November book and film review

Welcome to this month's media review. Just a reminder that the films and books reviewed have been encountered by me for the first time this month. Now read on...

BOOKS

HEART OF DARKNESS, by Joseph Conrad. Around the turn of the century, an agent for a European Ivory trading company sends one of its people to track down a trader who has "gone native", deep in the jungle of the Belgian Congo. Like "Lord Jim", the tale is told through the mouth of the narrator "Marlow", who describes his journey up the Congo river, deep in the Equatorial rain forest. No wonder this is one of Conrad's most famous stories. One is quickly enveloped by the oppressive heat, humidity and murderous danger that lurks in every shadow of that dark and mysterious place. No wonder Francis Ford Coppola based his film "Apocalypse Now" on this amazing book. Only small changes needed to be made to turn it into one of the great films about that other "heart of darkness", the Vietnam War.
AND QUIET FLOWS THE DON, by Mikhail Sholokhov (Volume 1). An every day story of country folk in early 20th century southern Russia. Life proceeds as it has done for hundreds of years. Then the Germans declare war... Absolutely terrific story of love and death among the rural cossacks. The great river Don itself, with its gentle curves and lonely sandbanks is one of the principal characters, forming a backdrop to almost every scene. Marvellous characterisations and dialogue make this an important and extremely satisfying book. I look forward to reading the 4 other volumes in this series.
CALYPSO, by Ed McBain. A calypso singer is found shot to death. Then, in succeeding days, other people with connections to him start turning up dead too. A return to form in this 1979 book, which maintains its pace throughout and includes a strong erotic element. Excellent holiday reading.

FILMS

ANGEL OF MINE (2008) D-Safy Nebbou. (Fr) A woman becomes convinced another family's daughter is her own. But didn't she die 7 years ago in a hospital fire? Sounds like a case of psychotic grief reaction to me... Understated tale of considerable power, with a terrific twist in its tale.
UP (2009) W-D- Pete Docter. An old man launches a quest to realize his late wife's great dream. Along the way he picks up a boy scout, anxious to get his badge for "assisting the elderly". Charming and really quite touching story from the Disney/Pixar stable, with the great John Lassiter in the background as executive producer.
THE RECKLESS MOMENT (1949) D-Max Ophuls. An emotionally repressed housewife will stop at nothing to protect her family. Full of deft directorial touches from one of the European masters, this is a remarkable piece of movie making, though to be fair some of the plot devices, such as James Mason's blackmailer appearing to fall for the woman he is blackmailing, are hard to swallow. But Joan Bennett's lead is splendidly played, full of barely suppressed emotion.
RED HEADED WOMAN (1932) D-Jack Conway. A young girl (Jean Harlow) decides to use her allure to seek a better life. A film banned under the Hays Code because of its "questionable moral content", illustrating that it wasn't just scantily clad ladies it objected to, but ideas and concepts as well. And if that isn't morally questionable, I don't know what is. Best line:
Harlow: Can you see through this dress?
Shop assistant: I'm afraid you can, dearie.
Harlow: I'll take it.
CHINA SEAS (1935) D-Tay Garnett. Sea captain Clark Gable is betrothed to an English society girl, but Jean Harlow is also aboard, and she don't care... Harlow refused to wear underwear in any of her movies, arguing that they would spoil the line of her clothes, and despite the pernicious Hays code it is abundantly clear in this delightful little number that her rules are still pertly in place (warning: perv alert-Ed) Best line: Upon arrival in Singapore, one drunken passenger walks on the gangplank which is not yet connected with the shore. Landing in the water, he announces:
"The condition of the streets here is deplorable!"
RANDOM HARVEST (1942) Greer Garson falls for amnesic soldier Ronald Coleman. Naturally it all gets highly complicated. One of the great "women's films" of the 1940s . As an unashamed tearjerker, it is almost unequalled in its melodramatic intensity.
V FOR VENDETTA (2005)D-Jonas McTeigue. In a future totalitarian society, a kind of latterday Zorro fights the forces of darkness. I'll admit it: I decided to watch this after I saw a number of the "occupy London" protesters outside St Pauls wearing the now famous sardonic mask. It's glossy and fast-paced; what we might expect with the Washowski brothers as producers, but painting the hero as some sort of politically aware Ninja just didn't do it for me. Meant presumably as a "1984 for the Millennium", it relies too much on vivid action sequences while remaining emotionally empty. 1984 it most certainly ain't.
LES DAMES DU BOIS DE BOULOGNE (1945) A couple admit they are no longer in love. She seems to take her lover's admission well, but in secret plans a terrible revenge on him, encouraging him to fall in love with a girl who, unknown to him, is a prostitute. Once again, Bresson weaves his quiet, pervasive spell over the audience in this fascinating piece of film making.