Before it was released, I said I wanted to see the movie Woman in Gold http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2404425/. I even put aside an afternoon on my vacation to see it. That was the day severe thunderstorms moved into Lubbock, and Lubbock flooded, including in the area of the movie theater where this movie was playing, and I stayed home to stay out of the hail, without realizing the flooding would be more of a problem.
Was it last week, or the week before, that someone told me I need to get to the theater to see the movie or else it will be gone? But I kept procrastinating. Last night, I went to see the Drum Corps International season premier at the same movie theater where Woman in Gold is still playing. I had planned to go to the pool tonight, but decided to opt for going to see the movie instead. I am not sure, but I think Friday is the day they change movies in Lubbock. And, there were some storms in the area. I do not know if they closed the pool or not, but I opted for the movie. The forecast was the storms would not be severe, and if there was hail, it would be below the quarter-sized hail that causes problems. The clouds were ominous but I believed the weather forecasters.
My past movie going history is that I usually attend movies on the weekends. I was amazed last night at how few cars were in the parking lot. There were even fewer in the parking lot tonight, so movie going must be a weekend activity.
Well, I think I made the right choice. I was the only person in the theater until about 5 minutes before the movie started. A couple came in. About 10 minutes or so after the start of the movie, 2 women came in. I was sitting in the first row, middle of the row, going up from the entry ramp. These women came in, sat right next to me, and took out the food they smuggled into the theater.
We shared laughter and comments during the movie, and sat through the credits. The woman sitting next to me thanked me for being a good sport. I was not impressed: Not only did the two women talk a lot during the movie (about the movie and not about the movie), the woman next to me took out her cell phone several times, and clicked calls off. If she was not going to take calls, why didn't she silence her phone or shut it off? Or was she waiting for some specific call?. I told them I thought it was a great movie, and the other woman told me this was the second time she came to see it.
This is a movie I will watch again, if it is shown on TV.
I became a Helen Mirren fan when she did the Prime Suspect series http://www.helenmirren.com/biog.html as Jane Tennison, aired on PBS in this country. I also appreciated her in The Queen. There are several other of her movies I want to see, including The Hundred Foot Journey. I believe she has another play or series coming out on PBS in which she is Queen Elizabeth II, called The Audience https://www.telecharge.com/ScheduleAndPricing.aspx?ProductId=10486.
Well, the upshot is I enjoyed the movie, and if you did not see it, I recommend you do in the future.
Showing posts with label treasures.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label treasures.. Show all posts
Friday, June 19, 2015
Sunday, August 10, 2014
The Monuments Men
I am reading the book, The Monuments Men http://www.monumentsmen.com/books-movies/the-monuments-men by Robert Edsel with Brett Witter. This is the book upon which the movie was based.
Earlier this year, I saw the movie, The Monuments Men http://www.monumentsmen.com/. It was a good story, but a little disjointed. But, you got the message.
As is usually true, the book is better than the movie. But this book is dryer and even more disjointed than the movie. In the movie, you got the sense that the efforts of the Monuments Men were disorganized and disjointed, and they really were not sure what they were doing. Well, in the book, this is so obvious. It is a wonder that they accomplished anything. That they did is a tribute to the character of the men charged with the task of saving the art and cultural treasures of Europe.
It is so sad that the German Nazis tried to confiscate and destroy the culture of Europe. It was understandable: They wanted the best for themselves and they wanted to obliterate the rest that was not the best, and not German, or Aryan. It was their way of disrespecting the rest of Europe, denigrating Europe, and demeaning the identity of the peoples they "conquered."
There are important lessons in the book and movie. Lessons about respecting our history, our culture, and past histories and culture. Lessons about respecting the right of nations to have museums that safeguard and exhibit this history and culture. Lessons about the fact that private individuals have the right to amass treasures of art and culture that also pay tribute to our history and culture. Lessons about what can go amok when a government, or a faction puts itself above the law of civil rights and respect for human rights.
The book came out in 2009. I am not really good about keeping up with what new books are coming out. I happened to be at the movie theater and saw a trailer for the movie. If I had not seen the trailer, I am not sure I would have heard about the movie or the book. That is a lesson to me, I need to do better informed about what books are being written.
Earlier this year, I saw the movie, The Monuments Men http://www.monumentsmen.com/. It was a good story, but a little disjointed. But, you got the message.
As is usually true, the book is better than the movie. But this book is dryer and even more disjointed than the movie. In the movie, you got the sense that the efforts of the Monuments Men were disorganized and disjointed, and they really were not sure what they were doing. Well, in the book, this is so obvious. It is a wonder that they accomplished anything. That they did is a tribute to the character of the men charged with the task of saving the art and cultural treasures of Europe.
It is so sad that the German Nazis tried to confiscate and destroy the culture of Europe. It was understandable: They wanted the best for themselves and they wanted to obliterate the rest that was not the best, and not German, or Aryan. It was their way of disrespecting the rest of Europe, denigrating Europe, and demeaning the identity of the peoples they "conquered."
There are important lessons in the book and movie. Lessons about respecting our history, our culture, and past histories and culture. Lessons about respecting the right of nations to have museums that safeguard and exhibit this history and culture. Lessons about the fact that private individuals have the right to amass treasures of art and culture that also pay tribute to our history and culture. Lessons about what can go amok when a government, or a faction puts itself above the law of civil rights and respect for human rights.
The book came out in 2009. I am not really good about keeping up with what new books are coming out. I happened to be at the movie theater and saw a trailer for the movie. If I had not seen the trailer, I am not sure I would have heard about the movie or the book. That is a lesson to me, I need to do better informed about what books are being written.
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