International Cinem-aah!

Hello and welcome to a uniquely September 21st of a Saturday here at the Wannaskan Almanac. How about that weather, eh?

Today's a big day in history! Happy Birthday to author Stephen King, who's latest novel, The Institute, just released on September 10th (a Tuesday). Book club is currently considering King's 2011 novel, 11/22/63, as a pick for our next calendar year. In college, I was a Dark Tower Series fan myself and delighted to see he wrote 4 more books since 1999.

And on this day in 1937, JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit was published for the first time. What would the world be without The Lord of the Rings? Shudder at the thought.

Book club "normal time" resumed this week. We kicked off with a psychological thriller that I can happily recommend, The Woman In the Window, by A.J. Finn. I'm one of the turtles of the club so, really, if I actually finish the book before the discussion, I consider that a win. We had a book club first Tuesday night - one of our fastest and most avid readers started reading the wrong book. She thought the pick was The Woman in Cabin 10. It sounds absolutely frightful. So if you like that stuff, check it out.

Speaking of "checking things out," thanks to our awesome Wannaskan area library system, the hubs and I have watched a few foreign films recently that I'm happy to recommend to y'all.

The Wave (2015) - Norway's first-ever disaster movie explores the hypothetical of a tsunami occurring in a fjord. Wow! Wow! Wow! This film does an excellent job of upping the stakes, heaping one disaster upon another leaving the audience to genuinely be concerned if the hero, and his family, will survive. Norwegian with English subtitles.

Nora's Will (2008) - This Mexican film starts out dark and turns wonderfully comedic as Jose discovers that his wife of 30 years, Nora, from whom he is now divorced (but lives downstairs) has committed suicide and now, due to her Jewish faith practice and some scheduling conflicts - Passover and Sabbath (which was reminiscent of the whole Jesus dying on the cross conundrum) - has to sit with his ex-wife's body (on dry ice) for five days (you know, instead of hurrying up and burying her in a tomb.) The wife's master plan slowly reveals itself as Jose finds himself unwillingly in charge of organizing her funeral. Spanish with English subtitles.

A Woman's Life (2016) -Based on the novel, Une Vie, by Guy de Maupassant, this French film is a quiet but powerful study of one woman's struggles and suffering in 19th century France. It's not quite miserable, as it is thoughtful. A real thinker, this. French with English subtitles.

Colonia (2015) - Even though this movie is primarily in English, I put it in the foreign film category because it is a largely German-produced film (with a German director) set in Chile. Based on true events, the story follows a German couple who find themselves behind the barbed wired compound of Colonia Dignidad, an ex-Nazi cult in the middle of nowhere Chile during the 1970s, shortly after Pinochet succeeds in his military coup. I don't want to spoil anything, but it's both gripping and disturbing - especially because this place really existed. English with no subtitles. Not even for the hearing impaired.

Finally, a foreign film recommendation list would be amiss without something českého.

If you love Czech cinematography, there's a wonderful traveling event called Czech That Film, you can catch at a variety of cities across the U.S. including Minneapolis (usually in summer). Here's the line up for 2019. Request them from your local library branch!

Jan Palach - This biopic describes the last months of the life of an uncompromising young man who attempts to rouse a nation from its growing lethargy in order to protest the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968.

Winter Flies (Všechno bude) - An interrogation of tall tales of exploits is contrasted against awkwardness, innocence, and adulthood as a rebellious teenager and his dorky sidekick steal an Audi to run away through the Czech countryside experiencing a sense of unbridled freedom. The film received the Best Director award at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

The Hastrman - This romantic fantasy follows the story of the Hastrman, a water spirit who needs water to sustain his life and gain superhuman strength, as he contemplates whether to remain a wild creature or cross the boundaries of intimacy with a human.

Garden Store: Deserter (Dezertér) - Nazi imprisonment survivor Otto must disappear or risk losing his life after his upscale hair styling salon in the center of Prague is expropriated by the state with the communists’ rise to power.

Garden Store: Suitor (Nápadník) - Love begins to bloom between city girl Daniela and country boy Mirek at the garden store run by her aunt and uncle. However, Daniela’s father has other plans for her with a more educated man.

Short Cut (Na krátko) - Family ties are put to the test as eleven-year-old Jakub clashes with his stepsister, domineering grandma, and misleading mother who makes his father out to be someone he's not.

Golden Sting (Zlatý podraz) - A Czechoslovakian basketball team defends their title after winning the European Championship in Geneva despite having lost their American Mormon basketball coach a few years prior when World War II erupted.

Patrimony (Tátova Volha) - Hidden family secrets are uncovered as the daughter of a newly widowed Eva latches onto the idea of an estranged stepbrother after an unknown child's drawing is found in the late husband's possessions.

Dukla 61 - This family drama examines a fire in a Dukla mineshaft, one of the Czech's greatest mining tragedies, and pays tribute to the brave miners that regarded their work as a mission, even though they risked their lives each and every day.

And if you've read this far, "Czech" out this Minnesota-made documentary: Singin' in the Grain - Self-described “oldest emerging documentarian” Al Milgrom started work on his latest film in 1974.  Taking over 100 hours of footage throughout the years, Milgrom and editor Dan Geiger turned the decades-in-the-making journey into a 109-minute film titled “Singin’ in the Grain”. His documentary follows the Eddie Shimota Polka Band through three generations, examining what it means to be a Czech-American today.

Singin' In the Grain: A Minnesota Czech Story (photo credit: MSP Film Society)

On This Day

Historic Highlights (credits)

1621 - King James I of England gives Sir William Alexander a royal charter for colonisation of Nova Scotia

1792 - French Revolution: The National Convention passes a proclamation announcing the formal abolition of the French monarchy

1898 - Empress Dowager Cixi seizes power and ends the Hundred Days' Reform in China, imprisoning the Guangxu Emperor

1915 - Cecil Chubb buys English prehistoric monument Stonehenge for £6,600

1922 - US President Warren G. Harding signs a joint resolution of approval to establish a Jewish homeland in Palestine

1936 - Spanish fascist junta names Francisco Franco to Generalissimo and Supreme Commander

1937 - JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit is published for the first time

1949 - Chinese Communist leaders proclaim the People's Republic of China

Happy Birthday to You!🎶 

1957 - Kevin Rudd, Australian politician, 26th Prime Minister of Australia

1947 - Stephen King, American author

1902 - Luis Cernuda, Spanish poet

1867 - Henry L. Stimson, American statesman, lawyer, politician

1866 - H. G. Wells, English author

Remembering You

1905 - Rudolf Baumbach, German writer of student drinking songs

1904 - Chief Joseph, US indian chief (Nez Perces)

1860 - Arthur Schopenhauer, German philosopher

1832 - Walter Scott, Scottish novelist, poet

1558 - Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor


Whether it's a new film or a family favorite, invite your peeps over for a movie night and make it a great Saturday!

Kim