This Is England
Director: Shane Meadows
Cast: Thomas Turgoose, Stephen Graham, Joseph Gilgun and more
Plot outline: Shaun is being bullied by everyone around him, so when Woody and his crew offer sympathy, Shaun is drawn into a new world of voilence and nationalism.
Strong acting and believable characters, music that enhances the images and a setting relatively unexplored perviously in cinema; all of this makes "This is England" a top 10 in my book. Each and every character has a depth that goes beyond the screen or the script, that each viewer is left to fill in for him- or herself, and I feel sympathy towards each and every character as the story unfolds. Rather than preaching the story about the innocent, lonely little boy who is ruined by malicious, older nationalists, this story tells us that they are all victims in different ways. Emotional, but in an authentic way, and definitely topical today, even though it is set more than 20 years ago.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0480025/
Cast: Thomas Turgoose, Stephen Graham, Joseph Gilgun and more
Plot outline: Shaun is being bullied by everyone around him, so when Woody and his crew offer sympathy, Shaun is drawn into a new world of voilence and nationalism.
Strong acting and believable characters, music that enhances the images and a setting relatively unexplored perviously in cinema; all of this makes "This is England" a top 10 in my book. Each and every character has a depth that goes beyond the screen or the script, that each viewer is left to fill in for him- or herself, and I feel sympathy towards each and every character as the story unfolds. Rather than preaching the story about the innocent, lonely little boy who is ruined by malicious, older nationalists, this story tells us that they are all victims in different ways. Emotional, but in an authentic way, and definitely topical today, even though it is set more than 20 years ago.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0480025/
The God of Small Things
Author: Arundhati Roy
Year of publication: 1997
Plot summary: Rahel and Estha are twins in the late 60's in India. Roy tells us their story, as well as the ones of everyone around them, before and after The Horrible Thing happened.
I was almost discouraged to read it after the first chapter, because there were so many new characters, many with similar names and different family ties that I couldn't keep track of them. Also, Roy jumps as she pleases between different time periods of the story, without giving sign to the reader. After a while you become accustomed to this, however, but in the beginning it was thoroughly confusing. I persisted, though; wrote down all the characters on a chart to figure out the connections and remember who was who, and soon enough I was stuck in the intricate story that was revealed to me in bits and pieces, one by one. It turned out to be quite a tragedy, disguised as a feel-good story because of all the comedic situations and Roy's excellent way of writing. But a thrilling tragedy, nevertheless, and at the end I found myself grudgingly admitting that I had enjoyed reading it.
Year of publication: 1997
Plot summary: Rahel and Estha are twins in the late 60's in India. Roy tells us their story, as well as the ones of everyone around them, before and after The Horrible Thing happened.
I was almost discouraged to read it after the first chapter, because there were so many new characters, many with similar names and different family ties that I couldn't keep track of them. Also, Roy jumps as she pleases between different time periods of the story, without giving sign to the reader. After a while you become accustomed to this, however, but in the beginning it was thoroughly confusing. I persisted, though; wrote down all the characters on a chart to figure out the connections and remember who was who, and soon enough I was stuck in the intricate story that was revealed to me in bits and pieces, one by one. It turned out to be quite a tragedy, disguised as a feel-good story because of all the comedic situations and Roy's excellent way of writing. But a thrilling tragedy, nevertheless, and at the end I found myself grudgingly admitting that I had enjoyed reading it.
Sicko
Director: Michael Moore
Cast: Mike and many more
Plot outline: Moore takes on the American health care system.
As cynical, ironic and provocative as ever, Michael Moore once again shows his editing skills when coupling archived footage, new scenes and music and making into stinging criticism. I'll admit I'm probably as biased as Moore himself is, because I am a fan of him and I am not particulalry fond of American politics. But as long as the viewer is aware that this is in no way an objective study of the health care system, one can enjoy the wonderful spectacle that is presented before you. At times it even felt like I was watching a comedy; Moore's feigned astonishment at the fact that a French doctor doesn't live in the slum even though he's employed by the government, or that a conservative Canadian can still believe in solidarity, makes for some very amusing scenes. I believe everyone should see this, if only to have a legitimate reason to say "I don't like Michael Moore". I like Michael Moore.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0386032/
Cast: Mike and many more
Plot outline: Moore takes on the American health care system.
As cynical, ironic and provocative as ever, Michael Moore once again shows his editing skills when coupling archived footage, new scenes and music and making into stinging criticism. I'll admit I'm probably as biased as Moore himself is, because I am a fan of him and I am not particulalry fond of American politics. But as long as the viewer is aware that this is in no way an objective study of the health care system, one can enjoy the wonderful spectacle that is presented before you. At times it even felt like I was watching a comedy; Moore's feigned astonishment at the fact that a French doctor doesn't live in the slum even though he's employed by the government, or that a conservative Canadian can still believe in solidarity, makes for some very amusing scenes. I believe everyone should see this, if only to have a legitimate reason to say "I don't like Michael Moore". I like Michael Moore.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0386032/