june book, film and TV review

welcome to this month's media review.

BOOKS

JANE AUSTEN: A LIFE, by Claire Tomalin. I have enjoyed this writer's previous biographies, especially of Samuel Pepys. There she was assisted by in her work by one of the most comprehensive contempoary accounts of his life one could ever wish for: his own Great Diary. In this case, however, nearly all of Austen's letters were destroyed by ignorant relatives shortly after her death. And, as she did very little in her life (other than producing several of the most famous novels in the English language), never marrying, never even going out much, then poor old Tomalin is pretty much stymied in her attempt to make anything of her life story. Me? I blame those idiots who destroyed her letters. They may have contained some fascinating stuff, as her few surviving letters attest.
THE HISTORY MAN, by Malcolm Bradbury. A priapic leftie university lecturer screws his way round a post-war, plate-glass campus, making little bits of history along the way. I saw a brilliant BBC TV adaptation of this back in the early 80s, so good in fact, that I didn't feel it necessary to read the book. I'm glad I did in the end though. It's very cynical, very dark and very funny.
THE LANCE AND THE SHIELD (The Life and Times of Sitting Bull)) by Robert M Utley. When he was born in the 1830s, Sitting Bull's people, the Lakota Sioux of America's north-west lived as nomadic tribes, following the vast herds of buffalo that gave them everything they needed. It was life of pure freedom. By the time of his death in 1890, the Sioux, and all the other Native American tribes, were a smashed culture, lied to and cheated by a white man who cared only for gold. It's the old, old story of what happens every time a more sophisticated culture encounters a less sophisticated one, but Utley brings it to life with his well written account of the destruction of a people and the man who more than any other personified its grandeur and wisdom- lost for ever, swamped by the "Great American Dream".
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT, by Jean Maria Remarque. In 1914, a 19 year-old German lad is swept away by patriotic fervour at home and volunteers. For the next 4 years he does his best to survive the horrors of trench warfare. There he learns the really important things of life, like how to make a fire with damp wood, how to kill a man with a bayonet and how friends are more important than anything else. More than just a book, reading this is an overwhelmingly powerful emotional experience, as well as being one of the most potent anti-war tracts ever written. I would go further. For many years I have had a list of 5 books I would recommend absolutely everyone to read before they leave school:
1. 1984
2. Animal Farm
3. The Catcher in the Rye
4. Brave New World
5. Lord of the Flies
These books are all fairly short, easy to read and literally life changing in their impact. To this illustrious collection I would add a 6th: All Quiet on the Western Front.

FILMS

TIGHTROPE (1984) D- Clint Eastwood hunts a serial killer, then begins to notice he's killing prostitutes Clint himself has been patronising. Then his own family is targeted... Clint has provided good VFM in American films for over 40 years- he certainly saves this otherwise pedestrian vehicle. How many films has he saved? Hundreds?
L'AVVENTURA (1960) D-Michaelangelo Antonioni. A bunch of rich idlers land on a tiny uninhabited island for some fun, but a girl goes missing. Her boyfriend then seeks solace in the arms of another... The early scenes on the island, where the camera is constantly taking in the extraordinary volcanic topography of the Aeolian Islands, are quite gripping. But then, after the police are called and still the girl is not found, the party repairs to the mainland where the next 2 hours are spent following the affairs of the surviving members of the party. Put another way, this film is an hour too long.
TOGETHER (2000)D-Lucas Moodysson. A disparate collection of middle class anarchists more or less co-exist in a commune. But then a new family moves in, and the whole thing begins to fall apart. Just the sort of film the Swedes do well. Loved it.
WHIP IT! (2010)D-Drew Barrymore. A teenager discovers a talent for roller-derby, to the chagrin of her parents and the jealousy of other participants, whose skills she rapidly eclipses. Ellen Page shows once again she is one of the most exciting finds in recent years. You go girl!
CARMEN (1984) D-Francesco Rosi. The famous opera, lovingly realized on the screen with Julia Migenes as the sexy but flighty Carmen and Placido Domingo as her doomed suitor. You may have your doubts about the filming of operas, but this, and perhaps Bergman's Magic Flute, should demonstrate that it can be done, and done superbly.

TELEVISION

THE KILLING (SERIES 1)Denmark, written by Soren Sveistrup. A pretty young girl is horribly raped and murdered, and the clues seem to lead to the heart of the political establishment. 20 episodes, 20 days of investigation, led by a policewoman who, despite being hamstrung by her superiors, refuses to be deflected from the task of bringing the perp to justice. And indeed, it is her unswerving persistence that drives the whole narrative, as her suspicious and cynical colleagues gradually come to believe in her. The scenes which explore the grief of the victim's family are almost unbearably poignant. One problem for me was that I was not wholly convinced by the denouement, but the whole product is very definitely superior television. If you like a box-set thriller, try it...