october book and film review

BOOKS

STRAIT IS THE GATE, BY ANDRE GIDE. On of the great novellas of 19th century French literature, Gide weaves a sad, but beautiful account of unrequited love, a young man's object of desire finding her devotion to God over-riding her feelings for him. Very special.
THE ALCHEMIST, BY PAOLO COELHO. One of the books that, with its mixture of magic and cod philosophy, caught the imagination of the world and sold in its millions. And I admit it does have a certain charm, though don't expect an outstanding piece of writing.
A DOG'S HEART, BY MICHAIL BULGAKOV. An extraordinary tale, a kind of "Animal Farm" written from the other side of the Iron Curtain. Suppressed for decades by the Stalinist leadership and beyond, Bulgakov, teaching us a parable of how Russian-style communism can eat into the soul of a nation, postulates a mad doctor who transplants the genitals and part of the brain of a man onto a dog, with horrifically funny results.
IRON IN THE SOUL, BY JEAN-PAUL SARTRE. Part 3 of the "Roads to Freedom" trilogy, Sartre places his protagonists in the just-defeated France of June 1940, and dissects out the effects on a range of disparate characters. Better than the second book in the series, but still, not for me at least, quite reaching the heights of the first book, "The Age of Reason"
UNFORTUNATELY, IT WAS PARADISE, POEMS BY MAHMOUD DARWISH. Darwish is the unelected "poet laureate of Palestine". Drawing deeply on an Arab poetic heritage that pre-dates Islam, he writes movingly and beautifully about the sights, sounds, fragrances and deep emotions of his homeland. As you read them, you can almost feel the heat and taste the dust of the desert. And, running beneath every line, experience the deep sense of loss. Tremendous stuff.

FILMS

STARDUST (2007) d- MATTHEW VAUGHN. One of those mystical, journey-into-another-reality movies that have done so well since Harry Potter and the Lord of the Rings cycle. A strong cast including Bob DeNiro, but to be honest it barely lingers in the memory.
ANGEL EYES (2001)d- LUIS MANDOKI. Jaylo proves she can act as well as sing in this superior offering, where a woman cop falls for a stranger, but both are weighed down by ghosts from their respective pasts. Really rather good.
WOMAN OF STRAW (1964)d- BASIL DEARDEN. Sean Connery at the crest of his 007 success seems oddly miscast as he tries to extract a fortune from the hands of an ailing, but curmudgeonly relative. The ending is ludicrous, by the way.
LACOMBE LUCIEN (1974) d- LOUIS MALLE. A young man fails in his bid to join the wartime French Resistance, so joins the nazis as a collaborator instead. This ruffled a few feathers in France when it was released, but Malle insisted it was a story, not political comment. Notable, but not oustanding.
QUE LA BETE MEURE (The Beast must die) (1969) d- CLAUDE CHABROL. A man's son is killed by a hit-and-run driver and devotes his life to tracking down and killing the man responsible- who then learns of the plot against him. Good stuff from the master of French suspense, sometimes known as "the French Hitchcock"
SPACECHIMPS(2008) d- KIRK DEMICCO. Apes are sent into Space because they're expendable, but do an unexpectedly good job. Really rather charming animation with some refreshingly snappy writing.
TWIN TOWN (1997)d- KEVIN ALLEN. Gritty, realistic tale of life in the raw in pre-millennial Swansea. Very dark, but very funny. And very Welsh.
A SERIOUS MAN ((2009) P-D- THE COEN BROTHERS. Coen bothers films are almost always worth watching, including their latest offering, which is less violent than some, but still arresting. Good performances all round in this satire on American Jewish life.
MADE IN DAGENHAM (2010) d- NIGEL COLE. In 1968, women seamstresses in the giant Ford factory in Dagenham fight for equal pay in what was then still very much a man's world. Another one of those "ordinary folk come together to make a difference" movies that British cinema has cornered the market on lately, what with "The Full Monty" and "Calendar Girls", the latter of which was also made by this director. They're almost formulaic in a way, and clearly the formula works. Expect this to do well.