Civil War – IMAX 2024

Civil War, a film written and directed by Alex Garland, is engaging, spellbinding, and gut wrenching. It is a film from the point of view of photographers who are also war correspondents. I was totally blown away (irony) by what the job a photographer requires in a war zone. I believe this film delves into the mind of those brave, unrelenting, and perhaps crazy people and the horrific circumstances they are embedded. These journalists live on the edge. Unlike a soldier who is armed with guns, grenades and the like, these people run into a conflict zone without hesitation to take a hopefully astounding picture. Their sole goal is to get the evidence of the war torn area, the solders, the innocent victims, the blood, guts, and gore of it all. They even photograph one another. Please see IMDB.com for a list of actors and characters.

Civil War is a likely depiction of what would happen in the United States if the rule of law has been breached, overturned or fought against; something I totally fear if Trump becomes president of the United States again. I highly suggest you read the January edition of The Atlantic Monthly As the magazine editor suggests, it is not meant to be read in one go. It is way too upsetting, unsettling, and too scary to read in its entirety. Another excellent read that just came out recently, is a very frightening publication topic on Trump in Time Magazine. If you read even part of these publications, you will no doubt understand exactly where the writer/director Garland is coming from, and what the end of our Democracy could look like if Trump is elected.

To me this film is representative of all the dictators of the world, who have instilled fear, encouraged hate, violence, doubt about the rule of law, revoking all human rights, utilizing “Catch and Kill” stories to safe guard guilty people, and promoting (what should be unbelievable) conspiracy theories. The ultimate voice of a reality based journalism is paramount to Democracy. If you do not see what valid journalists convey, you do not have a Democracy.

The point of view that this film comes from, is directly from the conflict photo journalists themselves. It appears on the surface that these journalists compartmentalize the violence, and abhorrent human behaviour they photograph. They are at once compelled to take pictures of these catastrophes, like flies to a dead body and uniquely calm and surreally composed, even in the face of their very possible demise. I find this astonishing, to say the least. However, the film also encompasses the journalist compassion for their subjects, albeit behind the “security blanket” of their cameras. Their cameras allows for a literal and figurative filter, between them and their fascinating subject. This film also looks at guns and the horrific accessibility and consequences of numerous people having access to high capacity fire arms. Guns are not glorified, thankfully.

The film depicts the human capacity of witnessing constant horror has its limitations. On an obviously less significant level, these journalists become like actors who have forgotten their cues, or their lines in the face of a difficult scene to play. Their facade breaks down and you see that they are indeed affected by the grotesqueness. They try to adhere to their role, to stay as emotionally distant as possible, while getting as close to the violence as they possibly can.

The scene of the military helping the journalists, and vice versa, is almost like a coordinated dance. What is extraordinary is the way the military interacts with the journalists. They protect and advance their positions, as well as themselves. The military follows the bloodhound journalists who have sussed out the ultimate place to be for the potential coup de grâce. The last scene is a veritable vision of cooperation and determination, toward completing a task that is unmistakably necessary.

I salute all journalists who risk their lives, and have lost their lives, in conflict zones to show us the truth. Without their magnifying lenses, and words, we would not see the detriment, corruption, and power that humans can inflict. Places like Iran, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, China, Russia, North Korea, Venezuela, et al., suppress and kill journalists so they can not reveal the truth about the lies these countries spew; or the imprisonments, assassinations and tortures they engage in. I wish for these specialized journalists to stay safe, and to somehow find the courage to continue their endeavours so they can continue to enlighten and educate us all.

DUNE 2

I think DUNE is a cross between Mad Max and Star Wars. They are all apocalyptic, futuristic and quirky. However, rather than just water and fuel being the true gold in the usual apocalyptic future, Spice is also worth everything to the people of this world. It is what keeps several kingdoms vibrant. My understanding is that Spice is not only fuel for their spaceships, and other vehicles, but it is an important part of their diet. Who controls the Spice and water, controls the people. And who controls the people’s hearts and faith, is dependent on both of these things.

From what I could gather about the complex plot, it was in many ways, riveting. It depicted mystical and telepathic powers, but it also showed religion or faith versus, politics, survival and the desire for power. It is about destruction, rebuilding an empire, and progress. All of these factors combined to make for a very interesting choice of paths for the characters to follow.

As in Star Wars, evil is ugly, the people who are evil are hideous i.e, Baron Harkonnen (actor Stellan Skarsgård – who is actually quite handsome! What makeup! What a fat suit!) Some people, who are destined for great achievement are beautiful, though some have the ugliness of being power hungry are both scary and beautiful, for instance, Jessica (actor Rebecca Ferguson) who plays (actor Timothée Chalamet) Paul Atreides mother, is seemingly power hungry, evil, loving and beautiful. Her commanding voice, both outward and telepathically is surreal. It sounds foreboding, evil, and dark. Moreover, Jessica engages in trickery, to spread her “faith” to unify people to help her son gain control of their former beloved kingdom. The question that comes to my mind with Jessica is, is she only thinking of herself, son and baby, and having her and her family rule the kingdom, or is she trying to save her people through those means?

The character Paul, actor Timothée is beautiful. His soul is beautiful. He has the gift of being able to foresee, but it is at a cost. Paul reluctantly comes to the conclusion that he must try to regain his power and his kingdom. And, he must do it in ways he really does not want to. Paul ends up having to do hurtful and radical things out of necessity. One can question, are these unpleasant and ugly things he ends up having to do deemed to be embracing “the dark side”? Paul’s good natured conscience, combined with his ability to foresee the future, and its likely violent and catastrophic happenings, make for a quandary as to what he needs to do to save his people with the least amount of devastation.

Admittedly I was a bit confused by the biological relationship each person had to one another. When you figure out how Paul is related to Lady Margot Fenring (actor Léa Seydoux) besides his fiancée, and how her child is related to Paul… his first cousin once removed? And what is the relationship to Lady Margot’s baby and Jessica’s baby? I could go on, but I think I would just confuse myself more, let alone hurt my little grey cells. Do you know any of this? Please let me know.

I just read that the script for DUNE 3 is near completion! Sadly though, it may not be released until 2027, yikes! I suggest reviewing both DUNE 1 & 2 to make sure you know what the heck is going on before you see the third one. I forgot to see DUNE 1 again before going to DUNE 2, big mistake.

I saw DUNE 2 in Toronto’s Cineplex in IMAX, 700mm. Wow! However, the seats were extremely uncomfortable! They were so close together, that my knees touched the back of the seat in front of me, I am only 5’4″. We were up so close you could almost kiss the screen. I heard many a tall and big person complain. On the plus side of being so close you are completely immersed in the film. Being that the cinematography was astounding, this was the place to be.

DUNE IMDB “Paul Atreides unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a warpath of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, he endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.—Warner Bros. Pictures“

Suburra: Blood on Rome 2017-2020 Netflix

I highly recommend this series! Suburra: Blood on Rome IMDB

A story of crime, passion, Sicilian Mafia, drugs, Gypsies, murder, the power of the Vatican, the power of crime lords, and corrupt politicians. Those terms all seem synonymous, even passion. Controlling Rome is paramount to all these factions.

This series was, as you can well imagine, is extremely violent. Every one seems corrupt, and if they aren’t in the beginning of the story, the characters all seem to cross over to the dark side eventually.

The one thing that drove me to watch this entire series, was the acting, and the plot, though seemingly implausible at times, but what do I know of these sort of evils and totally morally corrupt sordid types?

I’ve never seen a depiction like this of the Gypsies or Roma. I knew there was prejudice everywhere against them, but as the Sicilian Mafia, they too have a code of conduct. However, that code seems to be widely interpreted at times by all of them.

There are three main characters; ; one is from a successful Roman crime family,

Alessandro Borghi – Actor

• Aureliano Adami – Character

one is a cop’s son,

Eduardo Valdarnini – Actor

• Gabriele Marchilli or Lele – Character

and, one is from an aspiring Gypsy crime family,

Giacomo Ferrara _ actor

• Alberto ‘Spadino’ Anacleti – Character

I loved the character that played Spadino! A character who has a unique personality, body language and expressions. I was howling at some of his gestures and attitude. I also felt for his struggle as a gay man in a rigid family and where most of society being gay is totally unacceptable.

These three young men aspire to take over the crime business in Rome. There unlikely friendship is what drives this unusal series. It also shows a bond that goes beyond their highly different backgrounds. It is formidable and quirky. There is a definite Platonic love story between the three of them. Whatever the connection is, it is to the death, either theirs or even people within their own families.

The personalities of each of these characters is not only what drives the storyline, but it solidifies our interest in their lives. How is it, that I am rooting for these three murderers, drug lords, and morally deficient people? It is their relationship that ties me to them, and to one another.

The corruption seems like a drug, once you have a little you want more. Once their moral compasses were compromised, the easier it got to commit even more loathsome crimes. This series shows too, that one can get into a hole by seemingly obscure happenings, you can get into it deeper and deeper without a way to get yourself out. Once the characters get caught in a quagmire of murder and deceit, the only way to deal with it is by the three counting on one another to survive and hopefully thrive as forces to be reckoned with.

SUBURRAETERNA is the sequel. I started to watch it, but it seems repetitive, and since it is not with the three actors together, it seemed like something significant was missing. I might continue watching it, but right now I am taking a break from it.

The corruption and crime all the characters inflict in Suburra: Blood on Rome, is enough to make one’s head spin! I loved Rome when I visited, but after seeing this series, I was wondering how safe it would be for me to go once again. Oh what the heck, when in Rome do as the Romanians do!

Kloe – 2022 – Netflix

No spoiler alerts this time. This is meant to be more of a teaser!

Kloe is a fantastic action, drama, comedy series, with a dab of sci-fi. It stars Jella Haase as Kleo and her “side kick” Dimitrij Schaad as Sven. It is completely original and binge-worthy! It is a eye-opening take on East versus West Germany just before and after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union. Maybe a lot of you are too young to remember Mad Magazine’s Spy vs. Spy. This series reminded me of this cartoon.

Kleo strives to be a top notch GDR (German Democratic Republic) spy. However, something dramatic and unexpected happens to Kleo that will completely alter her life’s trajectory. Sven is from West Germany and catches a whiff of Kleo escapades; his life’s direction changes completely as well. The entire story takes off from there and heads in numerous and seemingly complex crossroads.

The other characters are just as wonderful as Kleo and Sven’s. I have to mention two in particular: Thilo plays a wonderfully quirky friend of Kleo’s. He is out of this world! His character is highly amusing. He is at once weird, socially awkward and insightful. The other character I loved was Ramona AKA Anja. respects and admires Kleo, but she is competitive with her. Ramona also thinks she is in a league of her own.

The old school GDR and Soviet Union brainwashing is on full display and of course this leads me to draw correlations to our present world of Trump and Putin and all those who are and aspire to be authoritarian figures. This includes their supporters, who seem as though they have been totally brainwashed, synonymous with the Nazi’s Fascist era followers. This series shows that being an authoritarian country can not only lead to humans to extremes, but to unexpected atrocities as well.

Okay, that was a bit heavy handed about a series that expresses all this in an offbeat fun, dramatic comedy, sci-fish, action loaded mixed in with hysterical moments to guffaw at. I very highly recommend this show! Hurray, a second season is coming out in 2024! I can’t wait!

Killers of the Flower Moon – Cineplex Theatres

Spoiler Alert!

“When oil is discovered in 1920s Oklahoma under Osage Nation land, the Osage people are murdered one by one – until the FBI steps in to unravel the mystery.” (IMDB) This is based on a true story and the book by, David Grann.

A fantastic film, which was 3 hours and 26 minutes, but it did not feel that way. It was a riveting film from start to finish. If you do not like hearing about what the “White Man” did to Native Americans, that is regretful. This film is for all people, all nationalities, and especially Americans who have Native American blood on their ancestral hands.

Immense kudos to Director/Writer Martin Scorsese! He is a genius!

This story depicts a group of Osage Indians who found oil on their land in Oklahoma and were exploited by the “White Man” to gain access to Osage people’s newly found oil wealth. However, it appears it wasn’t just the exploitation of the Osage Nation, but the systematic murder of them. The “White Man” sought to marry an Osage woman and then slowly kill off anyone related to them so that they were then able to inherit their oil field riches; abhorrent, but true.

Leonardo DiCaprio plays Ernest Burkhart, a white man who returns from to Oklahoma after World War I, where he had been a cook. He is a handsome, yet a malleable person. His cunning and seemingly altruistic uncle, William Hale , played by Robert De Niro, is a rich, and well “oiled” (pun intended) machine who has numerous White and Native people in his pocket. The Osage Nation is his playing ground. He acts genuinely concerned for his nephew Ernest, and the entirety of the tribe. However, he is actively and secretly seeking to obtain wealth through his nephew’s marriage to an Osage woman, Mollie Burkhart, played by Lily Gladstone.

Ernest was skillfully duped by his Uncle William to get both whites and the Osage people to do his dirty work for him; to eliminate the competition for Ernest’s wife’s money – and to obtain proceeds from numerous white men who are married to Osage women. Hale manipulates men and women in his orbit seamlessly. That is until the FBI finally gets involved via Molly, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, to get to the bottom of the missing and murdered Osage Natives.

Finally, the FBI unravels the mysteries revolving around the disappearances and murders of numerous Osage people. The FBI not only hold Hale and his cronies responsible for the deaths of Ernest’s Osage wife’s family, but Ernest himself, who desperately loves money and the luxuries that came with it.

The main quandary for Ernest, is he seems to truly love his wife Mollie, as much as he loves his wife’s money and their children. What an odd character! I found Ernest’s character was at first mournfully ignorant and unaware that he was a big pawn in his uncle’s attempt to get more and more money. Ernest only sees the light, when it is too late.

My husband pointed out, William Hale was already very rich. He asked, “Was it greed or something else that drove him?” I pointed out that Hale had so many high-profiled people getting money and favours from his actions, that he needed a heck of a lot of money and power to keep those people happy, along with himself. It was also because, he had to keep people in line; hire people both Osage people and white men to kill, remove bodies, and ultimately to keep his pristine reputation with the whites and the Osage people intact. Yes, pathetic indeed!

As to the acting… it was FABULOUS! Leonardo Di Caprio was outstanding as an ignorant, yet loving family man who was desperate for money and the life it brought him. I noticed during the course of the film, that DiCaprio’s face was always in a pronounced frown… then it hit me, Eureka! He looked exactly like Marlon Brando in the Godfather, Don Vito Corleone!

His grimace was without a doubt a mirroring of Brando’s character Don Corleone. I heard another film patron, saying the same thing as we walked out of the theatre. Di Niro of course had a seamless performance as a subtly evil man with all sorts of horrific designs on the Osage community. A con man, not overtly like Trump, but equally evil in their attempts to walk all over people and try to commit crimes without consequences.

Lily Gladstone is a brilliant actor! She is beyond fantastic in her role as Mollie Burkhart. Lily Gladstone depicts Mollie, as a woman who has seen her share of grief, but is still somehow quietly strong. She weather’s the ill fated deaths of her sisters, and the passing of her mother. She even manages to go to Washington DC to make the government aware of the discriminate slaughter of her people, when she is deathly ill. Mollie loves her husband unconditionally, until she well, I won’t tell you the ending. Let’s just say she asks her husband, Ernest, one question, to which he fails to answer Mollie to her satisfaction.

I love this picture of Martin Scorsese and Lily Gladstone!

Killers of the Flower Moon Trailer

Exceptional film!

Oppenheimer – 65mm B & W & 70mm colour IMAX

Oppenheimer was an extraordinary film! It reminded me that my father, Dr. Arnold Abrams, as Dr. Robert Oppenheimer, was a Jewish intellectual who were sympathizers for the Communist party in the 60’s. They were also both targeted by the American government, the FBI, for their association and ideals. Both were wire tapped, both had huge files on their movements and meetings with people. And, both were ostracized for being associated with the Communist party.

If anyone knows anything about that period of time of McCarthyism, they know that people, even in Hollywood were being blacklisted. That meant that they were fired from their jobs and forced to find work elsewhere. My father, was blacklisted in New York City, New York and had to move to Chicago.

One of my father’s close friends was Paul Robeson, an actor, singer, and activist. Robeson, a member of the communist Party was also blacklisted. He was my sister Paula’s Godfather and used to sing her lullabies. My father was also friends with Communist sympathizer, Canadian Dr. Norman Bathune, https://www.amazon.ca/Scalpel-Sword-Doctor-Norman-Bethune/dp/1554884020

Dr. Bathune, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Bethune helped the wounded on the front lines, in the Spanish Civil War. My father was asked to contribute to that war by buying guns to fight the fascist Franco. However, he decided to help with funding and getting funds for medical supplies for the anti-fascists instead.

My father’s work as a psychologist was noticed by the government in Cuba. A translation of an article he published was translated into Spanish and with that, he was invited to visit and discuss opening a mental health facility in Cuba. He met with Che Guavera, Fidel Castro, Mrs. Castro and others. My sister Paula, who was 9 at the time visited Cuba with my father. She sat on Che’s and Mrs. Castro’s laps. My mother was pregnant with me at the time and could not travel.

I contacted the Cuban consulate here in Canada to get more information about my father’s work in Cuba, but to no avail. I would also like to see a non-redacted file on my father from the FBI and the Freedom of Information Act. We saw a incredibly redacted version ages ago. His previous file was almost completely censored!

One thing I would like to share as well, before I get back to the film, Oppenheimer; as I eluded to, our phones were tapped as was Oppenheimer’s. Once, when I was about 9 or so, I picked up the phone to call a friend, I was met with a strange sound, then a click and I heard men’s voices. I said hello, thinking I had picked up the phone just as someone was calling my house. But, there was still a dial tone. I yelled to my mother and held the phone so they could hear me on the phone, “Mom, the FBI are tapping our phones again!” To which she replied, “That’s nice dear.” Then I heard the men swear, “Shit, they can hear us!” I thought this was hysterical! I still think it is!

On to the Oppenheimer film, IMDB https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15398776/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_3_nm_5_q_Oppenheimer, which by the way, was fantastic! It was directed by Christopher Nolan of Batman fame. He did a fantastic job! To me it showed a scholar, Oppenheimer (played by Cillian Murphy!) who was torn between solving a complex problem in physics, and then actually creating the world’s first weapon of mass destruction, the Nuclear Bomb, during WWll, and especially to fight against Germany and Japan. With his creation of the Manhattan Project (a group of renown scholars which Oppenheimer gathered from various backgrounds during the time of World War ll) created two bombs, different designs “Fat Man” and “Little Boy”. Once a similar bomb was tested at Alamo, the two other nuclear bombs were whisked away by the American government and dropped by plane, the Enola Gay, within days of each other on Japan. Thus, ending the war with Japan. Oppenheimer became known as the “Father of the Atom Bomb”.

Oppenheimer struggled with the fact that thousands of innocent people had been killed by “his bombs” and the fact that his theory was turned into fact. Nuclear bombs exist in horrific numbers now, and of course it seems like too many countries have nuclear and hydrogen bombs. The ones I fear the most with having this power are North Korea, and Russia. The dictators of these countries, threaten all our lives on this planet! They are both megalomaniacs!

It is fascinating to not only see, in this film, the development of “the bomb”, but the development of Oppenheimer’s character as he is energized to make his theories into actuality. It also shows how the other scientists he is working with react to the newly created existence of “the bomb”. It is a force that all these people contributed to and reaped the benefits from, but they also had to sell a part of their souls in the creation of something so Demonic.

Oppenheimer’s realization of his dreams, became in essence a nightmare. It was essentially an opening of Pandora’s Box.

Trump, who is no where near as smart or savvy as Oppenheimer (or should be named in the same sentence, or “He who shall not be named”),

has also released a different type of evil from a horrific Pandora’s box. He has released, hatred, racism, White Supremacy, anti-establishment, misogyny, horrible rhetoric about the disabled and Veterans, not to mention the erosion of governments, the rise of dictatorships, all in one term as president. Trump allegedly released national nuclear secrets and strategies to an Australian billionaire businessman, who in turn yapped about it to numerous other people! Imagine what evil he would unleash in a second term as president.

Wake up America, or you’ll have no Democracy left to adhere to. We will live like the Russians and North Koreans do, without the freedom of speech or expression, LGBTQ + 2 rights, Civil Rights, Human Rights, and Women’s Rights. Women’s Rights have already been eroded by Trump’s Supreme Court picks, books are banned, Liberal universities are being defunded, horrific Anti-Sematism, people of colour are being shot in the back at traffic stops, and there are an abundance of mass shootings. You are free to carry weapons openly, and own AR15 assault rifles to gun down numerous amounts of innocent people all at once, and of course facts are now fiction. The truth is diluted, inhaled, chewed and spit in your face with insults and vileness. Common sense is no longer a trait. It is being replaced with stupidity and rudeness. And of course “Climate Change” worries and evidence thereof, is a complete an utter fabrication, a hoax and a conspiracy.

Wake up and smell the coffee, before it is too late and all our societies go backward and die, the fall of Democracy is in your hands, VOTE!

Topper – 1937 Comedy, A & E TV

Topper is a great film, one I have not seen before with Cary Grant in it. There are other greats in it as well.

Cary Grant

• George Kerby

Constance Bennett

• Marion Kerby

Roland Young

• Cosmo Topper

Billie Burke

Mrs. Topper

You may recognize Billie Burke’s voice… She was Glinda, the Good Witch of the North in the Wizard of Oz.

I will not go into this film in detail. I don’t want to give it all away like I did the previous series I spoke about. Topper is basically about a very rich husband and a wife who party from dawn to dusk, without any cares in the world, until something drastic happens. Even though there is a huge change in their lives, they still are care free and frivolous. However, now their fate has dealt them something they haven’t had to think about before – a distinct purpose. They somehow resolve their purpose by some very haphazardness means, while happily reconciling with their fates. By solving their seemingly questionable fate in a positive way, they are able to move on.

Topper actually has special effects! Even though they are rather passé, they are still very convincing.

Topper trailer.

https://www.imdb.com/video/vi3219636505/?ref_=tt_vi_i_1

IMDB – Topper

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029682/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_2_tt_6_nm_2_q_Topper

La Otra Miranda Part 2

Okay, here’s the scoop on the second season of La Otra Miranda. I did binge it, which shows it kept my interest, however, I did find things getting a little more unrealistic. Remember, Teresa and Manuala pretty much took the reigns of The Boarding School, by injecting Feminism into their curriculum, to make a statement. Yet, they jam packed it with other significant and substantial issues which they wanted to overcome everyone’s prejudices and close mindedness.

Teresa and Manula took a young woman of colour, Inés off the street and into the school as a fellow class mate. At the beginning the privileged class girls protested and showed prejudices. Inés depicted her life on the street being awful and she showed resentment toward the rich girls. Inés and the girls meshed very soon after. And the protesting parents of having a “Black girl” became a non-issue fairly quickly.

Now, add to this, a statement on abortion to the ever growing issues the teachers and students rally for and against. And of course the husband Enrique, of the young woman, Flavia, who sought an abortion wants her to come home. Her husband will cover up Flavia’s abortion and they will live a “normal” Spanish 1920’s life… NOT! Flavia wants nothing to do with Enrique, so Enrique sends the police after Flavia. Just in the nick of time she escapes with her original lover, Tomás Peralta, to the States. Tally up another one for freedom of choice in the 1920’s. I suppose I am being rather flippant. But, I merely felt flooded with all the causes that this series projected to be overcome. It was one right after another, and some that seemed totally unrealistic to have been solved so instantaneously.

The Boarding School had a scene about workers rights. Also, the treating a Paranoid Schizophrenic, as if he, the gardener, was normal if he only had a routine, quiet, work, and the love of an understanding young student. All that is wonderful! And, I did like the equation of physical health being akin to mental health in that they are both health issues. But, they made it out as if it were nothing they couldn’t conquer. All those things are great, but sans treatment for the sick man (since there was only horrific institutionalization back then). The writers did add a quick comment about the gardener going to a top psychiatrist as the series tried to wrap up all its loose ends.

Then of course they dealt with betrayal. The betrayal of a close friend, Carmen to Manula. Of course, Carmen sees the error of her ways. This is after Carmen has totally blown her “friend” out of the water. The ultimate is done by Carmen and Don Peralta (his son raped Roberta). Together, Don Peralta and Carmen swindle the boarding school out of the hands of Manula and her mother. Then. in an agreement that I found rather offensive; there is an understanding that the school will stay in the hands of Manula till the end of the term, but then Don Peralta who got the school by illegal means, will control the school.

It is made to appear that the women won their school back, but alas, it will soon be ruled over by a dishonest “man”. The women decide not to go to court, even though they have the papers to prove the illegality of how Don Peralta got hold of the school through fraudulent means to begin with. All this talk about women’s rights, and they hand the school over to a corrupt man, sickening!

So to sum up all the causes that were covered, Women’s Rights, Mental Health, Civil Rights, Workers’ Rights, Gay and Lesbian Rights, and Abortion Rights. A lot of the coverage was palatable, but some of it seemed rushed to show the ending of three women, Teresa, her half-sister Roberta, and Manula riding off to Paris as women with free spirits, leaving the school locked up behind them by Manula for the summer. To me though, this showed the female students were ultimately being betrayed. It was if they are now locked behind the bars of the school and Manula put them there.

After Manula locks the school gates behind her, she is encouraged by Teresa and Roberta to come with them to Paris. Manula, Teresa, and Roberta all ride off into the sun drenched sky in a swank convertible, with no cares in the world. Manula had no preparation for the trip. It seemed as though they had no concerns about their futures, about the scandals they stirred up and which, they all ultimately just left behind. C’est la vie!

FIN

“La Otra Miranda” – “The Boarding School” also titled as “A Different View” – Spain 2018-2019 On Prime, Part 1

I am confused about the two titles because literally translated La Otra Miranda means “The other, worthy of admiration” (Google) I get the title of A Different View then, but not completely changing the title to The Boarding School, which in itself is a boring and prosaic title.

The Premise: “Teresa arrives at school in Seville after fleeing scandal in Lisbon. She takes on a teaching role, leading her young students to truly think about what they want. From Walter Presents, in Spanish with English subtitles.” Amazon.com

This series is interesting because it seems as though it has been written from a Feminist viewpoint and yet, it is a period piece, which takes place in the 1920’s, mostly in Seville, Spain. The women’s vote had been voted into law in the States, but had not been a reality in Spain till 1933.

The boarding school, comprised of privileged teenage female students, and their female teachers, get a new headmistress, Manuela (Macarena García). She hires an unusual woman Teresa, who dresses in pants, has traveled extensively, lives life to the fullest, and is her own person. This combination of Manuela and Teresa, makes for a serious upheaval in the curriculum, and the conventional attitudes of everyone in the school. Teresa, is stubbornly independent, and Manuela aspires to be an independent woman, albeit she is married; she still adheres to everyday norms, for now.

Teresa not only helps Manuela step outside the box, but she has an affect on the other teachers, and especially her young and impressionable students. But, why is such a person, like the free spirited Teresa even teaching at such a school full of etiquette and staunch societal conventions? Teresa was brought there by a cryptic note from her dying father (the Spanish Ambassador to Portugal) who was assassinated. She and her father were estranged, so people who saw her run out of his office during an embassy function in Portugal thought she may be the culprit. She was seen with a bloody knife, bloody clothing, not to mention she was running wildly for the exit.

The note her father gave her on his death bed, says the name of the girls school, the town, and country – Seville, Spain. It also has a girl’s name on it, Roberta Luna, nothing more. And, Teresa father died in her arms before he could express anything else.

Teresa is hired outright by Manula, the headmistress of the school in Seville, because of Teresa’s refreshingly modern attitude. Teresa soon begins her investigation into Roberta (who is a student at the school). Teresa wants to find out what Roberta’s connection is to her father. She is also trying to find out why Roberta would have anything to do with her father’s assassination, or her for that matter.

A court battle ensues, whereby Roberta accuses her ex-boyfriend Rafita Peralta (actor José Pastor) of raping her. Rafita, however, is from a very high profiled and respected family. In a somewhat unexpected twist, Rafita is accused of the rape. However, rather than being subject to prison or a rehabilitation program (remember this is the 1920’s), he is made to pay a large fine. The girls’ school (its teachers and the students) all agree this is acceptable, because it was highly unlikely he would have ever had been charged in the first place, in their male dominated society.

I have yet to see the whole series, so I will be back with an update. As I said, thus far it seems like a treatise on Feminism, however, it is a riveting story nonetheless. It is also refreshing that these young women in the story will not continue to live their lives in ignorance. There seems a light lit within them by the teachers and especially Teresa and the headmistress. It is clear that these women are determined for the students to try to get what they want out of life, and not to succumb to societal expectations being forced or exerted on them for being born women, instead of men.

Perhaps now we can talk about present day society and equal pay for women, let alone believing a woman has been raped or sexually harassed, when it is indeed a fact.

The Diplomat Season 1 – Netflix 2023 – and hopefully very soon Season 2!

The Diplomat created by Debora Cahn is absolutely fantastic! Keri Russell and Rufus Sewell star in this dynamic thriller! They are the dynamic duo, married, in competition, in love, never out of love, but highly charged and competitive. (Keri) Kate Wyler is made Ambassador to England, her husband (Rufus) Hal Wyler, was an Ambassador previously and still holds that title. Kate was his partner in helping him sort things out in his job. Now it is a role reversal, or so Kate would like him not to upstage her on this mission.

The relationship that ensues between Kate and Hal is fun, tense, and their love life is tumultuous to say the least. However, they compliment each other a lot as well, both in their professional lives and in their personal ones. Kate’s husband, Hal is both an asset and a liability. Hal wants to help his wife, whom he loves very much, but he is not one to stay in the background, especially when he has the distinct ability to help his wife, and himself at the same time.

The position that Kate thought she was going to have in England, was attending dinners, speeches (which she hates) funerals, fundraisers and the like. What she finds is that she is pulled into is a web of deceit, international chaos, and potential war. Not just any possible war, first with Iran perhaps, then a potential nuclear war, with none other than Russia. Before this can happen she finds out the real culprit behind the blowing up of a high-profiled British Navel war ship. No I will not tell you anymore! See the link below for a trailer of The Diplomat.

It is hard to say more about the characters and the story without giving away the entire plot. However, I will say, the characters are not only well rounded, but they all have quirks, sparks between each of the characters and hysterical moments that break the tension. I adore all the characters, each is unique and they all play off one another with great acuity.

IMDB gives it an 8.2. I give it a 10! Netflix better renew The Diplomat or I am going to have a hissy fit, not unlike one Kate has employed many times in this series!

The Diplomat is for those of you who like espionage, thrillers, spy stories, drama, and love stories. This story deftly increases in tension and complexity right up until the end of the episode and season. It is a true cliff hanger! I assure you, your mouths will be wide open when this story crescendos beyond all expectations!

IMDB Trailer:

https://www.imdb.com/video/vi1275184153/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_1_tt_8_nm_0_q_the%20diplomat