere. Joy Shirley This month we watched Eddie the Eagle.
Genre: Biography, Adventure, Drama Plot: The story of Eddie Edwards, the tenacious British underdog ski jumper who charmed the world at the 1988 Winter Olympics. Key Characters: Michael “Eddie” Edwards (Taron Egerton), Bronson Peary (Hugh Jackman) Filming Location: UK, Germany, Austria Review: This was a “feel good” movie. One person commented that it was just what was needed after watching The Handmaid’s Tale recently. While this was based on the true story of Eddie Edwards, the story had some strong messages about determination, growing up and redemption. The music contributed well to the atmosphere of the movie. There was a political/class aspect that seemed to part of the sports hierarchy that Eddie had to overcome. It would be a good movie to show young people who are striving for achievement. Generally, we rated the movie as 3-3.5 out of 5 – an enjoyable movie, but perhaps not one of the great movies. Other comments: The locations were spectacular. It was noted that it was the female parts that were the most supportive and sympathetic to Eddie’s struggle, although the coach he found did come around. Our July session is on 9 August. We plan to watch the movie The Third Man, a celebrated British thriller. We will be in our new location at the Senior Citizens, and will start promptly at 1:00pm. With all the movies we watch we can look at them as literature – literature in a different medium, that of film. This helps to focus the discussion, covering ideas around genre, characters, plot, but also adding the aspects that relate to film, such as cinemascope, music and atmosphere Joy Shirley This month we watched Lantana, an Australian movie. Genre: Mystery Drama Plot: The relationships of four couples unravel after the disappearance of a woman in Lantana bush in suburban Sydney. Key Characters: Leon and Sonya (Anthony LaPaglia and Kerry Armstrong), John and Valerie (Geoffrey Rush and Barbara Hershey), Paula and Nik (Vince Colosimo and Daniela Farinacci), Jane and Pete (Rachael Blake and Glenn Robbins) Location: Set in Sydney, and filmed at various locations around Sydney Other comments: Was it necessary to include smoking in the movie – it was set in current times and filmed during the 21st century? The IMDb web site suggested the genre was also a romance, but the group did not agree that there was any real romance in the movie. Review: Opinion of the movie varied, with some enjoying it more than others. The real mystery did not come apparent until halfway through the movie, with the first hour setting up the various relationships. It was based mainly on the four couples, but each of the partners encountered others co-coincidentally throughout the movie. For example, Pete met Leon in a pub, after Pete had a strange interaction with Valerie. It was good to see so many strong Australian actors in the same movie. Geoffrey Rush’s performance was very different from his other movies. Our next session is on July 12. We plan to watch the movie Eddie the Eagle. We will be in our new location at the Senior Citizens, but we will start promptly at 1:00pm. With all the movies we watch we can look at them as literature – literature in a different medium, that of film. This helps to focus the discussion, covering ideas around genre, characters, plot, but also adding the aspects that relate to film, such as cinemascope, music and atmosphere.
Joy Shirley This month we watched Love and Friendship, based on an early novel by Jane Austen, but which was not published for many years. Genre: Comedy, Romance Plot: Set in the 1790s, Love and Friendship centres on beautiful widow Lady Susan Vernon, who has come to the estate of her in-laws to wait out colourful rumours about her dalliances circulating through polite society. Whilst there, she sets about securing a husband for herself and her rather reluctant debutante daughter, Frederica. Key Characters: Kate Beckinsale - Lady Susan Vernon; Morfydd Clark - Frederica Vernon; Tom Bennett - Sir James Martin; Xavier Samuel - Reginald DeCourcy Location: Set in and around Dublin. Other: An extra aspect of interest I found were places we had visited on our travels in Ireland. Review: At a first glance this is a superficial movie and could be considered a “chick flick”. Looking more deeply it gave a picture of the era, and the issues faced by a penniless widow and a view of the pressures on young girls to marry money. Possibly the stand out performances were by Kate Beckinsale and Tom Bennett. Lady Susan was manipulative and selfish, Sir James was portrayed as a fool, and Reginald as easily led. With a few exceptions, it was only the women who were not easily brought under Lady Susan’s spell. It is Jane Austen’s clever character portrayal that made this an enjoyable movie. Our June session is on 14 June. We plan to watch the movie Lantana, an Australian mystery starring Anthony LaPaglia and Rachael Blake. To allow time to discuss the movie, we start promptly at 1:00pm. With all the movies we watch we can look at them as literature – literature in a different medium, that of film. This helps to focus the discussion, covering ideas around genre, characters, plot, but also adding the aspects that relate to film, such as cinemascope, music and atmosphere. Joy The Film and Literature group's choice for May.
In April we watched Hunt for the Wilderpeople, filmed in New Zealand.
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Comedy – an element of each Plot: A manhunt is ordered for a rebellious kid and his foster uncle who go missing in the wild New Zealand bush. Characters: Ricky (Julian Dennison), Hec (Sam Neill), Paula (Rachel House) Social Worker and Bella (Rima Te Wiata), Hec’s wife. Location: Set in the North Island of New Zealand. Other: While this is about the hunt for Ricky and Hec, the underlying theme is the developing relationship between the two and how they dealt with Bella’s death. There was a cameo appearance by the Director, Taika Waititi, as the minister who conducted the service for Bella’s funeral. Review: This film would appeal to all ages. The adventure would appeal to younger people, and older people would enjoy the relationships, humour, and references (overt and subtle) to other movies. For example, the car chase which has elements of Thelma and Louise. One of the key characters, Paula, was a standout performance – she acted as an over the top Social Worker, well portrayed as a totally unlikable character. In many ways this was a drama, with many humorous scenes. In parts, it could make you cry, but mainly it made us laugh. Everyone agreed that this movie rated as 5 out of 5. We could not see any real weaknesses – the key characters, scenery of New Zealand and music were all excellent. Our May session is on 10 May. We plan to watch the movie Love and Friendship, starring Kate Beckinsale, Chloë Sevigny, Xavier Samuel, based on a Jane Austen book. To allow time to discuss the movie, we start the movies sharply at 1:00pm. With all the movies we watch we can look at them as literature – literature in a different medium, that of film. This helps to focus the discussion, covering ideas around genre, characters, plot, but also adding the aspects that relate to film, such as cinemascope, music and atmosphere. This month we watched Suffragette, released in the UK in 2015. Genre: Biography, Drama, History Plot: “The foot soldiers of the early feminist movement, women who were forced underground to pursue a dangerous game of cat and mouse with an increasingly brutal State.” Characters: Maud Watts, an ordinary and anonymous working woman (Carey Mulligan), Maud's friend Violet (Anne-Marie Duff), Edith Ellyn (Helena Bonham Carter), Maud’s husband (Ben Whishaw). Location: Set in 1912 London. Other: Suffragette is a solid historical drama, that tells an important social story that graphically illustrates how much the world has changed, for the better, in a hundred years. The film concludes with the astounding fact that Switzerland only gave women the vote in 1971. Review: All appreciated this movie, although some found it quite emotionally challenging. Although not overt, there were several issues raised. Women could work, but did not have a voice; women did not have rights, only men; women were mothers or wives, possessions not people. The question was raised as to whether we still fall in to the trap ourselves, identifying ourselves as our roles. We see Maude’s inner conflict over whether to “do as she was told”, or to think for herself. Thinking for herself was labelled as “not right in the head” – a sickness. During the movie the lighting changed from sombre to brighter as the time for women gaining the voter came closer. Even the costumes seemed to become lighter and brighter. Of interest was the list at the end of the movie showing the years that many countries gave women the vote. ……………………………………………………………. Our April session is on 12 April. We plan to watch the movie Hunt for the Wilderpeople, starring Sam Neill and Julian Dennison. To allow time to discuss the movie, we start the movies sharply at 1:00pm. With all the movies we watch we can look at them as literature – literature in a different medium, that of film. This helps to focus the discussion, covering ideas around genre, characters, plot, but also adding the aspects that relate to film, such as cinemascope, music and atmosphere. *Message from Judith Borthwick: Unfortunately I somehow missed including the Film and Literature report in the March newsletter. It has been forwarded to group members by email; included here on the website and will be included in the next newsletter along with the latest report. My apologies. Judith Borthwick (Acting Newsletter Editor)
Judith Borthwick Our March session is on 8 March, International Women’s Day, so we plan to watch the movie Suffragette. This is a biography around the fight by women in Britain in the early 20th century to gain support for their right to vote. The movie is over 100 minutes, and to allow time to discuss the movie, we will start the movie at sharply at 1:00pm. This month we watched The Ghost and Mrs Muir, based on the 1945 novel by R. A. Dick, the pseudonym for Josephine Leslie.
Genre: Romantic fantasy Plot: an early 1900s story of a young widow who moves to an English seaside village despite the disapproval of her mother-in-law and sister-in-law. She rents Gull Cottage, with a reputation for being haunted. Here she takes up residence with her young daughter and her maid. A friendship forms between the ghost, and the young widow. She meets an author who captivates her, but she finds he has a wife and children. On her death, the Captain returns. Characters: Lucy, the widow (Gene Tierney), Captain Gregg, the ghost (Rex Harrison), Anna, the daughter (Natalie Wood), Martha, the maid (Edna Best), Miles Fairley, an author (George Sanders). Location: Set in a seaside village in England, although filmed in California. Other: Filmed in 1947 in black and white. Review: On-line reviews differ in discussion around the genre of the film. One review suggested it covered a range of genres – thriller, comedy, drama, romance, fantasy. We decided that perhaps romantic fantasy best described the movie. We all agreed that it was a good portrayal of the period, the early 1900s, with the expectation that the young widow would live with family, not move out on her own. The music was atmospheric, and the scenery spectacular. Although much of the movie was filmed in America, one member thought the scenery was typical of Cornwall. We also had a brief discussion as to whether we notice mistakes in movies, and whether they matter. The answer to both questions was NO. The reason for the question was because in one scene in the movie, a kettle seems to magically move from the left of the stove to the right. No-one else noticed this. An enjoyable movie, appreciated by us all. With all the movies we watch we can look at them as literature – literature in a different medium, that of film. This helps to focus the discussion, covering ideas around genre, characters, plot, but also adding the aspects that relate to film, such as cinemascope, music and atmosphere. This month we watched 12 Angry Men, based on a play by Reginald Rose. It was wonderful to have members from the Play Reading Group join us as this is the play planned for the February Play Reading. This added extra richness to the discussion after the movie.
At the end of a murder trial in New York City, the twelve jurors retire to consider the verdict. The man in the dock is a young Puerto Rican accused of killing his abusive father. The opening scene shows the judge instructing the jury about their responsibilities, looking bored and perhaps assuming the jury would quickly find the young man guilty. Eleven of the twelve jurors do not hesitate in finding him guilty. The twelfth, played by Henry Fonda, is reluctant to condemn the young man to death without debate. No names were shared – they were known only by their number. This is not an action movie. The setting is predominantly the jury room. There is some dramatic music as the jury left the courtroom, but no music at any other stage in the movie. It is hot and stifling in the jury room – reflecting the heat of the arguments to come. Representative of the era in which the movie was filmed, the jury members are all male; the majority are smoking. Gradually the split moves towards not guilty. When the count moves to equal guilty/not guilty, a change in the weather heralds a change in the room – rain starts, the light is switched on, the fan starts working, the atmosphere starts to cool down. Our discussion noted how easy it could be to convict or acquit based on prejudice, or interpretation of evidence, even though the role of the jury is to decide on guilt “beyond a reasonable doubt”. Everyone agreed that the movie was riveting. It was interesting to see the development of the various characters and relationships. Many points were brought up showing that the claims of innocence by the young man could possibly be correct, and that the statements from the witnesses were possible flawed. All the characters brought different perspective to the discussion, but the standout characters apart from juror 8, the part played by Henry Fonda, were jurors 3, 9 and 10. Juror 9, Joseph Sweeney, was observant and logical, not getting caught up in the “heat” of the arguments. Juror 10, Ed Begley, displayed his prejudice against the Puerto Ricans, calling them all liars, not caring about lives, killing recklessly when they felt like it. Eventually after a rant about this, all the other jurors turned their backs on him – symbolic of the realisation that possible his guilty judgement was based on his prejudice. It took Juror 3, Lee J Cobb, longer to realise his prejudice – not based on race, but on his experience with his own son. It was only as he tore up a photo of his son he perhaps realised he was judging on the age of the accused, and failed father/son relationships. I am in the process of planning our early sessions for 2017. Ideas include some of the classics which are shorter than some of the more recent films, and fit comfortably in the time we have available while we are meeting in W4. I hope some confirmed ideas will be available at registration in January. Joy Shirley This month we watched an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, starring Sarah Parish, Damian Lewis, Billie Piper and Tom Ellis. It was part of a series of four television adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays broadcast on BBC in 2005. It relocated the story to the present day, which did mean some changes in the story and characters.
The setting for the adaptation was a news studio where all the main characters were employed. For those familiar with Shakespeare’s play, Beatrice and Benedick were feuding co-presenters, Hero the weather girl, Leonard the station manager and Claude (Claudio) the sports presenter. Don was a jealous visual effects manager. To fit into the present time and the studio setting, there were some slight variations to the story, but in general the plot was similar. One variation that I noted was the use of a Shakespeare Sonnet that Beatrice and Benedick discuss in place of the poems which they had written about one another in the original play. The other notable variation was that Hero and Claude do not marry. This perhaps fitted a more current approach, with all U3A attendees suggesting that they would not have forgiven Claude after what he had done to Hero on their wedding day. An interesting question is whether this was a comedy or tragedy. One person summed it up as rather a comedy of errors. Our current plan is to watch 12 Angry Men next month, based on a play by Reginald Rose. This will be our last session for the year. Everyone is invited to join us as an introduction to Film and Literature for next year. We watched another episode in the Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads series. This time it was be Miss Fozard Finds Her Feet, a monologue by Patricia Routledge. It was interesting to compare this with the previous episode we had watched – Bed Among the Lentils.
It was interesting to see how characters can be created via a monologue. Patricia Routledge created the different characters by voice changes and head movements, actually acting the characters. There were three characters in particular that she showed really strongly using these techniques – her brother and two chiropodists in her life. Through the script we also gained a good picture of Miss Fozzard herself. She was a bit naïve, at least at first, but was cautious about younger people who she thought did not have much experience and so were not necessarily capable. The setting was also well suited to the monologue. For example, after her brother has a second stroke, we see her looking out with rain running down the window, representing the bleakness of the situation. Through her words we can “see” her brother sitting in his chair staring into space. All of this showed how clever Alan Bennett’s script is, and how well Patricia Routledge interprets the words. Next month we will be watching an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, starring Sarah Parish, Damian Lewis, Billie Piper and Tom Ellis. Everyone is welcome to join us. Anyone familiar with the Shakespeare Play may be particularly interested in this film. Details of BPACC’s Seniors Week screening of ‘Love and Friendship’ can be found in ‘Around the Traps’ (Drop down menu under 'Benalla'. This month we watched an American Romantic Comedy – 10 Things I hate About You. Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew served as the inspiration for the movie. The key characters in the play are:
It was generally thought that this did not really reflect much of the story in The Taming of the Shrew, except for the basic plot of the older sister needing to be dating before the younger sister is allowed to date. One area of discussion was around American movies based in secondary schools. They depict the schools as very different from the Australian approach. They show very little education, and that shown is not very educational, with either or both the students and teachers behaving rather strangely. Of course, this is probably due to the plot of the movies. The main difference though is the number of students who are driving to school, which I suspect is possibly close to what happens. From my experience, fewer Australian students have cars and drive to school. In general, it was agreed that the movie was enjoyable, although quite light. Next month we will be looking at another episode in Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads series. This time it will be Miss Fozard Finds Her Feet, a monologue by Patricia Routledge. We enjoyed the episode we watched in June and are expecting another great performance. As intended, we watched an episode of Talking Heads written by Alan Bennett (who also wrote The Lady in the Van). This was Bed Among the Lentils with Maggie Smith playing a vicar’s alcoholic wife. This is a monologue, presented by Maggie Smith. She is talking about her life as a vicar’s wife, and in doing so raises some interesting questions. Why is the vicar’s wife expected to attend every service? A lawyer’s wife is not expected to attend court; an actor’s wife is not expected to attend every performance. When the Bishop visits, she is asked about her thoughts on women conducting services, and the vicar answers for her. All this points to the vicar’s treatment of her as a possession, not of great value, having no thoughts of her own. Perhaps this is the reason for her alcoholism. It is when she meets an Indian shopkeeper who treats her as someone of value, worthy of having a conversation, that she finds a reason to address her alcoholism. Maggie Smith’s performance is outstanding. Initially it appears that her presentation is deadpan, both in lack of facial expression and tone of voice. However, in reviewing sections of the presentation, we found a range of facial expressions, and some tonal variations. It was perhaps more the way she held herself – head to the side, and body very still – and her appearance – lank hair and dowdy clothes – that gave the impression of her unhappiness. Towards the end, this changes when the new relationship develops. Her hair has been styled and she has a lighter feel about her. Certainly an interesting DVD that promoted an enjoyable discussion. We had a little time, so a couple of people talked about movies they had seen and the impact they had had. One was The Help, based on the book about the treatment of coloured maids in America’s south. The other was Bad Neighbours 2, an American comedy which, while a rather silly movie, had an underlying message to young women that they do not need to think of themselves as only sex objects. Next month we will be watching a much lighter American movie that is a modern day story possibly along the lines of Taming of the Shrew which we watched earlier in the year. It will be interesting to discuss whether the same messages come through this much lighter movie. Everyone is welcome, particularly anyone familiar with the Shakespeare play. A link to Bed Among the Lentils from You Tube: A small group of people met this month to watch Tootsie, starring Dustin Hoffman. It was interesting to see how he was able to use makeup to turn himself into a woman. There was some discussion about his hands in the movie, assuming that in fact they were not his hands as that is one feature that would be hard to “feminise”. The character he played showed him relating to the treatment of women, with a telling line from the film at the end being his comment "I was a better man with you as a woman than I ever was with a woman as a man."
Next month we will be looking at an episode of Talking Heads written by Alan Bennett, who also wrote The Lady in the Van and either Bed Among the Lentils with Maggie Smith playing a vicar’s alcoholic wife, or A Lady of Letters with Patricia Routledge playing a single woman who is not afraid to write her mind. These are short pieces, hopefully leaving time for anyone attending the session to talk about a movie, not necessarily recent, that has had an impact on them, either good or bad, and why. Everyone, whether enrolled or not, is invited to join us on 13 July. There has been some confusion about the start time for Film and Literature. To avoid further confusion, let’s start the session at 1:00pm. This will allow us to watch some longer movies, and still have time to discuss the movie afterwards.
If you have any questions or ideas for future movies, give Joy a call on 0417 065 351. The Film and Literature Group gathered on a hot Wednesday to see Franco Zeffirelli’s production of Taming of the Shrew. Based on the William Shakespeare play of the same name, Taming of the Shrew is described as “a comic look at male chauvinism and Women’s Lib in the sixteenth century.” Renaissance Italy, as recreated by Zeffirelli, provides the perfect backdrop for the reform of Katharina, the bad tempered, aggressive “shrew” played in fine form by Liz Taylor. Petruchio, as played by Richard Burton, is the fortune hunting wife- seeker from Verona who takes on the task of taming this shrewish woman.
This proved to be a busy but enjoyable film – lots happening in the background of each scene, the language of Shakespeare to decode and savour, plus a couple of different subplots woven into the transformation of Katharina. The concept of one human consciously working to “tame” another is a thought provoking concept and this film gives one lots to think about. (For the trivia enthusiasts - a shrew is a tiny rodent that is extremely bad tempered!) We had planned to watch Tootsie at our February meeting, but the length of the movie was too long for the available time, being nearly 2 hours. Another plan was made and we watched Turner and Hooch. There was comment during the movie about how much younger Tom Hanks, who played Turner in the movie, looked. It was a light movie, and generally all enjoyed.
There was some brief discussion around how to introduce some literature into the session, as well as some Agatha Christie movies that are not Poirot or Miss Marple based. In the future we will commence our session at 1:00pm, so that we can see some of the longer movies and also allow some time for a literature element. This will allow us to watch Tootsie in March. A trailer of November's classic film 'Lust for Life' . In September our group watched ‘The Theory of Everything’ based on the memoir ‘Travelling to Infinity my Life with Stephen Hawking’ by Jane Wilde Hawking.
Eddie Redmayne gives an astounding performance as Stephen Hawking. Felicity Jones sensitive but strong performance as Jane Hawking brings the core of the movie together. A supporting cast of fine actors complete a warm viewing experience. Our next movie ‘Under the Tuscan Sun’ starring Dianne Lane looks interesting, Our group enjoyed the feel-good movie ‘Mama Mia’. A vibrant romp starring Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan and many other fine actors. I won’t forget the high energy performances of all the cast. Our next movie will be ‘The Theory of Everything’ starring Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Janes and cast. The Oscar winning biopic of the life of Stephen Hawkings, a truly remarkable man of our time. Our group will meet at 1.30 pm on Wednesday 9th September. Jim Casey |
About our Film Discussion GroupDo you enjoy watching films? Do you find discussing films adds to your enjoyment? Do you find that you can better understand a movie by hearing and sharing thoughts about the film? We certainly do. At our Film Discussion classes we discuss a film we have watched during the month.
Films screened at the Benalla Cinema or at Swanpool provide a range of films that could be of interest. Where upcoming films are known these may be discussed at the class to help select films to watch during the following month, and if several people see the same film, this can add to the depth of discussion. ConvenorJoy Shirley 0417065351
Meeting times2nd Wednesday
2 pm to 3.30 pm U3A Meeting Room 1 GuideThe things we will watch for in viewing the film include:
Did you enjoy the film? What in particular did you like? Was there anything that you did not like? What did you think about the cinematography? What did you think of the performances? Any strong performances that stand out? Any weak performances that spoilt the film? Overall rating out of 5. Films over time:
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