12 Comments
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Clover Stroud's avatar

thanks for sending me this on my p[age - I appreciate reading it, even if my experience was completely different! XX

Eating Clouds in Italy's avatar

Wonderful review, I have to see it now!....with our world under threat I think we could all do with an emotional release, a catharsis at the moment...

Fiona Whittaker's avatar

This is very much how I felt! Catharsis brings relief, but it also brings renewal and clarity. Which is exactly what the world needs.

Eating Clouds in Italy's avatar

....yes, totally agree!

Francis F's avatar

I’ve not seen it but really want to. Great review.

Fiona Whittaker's avatar

Thanks Francis. It's definitely worth a watch.

Annada D. Rathi's avatar

This is a fantastic & such a thorough review! But the absolute pièce de résistance is the ending. Agreed!

Fiona Whittaker's avatar

Thank you. Anything not to do with the current state of the world can feel unnecessarily frivolous at this point. But it's all part of the human condition and it is vitally important to remember that even Trump, even Putin, even ICE agents, are human. Hard, but vital.

Claire Ashton's avatar

This sounds great but I really struggle to enjoy film adaptations of books I’ve enjoyed.

The collaborative world construction by writer and reader is what I love most about reading.

If I can find a screening at a good time over here I’ll give it a go.

(LOTR is one of the few that haven’t been a problem but I think that’s due to the very specific descriptions of characters and landscapes in the writing!)

Fiona Whittaker's avatar

I get that. Interestingly, and somewhat controversially, I could only get into LOTR after having seen the films, as when I'd tried previously there were so many characters I couldn't keep up with them all, despite having read and loved The Hobbit. Once I'd seen the first film, I had visual cues I could hold onto. After watching Hamnet I went back to the book to check certain scenes and it was generally faithful to the text.

Lisa McLean's avatar

I was with you the whole way Fiona, clutching a matted handful of tissues in my mind. There is so much that appalls and horrifies me daily in current world events. The power Putin and Kim Jung Un hold, has been a vile aphrodisiac for a base person like Trump and his cronies . The fact the people elected him is equally horrific, for the dangerous ignorance it demonstrates. Yes there is much to cry about in these times, and many would benefit from a little help to get the tears flowing.

Excellent piece again Fiona, thank you.

Fiona Whittaker's avatar

Thank you Lisa. Agreed.