Tag: kristen dunst

We are all monsters because we are letting it happen. “The Devil’s arithmetic” (1999)

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directed by Donna Deitch
© 1999 Showtime. All Rights Reserved.

If you like “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens, I guess you might enjoy this film as well. It’s not entirely the same, but the idea is very similar. This time it’s not a lesson for a greedy old man to respect others and stop caring about money that much, but a story about a teenager who doesn’t understand how lucky she is. Hannah (Kristen Dunst) is 16 years old and her family is Jewish. The girl isn’t much interested in the stories about her ancestors and each time the family gather, Hannah wishes to skip the event or finish it as fast as possible. On the day when they meet for a Passover dinner, the girl accidentally moves to another year and another place. She ends up in Poland in 1941. For those who didn’t sleep during the history class at school, I guess you know what it meant to be a Jew there and then. However, if you have no idea about this part of the history, then you should watch this film. And read. Please, read. Hannah doesn’t know how to get back to her reality, so she tries to accept the situation and learn about her family. Obviously, since she’s a Jew as well, she is taken to a concentration camp together with everyone. You may see how people were treated there and what they needed to do to survive. Perhaps it’s not my favourite film about the Holocaust, because it’s rather focused on this girl learning a life lesson instead of the situation during the war, but if thanks to this production more people understand that reality, then I’m definitely glad to be recommending it. It’s also nice to remind people about their ancestors, no matter if they were Jewish or not. Thanks to those people we’re here and we shouldn’t be ashamed of our roots. And the more we know, the better, because we can share the knowledge with next generations. A fun fact: this production wasn’t even filmed in Poland, but in Lithuania. It would be extremely difficult to make it in Auschwitz, so they built a concentration camp set that resembled it. Luckily, this time nobody has died there. And let’s keep it that way.

My rating: 6/10
S.

Girls just wanna have fun. “The Beguiled” (2017)

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directed by Sofia Coppola
© 2017 Focus Features. All Rights Reserved.

Honestly speaking, I’m not a huge fan of Sofia Coppola’s film. They are rather quite average for me, so I was pretty sure this one will not be my thing either. Okay, I’m not rating it 10/10, but it has something intriguing in the story and how it’s presented, so I guess I need to recommend it to you. If you know Sofia Coppola’s (I need to add her first name to be sure you’re not taking her for her father) films, you probably know who’s in the cast. Of course it’s Kristen Dunst! Which isn’t a bad thing because Dunst is awesome, but you can tell those two ladies are incredibly good partners in business. I’m surprised Dunst didn’t play in “Lost in Translation” (2003), for which Sofia Coppola got her, so far, only Oscar. And it was an Oscar for the best original screenplay. Not directing, which should be a hint I guess. Anyway, today’s film is set during the American Civil War. One day a wounded Union soldier is found by a girl in the forest. She decides to help him and bring him to her school. The school full of girls. Middle of nowhere, a house full of young single women, a handsome soldier arrival. I think you know what’s about to happen. The ladies agree to keep the man at their school and help him recover. During that time, each one of them gets a bit too close to their guest. I believe this film was made to show the times of the war from the female perspective. For me it was slightly feministic, because those women, despite their natural needs, were trying to unite and support each other. And definitely not let the man dominate them. Besides, in the book, which this film was based on, there was a black female slave, which Sofia Coppola decided to replace with a white actress (Dunst btw). She did so because she didn’t want to present African Americans that way to young ladies who were about to see her film. The film is beautiful as a picture and the acting of Nicole Kidman isn’t that annoying as always. You may also see Elle Fanning there (who is quite popular nowadays). And, ladies, Colin Farrell is the soldier. Not sure if it’s tempting, but he’s actually not bad here. Go for it.

My rating: 6/10
S.