Another black and white classic. The beginning of this movie goes so fast! I was trying to understand what Xanadu was and what Kubla Kahn had to do with this. Thankfully, as the movie progresses, everything is explained and I began to understand. I thought it was really interesting how all the major actors/actresses were new to the movie screen except Orson Welles. And as I understand it was the first time he directed a movie. I couldn't tell any of them were beginners. And, after watching the commentary at the end of the movie, I learned that it was based upon someone's real life and if I hadn't already deleted it from my DVR, I would tell you who. Apparently, the man thought his 2nd wife was portrayed wrongly. It seems like you either really appreciate this movie or don't like it at all. It came out a time when the US was about to enter into war and America couldn't really appreciate this kind of movie. Americans at that time wanted an inspirational, uplifting movie. I wouldn't say I liked it, but I didn't hate it either.
Anyway, another thing I wanted to note about this movie was how often people interrupted others, how often people ignored each other and how often they used a person's full title when addressing them. For example, "Mr. Carter, is this where your office is, Mr. Carter?" The whole movie was like that and once, I heard Leland informally address Mr. Kane and it caught me off guard. Maybe I missed this part, but at the beginning it tells how his first wife and son died in a car accident, but I didn't see that part explained. You see, at the beginning you see a movie-like summary of his life and then throughout the movie they explain each part. They are all looking for an explanation of Mr. Kane's final words: rosebud. It's kind of like a puzzle they have to figure out. So, they interview everyone he was close to and they reflect on his life. They end up deciding that 'rosebud' is just another piece to the puzzle of his life. It was actually the name on his sled. When he was taken from his mother and father, he had to leave behind his sled. I guessed that the reason he was taken away from his parents was because his father would have been abusive? I'm not 100% sure. Mr. Thatcher, the man that raised him got him another one. I'm still trying to figure out why those were his last words. Maybe because they represented a time in his life that was happy? If you have ideas, let me know!
So, Citizen Kane was a man from humble beginnings who grew up to be very rich and unhappy. He had two wives that both left him. He ran for office and ran a newspaper office (The Inquirer) that often ran scandalous stories. Anyone else have thoughts?
And that's the way the story reads....
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Friday, October 8, 2010
A VOICE IN THE WIND
First of all, I realize this book is not on my classic American literature list, but it is a Christian classic for sure. If anyone has read it, they will agree with me wholeheartedly. Anyway, I had already started reading it when my adventure began. Now, onto the book!
Francine Rivers is a tremendously wonderful Christian fiction writer. Redeemingly Love was an awesome book. It told the story of Hosea and his harlot wife Gomer. It is a story of love that parallels the love Jesus has for us. The Mark of the Lion series (A Voice in the Wind, An Echo in the Darkness and As Sure as the Dawn) affects the way I make everyday decisions. Reading about a character who is so truly devoted to her relationship with Jesus is very encouraging.
CAUTION: SPOILER ALERT! SYNOPSIS BELOW!
A Voice in the Wind introduces you to a large cast of characters- Decimus and Phoebe Valerian (the parents), Marcus and Julia (the children), Hadassah (a slave) and Atretes (a German captive). We first begin reading about the destruction of Jerusalem and how each member of Hadassah's family is either murdered or dies from starvation. Through God's graces, she is spared and Rivers gives tiny glimpses into the hearts of those who spare her. They have no idea why they do so, but they feel compelled. She is marched into Rome, where she is eventually sold to the Valerian household. Although she is beyond skinny and has had her head shaved, Phoebe has a feeling about her and gives her to her daughter, 16-year-old Julia who is spoiled beyond belief and is truly a daughter of Rome. She and her brother both only want what pleases them and throughout the book Decimus and Phoebe question if their children even have consciences. We also learn about Atretes, the son of a Chatti chieftain, who gains the position after his father is killed. He is from Germania and is a very powerful warrior. He had previously lost his wife and child during the child's birth and worships the god Tiwaz. During a battle with Roman legionnaires, he is taken captive (not easily, I might add) and sold a couple of times and begins training to fight in the arena. All we know about Marcus at this point is that he has or has had several lovers and at 22 years of age. His current lover or longest relationship is with a girl named Arria, who Julia, of course, envies because of her freedom.
Throughout the book, we watch as both Hadassah and Marcus fight strange feelings for each other. Marcus is ashamed that he has feelings for an ugly slave girl. Hadassah prays that God changes these feelings. She is ever faithful to Julia, even when facing the most horrendous circumstances. Julia has a best friend, Octavia, who does as she pleases and with whomever she pleases. Of course, Julia is jealous of this and when her parents see the rebellion begin, they arrange that she marry Claudius Flaccus, a widow in his 60's. The marriage is short lived, as Claudius dies on his way to retrieve Julia from the ludus, where she enjoys watching the gladiators train. Julia often dismisses Claudius and sends Hadassah to him instead, where he is interested in learning about her religion. Everyone thinks she is a Jew- she hides the fact that she is a Christian because of the certain death that admission would bring. After Claudius dies, Julia returns back home. Her friend Octavia introduces her to a woman named a Calabah- a woman after Satan's own heart. She uses Julia as a pawn and corrupts her to the fullest degree.
She introduces Julia to a man named Caius, who is very handsome and charming and soon the two are wed. After less than 6 months of marriage, Caius' true character is revealed. Not only is he having affairs, but he is physically and emotionally abusive to Julia. When she becomes pregnant with his child, he becomes angry with her and refuses to touch her. Julia is so upset at this that she seeks Calabah's help and she tells her abortion is the only way. She goes through with the abortion and Hadassah is sent to bury the tiny child. Later, when Caius becomes outraged that Julia cancels his debt by sleeping with the man he owes the money to, he is intent on killing Julia when Hadassah takes the punishment instead and is almost killed. Julia, again, seeks Calabah's advice and she tells her that the only way out is to kill Caius, so she provides her with the poison and within weeks, he is dead.
The book changes back and forth between characters' stories, so all the while this is happening, we are learning about Atretes and his ever-increasing number of kills in the arena. He has 100 published kills, with at least 50 more before he was captive. He sees Julia once and thinks her the most beautiful woman and also remembers his mother's prophecy. In his future, she saw a woman with dark hair and dark eyes that would change his life. Also, we read about Decimus (Julia and Marcus's father) and his failing health. They try several different means of healing but none works. A few times, Hadassah is sent back to Phoebe and Decimus to serve for short periods of time. The only thing that makes Decimus feel better is when Hadassah sings to them or recites Bible stories for them. This is also one of the reasons Julia likes Hadassah so much- she entertains her. Hadassah has also found a group of Christians to meet with in Rome.
At this point in the story (about 1/4 of the book left), Decimus and Phoebe decide to move back to Ephesus, where Decimus is originally from. He thinks this could possibly heal him and if not, he prefers to die in his home country. Because Julia is again a widow, she returns to her parents and they go to Ephesus. At the same time, Atretes is also sold and is sent to fight in Ephesus. He will fight in an elimination match, with the winner earning his freedom. When Julia learns that Atretes is there and sees him at the Artemis (the temple worshipping Artemis), she disguises herself as a temple prostitute so she can be with him. After their "meeting" they arrange to see each other more. Their affair continues as Decimus becomes deathly ill and eventually dies, but not before Hadassah is able to witness to them openly, without fear, and Decimus accepts Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior. Marcus is aware of Hadassah's Christian religion and warns her to keep quiet about it. Their mutual feelings for each other are growing with each passing day. Once, Marcus is so overcome by lust that he nearly rapes Hadassah, only to apologize and think himself a fool.
When Julia learns that Atretes could earn his freedom, Calabah tells her that if he does, he will marry her and she will once again be captive to a man. She tells her that he will certainly abuse her and that she must be in control. Calabah's plan? To have Julia marry her friend Primus, who is a homosexual. This would allow Julia to continue her affair with Atretes, but not have to answer to him as a husband. And as for Primus, he gets a part in Julia's fortune which she gained from her first marriage. It's a marriage of convenience and as soon as Atretes earns his freedom at the elimination match, he calls on Julia, only to find out she's been recently married. When they confront each other, Julia tells him that she is pregnant with his child and thinks this will make him stay. He returns to the villa he had bought, trashes it and leaves it to live in a cave because he is so distraught.
When the child is born, Julia doesn't even look at it and orders Hadassah to leave it on the rocks. She disobeys, however and takes the child to where she has recently begun meeting with John the Baptist. He is meeting and praying with a woman named Rizpah, who just lost her husband and son to the plague. She takes the child to be her own. After the child is born, Marcus comes to visit his sister. He expresses interest in taking Hadassah to be his wife. Julia asks for a couple more weeks with her and when Marcus returns and expresses his love for her, she has to reject him. She loves him so much and is very upset, but she knows she cannot yoke herself to an unbeliever. She constantly prays for all the Valerians, but especially for Marcus because of her immense love for him. She prays that either her feelings be removed or that he become a believer. He storms out, very upset and when Julia hears Hadassah's rejection, she begins to plot. She blames Hadassah for Atretes not returning and is very upset with her that she would reject Marcus. She attends a party that night for a man known to hate Jews (Vitellius). She dresses Hadassah so that it is clear she is a Jew and when Vitellius asks that Hadassah prove she will worship other gods, she refuses and is therefore sentenced to die in the arena.
The last part of the book is the most powerful. Atretes has been having strange dreams and believe the only person who can help him interpret the dreams was the last person he saw before he started dreaming- Hadassah. When he calls for her, Julia sends word that she is dead and he learns that she will be sent to the arena to fight lions. She witnesses to him there and tells him that his son is alive and tells him where to find him. He tries to convince her to let him free her, but she refuses. The next day, they are taken out into the arena. Hadassah sings, while walking with arms outstretched into the center of the arena. She is the first one attacked.
Julia takes Marcus to the games that day and tells him that she misses the days when they were younger. She tells him that she has gotten rid of everything that got in their way. Not knowing what she's talking about, he looks out into the arena, where Julia suddenly gets very excited that the Christians are coming out. Marcus sees Hadassah and his heart stops and he realizes there is nothing he can do. Julia cheers that the lions attack and kill and Marcus screams that Hadassah retreat. From the book: "No!" Marcus cried out again, his face convulsing as the lion hit her. He turned his face away as she went down- and something inside of him died. "There," Julia said triumphantly. "It's finished." The sounds of ecstatic pleasure rose as spectators cheered wildly. More lions roared. Screams of fear and pain rang out, and someone laughed near Marcus. "Look at them scatter now!" Another hooted. "Look at those lions fighting over the carcass of that first girl!" And in that instant, God answered Hadassah's prayer.
Marcus vows he never had a sister and refuses to ever see her again. He leaves the arena, his eyes clouded by tears. He doesn't know where to go and at the very end of the book he falls to his knees, covers his head and cries.
And that's precisely the way the story reads....
Francine Rivers is a tremendously wonderful Christian fiction writer. Redeemingly Love was an awesome book. It told the story of Hosea and his harlot wife Gomer. It is a story of love that parallels the love Jesus has for us. The Mark of the Lion series (A Voice in the Wind, An Echo in the Darkness and As Sure as the Dawn) affects the way I make everyday decisions. Reading about a character who is so truly devoted to her relationship with Jesus is very encouraging.
CAUTION: SPOILER ALERT! SYNOPSIS BELOW!
A Voice in the Wind introduces you to a large cast of characters- Decimus and Phoebe Valerian (the parents), Marcus and Julia (the children), Hadassah (a slave) and Atretes (a German captive). We first begin reading about the destruction of Jerusalem and how each member of Hadassah's family is either murdered or dies from starvation. Through God's graces, she is spared and Rivers gives tiny glimpses into the hearts of those who spare her. They have no idea why they do so, but they feel compelled. She is marched into Rome, where she is eventually sold to the Valerian household. Although she is beyond skinny and has had her head shaved, Phoebe has a feeling about her and gives her to her daughter, 16-year-old Julia who is spoiled beyond belief and is truly a daughter of Rome. She and her brother both only want what pleases them and throughout the book Decimus and Phoebe question if their children even have consciences. We also learn about Atretes, the son of a Chatti chieftain, who gains the position after his father is killed. He is from Germania and is a very powerful warrior. He had previously lost his wife and child during the child's birth and worships the god Tiwaz. During a battle with Roman legionnaires, he is taken captive (not easily, I might add) and sold a couple of times and begins training to fight in the arena. All we know about Marcus at this point is that he has or has had several lovers and at 22 years of age. His current lover or longest relationship is with a girl named Arria, who Julia, of course, envies because of her freedom.
Throughout the book, we watch as both Hadassah and Marcus fight strange feelings for each other. Marcus is ashamed that he has feelings for an ugly slave girl. Hadassah prays that God changes these feelings. She is ever faithful to Julia, even when facing the most horrendous circumstances. Julia has a best friend, Octavia, who does as she pleases and with whomever she pleases. Of course, Julia is jealous of this and when her parents see the rebellion begin, they arrange that she marry Claudius Flaccus, a widow in his 60's. The marriage is short lived, as Claudius dies on his way to retrieve Julia from the ludus, where she enjoys watching the gladiators train. Julia often dismisses Claudius and sends Hadassah to him instead, where he is interested in learning about her religion. Everyone thinks she is a Jew- she hides the fact that she is a Christian because of the certain death that admission would bring. After Claudius dies, Julia returns back home. Her friend Octavia introduces her to a woman named a Calabah- a woman after Satan's own heart. She uses Julia as a pawn and corrupts her to the fullest degree.
She introduces Julia to a man named Caius, who is very handsome and charming and soon the two are wed. After less than 6 months of marriage, Caius' true character is revealed. Not only is he having affairs, but he is physically and emotionally abusive to Julia. When she becomes pregnant with his child, he becomes angry with her and refuses to touch her. Julia is so upset at this that she seeks Calabah's help and she tells her abortion is the only way. She goes through with the abortion and Hadassah is sent to bury the tiny child. Later, when Caius becomes outraged that Julia cancels his debt by sleeping with the man he owes the money to, he is intent on killing Julia when Hadassah takes the punishment instead and is almost killed. Julia, again, seeks Calabah's advice and she tells her that the only way out is to kill Caius, so she provides her with the poison and within weeks, he is dead.
The book changes back and forth between characters' stories, so all the while this is happening, we are learning about Atretes and his ever-increasing number of kills in the arena. He has 100 published kills, with at least 50 more before he was captive. He sees Julia once and thinks her the most beautiful woman and also remembers his mother's prophecy. In his future, she saw a woman with dark hair and dark eyes that would change his life. Also, we read about Decimus (Julia and Marcus's father) and his failing health. They try several different means of healing but none works. A few times, Hadassah is sent back to Phoebe and Decimus to serve for short periods of time. The only thing that makes Decimus feel better is when Hadassah sings to them or recites Bible stories for them. This is also one of the reasons Julia likes Hadassah so much- she entertains her. Hadassah has also found a group of Christians to meet with in Rome.
At this point in the story (about 1/4 of the book left), Decimus and Phoebe decide to move back to Ephesus, where Decimus is originally from. He thinks this could possibly heal him and if not, he prefers to die in his home country. Because Julia is again a widow, she returns to her parents and they go to Ephesus. At the same time, Atretes is also sold and is sent to fight in Ephesus. He will fight in an elimination match, with the winner earning his freedom. When Julia learns that Atretes is there and sees him at the Artemis (the temple worshipping Artemis), she disguises herself as a temple prostitute so she can be with him. After their "meeting" they arrange to see each other more. Their affair continues as Decimus becomes deathly ill and eventually dies, but not before Hadassah is able to witness to them openly, without fear, and Decimus accepts Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior. Marcus is aware of Hadassah's Christian religion and warns her to keep quiet about it. Their mutual feelings for each other are growing with each passing day. Once, Marcus is so overcome by lust that he nearly rapes Hadassah, only to apologize and think himself a fool.
When Julia learns that Atretes could earn his freedom, Calabah tells her that if he does, he will marry her and she will once again be captive to a man. She tells her that he will certainly abuse her and that she must be in control. Calabah's plan? To have Julia marry her friend Primus, who is a homosexual. This would allow Julia to continue her affair with Atretes, but not have to answer to him as a husband. And as for Primus, he gets a part in Julia's fortune which she gained from her first marriage. It's a marriage of convenience and as soon as Atretes earns his freedom at the elimination match, he calls on Julia, only to find out she's been recently married. When they confront each other, Julia tells him that she is pregnant with his child and thinks this will make him stay. He returns to the villa he had bought, trashes it and leaves it to live in a cave because he is so distraught.
When the child is born, Julia doesn't even look at it and orders Hadassah to leave it on the rocks. She disobeys, however and takes the child to where she has recently begun meeting with John the Baptist. He is meeting and praying with a woman named Rizpah, who just lost her husband and son to the plague. She takes the child to be her own. After the child is born, Marcus comes to visit his sister. He expresses interest in taking Hadassah to be his wife. Julia asks for a couple more weeks with her and when Marcus returns and expresses his love for her, she has to reject him. She loves him so much and is very upset, but she knows she cannot yoke herself to an unbeliever. She constantly prays for all the Valerians, but especially for Marcus because of her immense love for him. She prays that either her feelings be removed or that he become a believer. He storms out, very upset and when Julia hears Hadassah's rejection, she begins to plot. She blames Hadassah for Atretes not returning and is very upset with her that she would reject Marcus. She attends a party that night for a man known to hate Jews (Vitellius). She dresses Hadassah so that it is clear she is a Jew and when Vitellius asks that Hadassah prove she will worship other gods, she refuses and is therefore sentenced to die in the arena.
The last part of the book is the most powerful. Atretes has been having strange dreams and believe the only person who can help him interpret the dreams was the last person he saw before he started dreaming- Hadassah. When he calls for her, Julia sends word that she is dead and he learns that she will be sent to the arena to fight lions. She witnesses to him there and tells him that his son is alive and tells him where to find him. He tries to convince her to let him free her, but she refuses. The next day, they are taken out into the arena. Hadassah sings, while walking with arms outstretched into the center of the arena. She is the first one attacked.
Julia takes Marcus to the games that day and tells him that she misses the days when they were younger. She tells him that she has gotten rid of everything that got in their way. Not knowing what she's talking about, he looks out into the arena, where Julia suddenly gets very excited that the Christians are coming out. Marcus sees Hadassah and his heart stops and he realizes there is nothing he can do. Julia cheers that the lions attack and kill and Marcus screams that Hadassah retreat. From the book: "No!" Marcus cried out again, his face convulsing as the lion hit her. He turned his face away as she went down- and something inside of him died. "There," Julia said triumphantly. "It's finished." The sounds of ecstatic pleasure rose as spectators cheered wildly. More lions roared. Screams of fear and pain rang out, and someone laughed near Marcus. "Look at them scatter now!" Another hooted. "Look at those lions fighting over the carcass of that first girl!" And in that instant, God answered Hadassah's prayer.
Marcus vows he never had a sister and refuses to ever see her again. He leaves the arena, his eyes clouded by tears. He doesn't know where to go and at the very end of the book he falls to his knees, covers his head and cries.
And that's precisely the way the story reads....
Sunday, October 3, 2010
THE COLOR PURPLE
I want to begin this blog by saying that I have no idea if this movie is considered a classic, but I watched it and I want to write a review on it anyway. It should be a classic- not only because of its length, but also because of the cast of characters. With a leading cast of Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey and Denzel Washington, this movie was really good. I hated it at the beginning. I just can't imagine having to go through all that. And the worst part was that it didn't just happen to this one girl- it seemed to be the theme throughout the movie. How disgusting. Anyway, after the first couple of depressing hours, it started getting better. I couldn't really fathom the relationships they had, though. How could you be friendly with the woman your husband spent every waking minute dreaming and fantasizing about and then being with her. I mean, obviously this wasn't a loving relationship, but still, isn't that kind of weird? I was so thankful that Shug did become a part of her life though. And to find out that her sister and children were happy all those years! And the ending couldn't have been better. The two sisters playing their hand games with him walking right past....how awesome! When Whoopi had her major part, I was so excited for her, but scared at the same time. She had some guts to stand up to him like that. I think I remember reading this book or maybe a friend of mine reading this book in high school. Who chooses those books, seriously? Heather Conley-do you know? Anyway, I watched it and appreciated it. The 3 hours and 30 minutes goes by rather quickly without commercials. I would consider this movie better than GWTW- just because I liked the main character better.
And that's the way the story reads...
And that's the way the story reads...
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