Most Beautiful Island - the protagonist you want to strangle

Greetings, commies!

As an immigrant myself, I am intrigued by the portrayal of immigrants in film. I get it, every story is unique, and not every story results in the achievement of the American Dream. Here is a psychological thriller/horror film Most Beautiful Island featuring white immigrant experience - the two main characters are Spanish and Russian, respectively. 

I don't know if the director intended to make the protagonist Luciana incredibly annoying and unsympathetic. You almost want something bad to happen to this woman. Contrary to what the synopsis suggests, this is not a true immigrant survival tale. This woman is not fighting for survival. She is flippantly soul-searching and avoiding responsibility after letting her own kid die in an accident. She thinks that caring for other people's children or cleaning houses is beneath her, because she is European. She is looking to make a lot of money under the table without getting her hands dirty. She endangers the children in her care and she damages expensive garments so she doesn't have to pay for them. So don't be surprised if you find yourself wishing that she got what she deserves. This is no "Dirty Pretty Things".

Come Play: an exploitation of autism stereotypes

Greetings, commies!

April is the autism awareness month, and, being somewhat of an insider, I felt compelled to review a recent horror film featuring an autistic character, Come Play, 2020.

I understand that it's a horror movie first and foremost. It's not meant to build awareness around autism. It's not trying to be "woke" in that regard. At least, I hope it's not. I had very mixed feelings about a mainstream movie using an autistic central character. I had hoped they would depict a young boy in a more authentic, nuanced manner. I will be the first one to tell you that there is no such thing as a "typical autistic person". This boy is a compilation of autistic stereotypes. Wide-eyed and angel-faced, he is endearing enough to keep the shock value to the minimum. Think of it as a vanilla, sanitized version of an autistic stereotype. And of course, the imperfect mother becomes a perfect martyr - another stereotype around families of autistic children. I give the storyline a B-. It's another bud on the "Babadook" tree.

The Girl With the Silver Star: a refreshingly old-fashioned protagonist

Greetings, commies!

I am delighted to post the review of Rachel Zolotov's novel The Girl With the Silver Star. I share the Judeo-Slavic connection, so I read it with particular interest. The topic of WWII refugees in evacuation does not get nearly as much attention as it should. So be sure to add this gem to your collection.

My thoughts:

It would not be entirely accurate to file this novel under Russian Literature or Russian History category. Eastern European Jews comprise a unique and enduring sub-culture. The characters of "The Girl With the Silver Star" speak Yiddish in addition to Russian and they retain elements of their religion at a time when atheism was sweeping through the newly formed Soviet Union. It would be more appropriate to file this novel under Jewish literature. Believe me, I am of mixed Judeo-Slavic heritage myself, so I know the cultural nuances. Jews and Russians do not appreciate being referred to interchangeably. Even though the Soviet influences had softened some of their differences, they are two very distinct cultural universes. 

What I found refreshing about this novel is the fact that the speaker/protagonist is not a talking head for "progress". Raisa is a sincere, demure, domestic, feminine, wholesome and in some ways childlike. It seems like historical fiction abounds with female characters that push some left wing agenda. You expect to have some female artist trying to assert herself in a man's world. If you want to take a break from that, try looking at WWII through the eyes of a humble housewife, whose only ambition is to ensure survival for herself and her loved ones. She is not motivated to "change the world" or "improve the lot of women". As matter of fact, Soviet propaganda strove to minimize the differences between men and women. Women were encouraged to ditch the "bourgeois" gender roles, roll up their sleeves and toil side by side with men. In that regard, Raisa is outside the mainstream. It was not common for Soviet women in the 1930s and 40s to stay at home and take care of their children. Raisa is more Jewish than Soviet. Her husband Abraham is equally meek. He never abuses his role as sole provider for the family. That makes the reader all the more concerned for this soft-spoken family man who is hurled into the world of violence that his traditional Jewish upbringing did not prepare him for.

I also found it surprising that the characters spent so little timing thinking and talking about the obvious - the Nazis. There is very little room for rage and hatred in the hearts of the characters. They barely talk about Hitler. It's almost like he is this foggy, distant bogeyman whose name they dare not utter. Or maybe they do not fully understand the enemy's motivation. 

Ultimately, we have to remember that his novel is Rachel Zolotov's recreation of her great grandmother's story. This is not a straight up memoir. It's a fictional reconstruction of family history. 

Valerie and Her Week of Wonder

Greetings, commies!

Spring is around the corner, and all sorts of "awakenings" are in store for us. If you are up for an artsy, sexy European flick that pulls no punches, consider Valerie and Her Week of Wonders, a 1970 masterpiece of the Czechoslovak New Wave movement. The film portrays the heroine as living in a disorienting dream, cajoled by priests, vampires, and men and women alike. The film blends elements of the fantasy and horror film genres.

My thoughts:

If you are fans of Kurt Russell's over the top, dreamlike, hallucinatory, gorgeous films, you must add "Valerie and Her Week of Wonders" to the list. If you are familiar with the historical and political nuances behind Czech cinematography of the 1960s and 70s, you will enjoy the movie on a different level. But if you are just watching it as a straight up psychedelic fantasy, you will still appreciate it. You will pick up on the plot elements from "Little Red Riding Hood": a pubescent young woman with a rather complicated, potentially sinister relationship to her maternal relatives, predatory males, heroic rescuer figures. The film depicts that sexual awakening in a woman is not just about having attraction to a boy. It also contains an element of violence. It's not just about consummating with the boy next door - sometimes it's about setting the whole village on fire. 

Look Away - a teen horror flick a cut above the rest

Greetings, commies!

If you are craving a teen horror flick one cut above the rest, consider Look Away. Maria, an alienated high-school student has her life turned upside down when she switches places with her sinister mirror image.

My thoughts:

Here is a teen-centered horror movie that doesn't actually insult the viewer's intelligence with jump scares and toilet humor. You will see some familiar horror staples. They mystical properties of the mirror have been explored in cinema before. And yes, you will find elements of Stephen King's "Carrie", but then, you can expect that from any movie about a high school outcast. The leading actress, who was in her mid-twenties when the movie was filmed, pulls off a high-schooler convincingly. An old soul trapped in a child's body - that works well for her character. The premise of the movie really made me think that we all have a dark twin living inside of us. You may not be tempted to sleep with the lights on after watching this movie, but you will certainly spend a few extra seconds staring at your reflection, wondering who's on the other side.

The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister: money solves everything

Greetings, commies!

Valentine's Day is coming, and you wouldn't expect me to review anything vanilla or traditional. So here is my review of BBC's biography drama The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister, the story of one of England's first modern lesbians. 

My thoughts:

If you expect a heart-wrenching outcast story, this film is not it. Anne Lister, the focal heroine, enjoys a pretty high quality of life despite not confirming to social expectations. Apart from an occasional remark from a male neighbor or an indignant glance, she is not really harassed or victimized. It certainly helps to have land and money. Material things make everything better, they make one's exile a little less bleak. An heiress of independent means can afford to be a little ... eccentric. From what I know about 19th century morality, female homosexuality fell under the radar during the regency and the Victorian era. While there were legal and social consequences for gay men, lesbians were scrutinized to the same degree. It is said that Queen Victoria denied the very existence of female homosexuality.

The most surprising part is the number of like-minded women around Anne Lister. At least in this film, her immediate surrounding abounds with women who are at least open to exploring romantic prospects with other women. Anne is hardly isolated. Far from it. She has her own internal posse. When one romantic partner leaves her to marry a much older man, she has no trouble replacing her without much advertising. It's also said that Anne did not really care about the plight of the poor. Her focus was on improving her estate. She basked in her privilege and did not apologize for it. I guess, back in the early 1800s it was considered more controversial to rebel against the class system than against the gender norms. Anne did not try to start a revolution. No, she wanted to capitalize on her estate and enjoy her personal, private happiness.

Evil Eye: an avalanche of ethnic stereotypes

 

Greetings, commies!

Happy New Year! Today's rotten turnip is a tryin'-to-be mystical thriller Evil Eye, a part of the Blumhouse anthology. A seemingly perfect romance turns into a nightmare when a mother becomes convinced her daughter's new boyfriend has a dark connection to her own past.

My thoughts:

Thumbs down for the sloppy, flippant, simplistic Indian stereotypes. The campy, lame depiction of a complex culture turns this supernatural thriller into a caricature. Indians are portrayed as superstitious, xenophobic, arrogant and obsessed with matrimonial politics. If you have any Indian friends or coworkers, ask them what they think about the movie, just out of curiosity. Most importantly, the cultural component does nothing to enhance the plot. This could have happened with any ethnic group. So the plot and the ethnicity kind of exist side by side, in separate universes, not really enhancing each other. The concept of curse, evil eye, reincarnation is not unique to Hinduism, yet the screenplay makes it sound like it's somehow tied to Hindu folklore. This really doesn't teach you anything about Indian culture, more about Indian stereotypes. So try to divorce the plot from the setting if you want to make the experience more enjoyable.