Movie Review: “Papillon”

Based on the book by Henri Charriere.

Version: 1973; starring Steve McQueen; Duston Hoffman

Genre: adventure; survival; based on true story.

Plot Summary: In the 1930’s, two convicted criminals are sentenced to life imprisonment and arrive in the French penal colony of Guiana where they soon forge an enduring friendship through the many years, adventures, and tortures to follow.

My Review: Disclaimer*: I have not read the original book, so this review will not by comparing it to that novel.  Only as a story in and of itself, totally unrelated to the book.  

This was a story I did not know I needed to know about.  I had never heard of the book, or of the movie, and it was not until writing this review that I learned of a new remake starring Charlie Hunnam in McQueen’s role.  There’s always some room for tales of imprisonment and escape in my strange soul, so when I happened across this older movie it did not wait long on my watch list.

This is nearly a three hour film.  The pace is slow and mostly quiet, as to be expected when your hero spends 5+ years in solitary confinement.  Don’t worry, it’s not as painstaking to watch as it sounds!  Henri Charriere, wrongly accused (as far as we trust our main character’s POV) of murder spends all of his time from the very first minute scheming his way out of captivity.  We, the viewers, are right along with him each step of the way.  The time and detail it takes for these real life persons to plan an escape which their very life and sanity depend on is suspenseful and has us glued to the story instead of watching the clock.  Our emotions are invested into the very human characters we watch who try so hard to live.

If you’re looking for a clean flick, this isn’t going to be for you.  Death, starvation, and madness are the order of the day.  Men are killed as a matter of course, and sometimes there is quite grisly detail.  In an atmosphere such as this, it would be unrealistic for the script not to include swear words.  So of course, that factors liberally into the movie as well. One prison guard has a hankering after one of the prisoners and wants to sexually abuse him.  The prisoner appears to go along with it for a time, but only as a means of eventual escape.  It is common for the inmates to smuggle their belongings in places where the sun doesn’t shine.  If I remember correctly, there may have been a brief scene of backside (prison context) nudity.  What actually bothered me more than that was an island setting in which all the tribeswomen wore nothing at all and we see full frontal nudity.

Despite all of this, I came away doing a lot of thinking about this movie.  The thing that stood out the most to me was comparing the two main characters: Henry Charriere (or, “Papillon”) and his friend Louis Dega who was sent to Guiana for forgery.  Their friendship is begun for survival’s sake.  Papillon can easily handle himself in any situation, with quick wits to boot but not much clout among other prisoners or guards.  Dega on the other hand, is physically undersized with round glasses that couldn’t possibly get any thicker which produces a wrong-end-of-the-magnifying-glass-effect when we look at him.  However, his secret weapon is literally the stash of cash he sits on and he is able to bribe for opportunities.  In one of the most touching parts of the story, Papillon risks his life to protect Dega when he is being beaten.  This action lands him longlasting consequences.  It brings Dega to tears to think that an innocent man would be willing to put his life in jeopardy for him, who is justly convicted of his crime.  It made me think of Jesus, the innocent lamb who was slain for us, the real sinners.  It was an eloquent portrait of biblical truth.

Eventually, through many trials and hardships, the two men are brought together once again where they have to face a decision: remain in captivity, or attempt escape (quite possibly ending in death or worse, recapture).  It is rather pitiful the situation they are in, yet in some ways it could have been worse.  Will Papillon be content to live the remainder of his years on Devil’s Island where he could live in comparative peace?  Or will he convince Dega to risk the dangers of escape and perhaps be able to attain true freedom once again?

SPOILER ALERT:  Papillon never once abandons his idea of the pursuit of freedom.  I believe giving up his busy mind over this matter would have consigned him to insanity.  Dega on the other hand, was never strong of body or mind.  He found a little piece of joy right where he was and made it into his own.  He had nothing left to go back to.  Was one view right and the other wrong?  I don’t think so.  Two different temperaments, different personalities, with different limitations.   Each did what they could with what they had and what they were made for.  This, of course, is taking the question of guilt out of the equation.  END OF SPOILER.

I know this film will not be for everyone.  But I found some redeeming aspects of it that I encourage anyone so inclined to give it a try.  I am looking forward to seeing a newer version, but Steve McQueen was very good in his role, and Dustin Hoffman provided some comic relief.

 

Non-Fiction Books I’m Liking (Fall 2017)

I just realized I have not posted my favorite non-fiction books for this fall yet!  So I will squeak them in the tail end here before December.  My dashboard has not been cooperating with me the last few weeks, so pictures and links are not as I would like but I’m trying to work with it.  So read on for some books about spiritual journeys that I’m sure will be inspiring!

Until We All Come Home, by Kim de Blecourt~  I am finishing up this book (about 90% of the way through it), but am blown away by the incredible journey this ordinary woman of faith endured while she and her husband were in an international battle to adopt their Ukrainian-born son.  I feel it is easy to connect with this woman because A) she does not live too far from my corner of the world; B) she works in voice over; C) it seemed that almost everything imagineable was determined to block her path.  If you find yourself easily frustrated by myriad details, this book might not be for you.  Still waiting to see how this ends, but it is wonderful seeing how God worked in the middle of her long waiting period, during which she battled depression and severe spiritual oppression in a dark part of the world.  I often find myself praising and thanking God for how He answered her prayers, even if her story wasn’t easy.  I hope to meet Mrs. de Blecourt one day.  I highly recommend this read! 

The Ragamuffin Gospel, by Brennan Manning~  Do you find yourself running on fumes spiritually?  Need a cup of refreshing water in the middle of your desert?  I had heard a lot things about this author, Brennan Manning.  I’ve heard good; I’ve heard bad.  I know people I respect that that admire his work, and others view it with fear.  I determined to read at least one book by him and find out for myself what I thought.  I started with this particular book because it is his most famous.  To be honest, my opinion of it alone is an elevated one.  I found such encouragement in his word pictures, his simple eloquence.  It is imaginative, well-written, and a classic in it’s own right.  It seemed I’d read a passage in a chapter right when I needed it at that time.  The major theme it dwells on is the grace of God.  Manning reflects the easy yoke and light burden God offers to us “ragamuffins”.  I could quote my favorite parts, but would much rather you tried it for yourself.  Does this mean I would agree on everything with Brennan Manning?  No, I will not commit to that; I believe it is always wise to test instead of blindly accept anything we come across.  There were one or two things I’m not sure I would completely agree on even in this book.  And yet, I found the good far, far outweighed those areas.  My advice is to be prayerfully engaged while reading.   

 

Used Book Shopping at Thrift Stores

Ah!  🙂  Time to grab a chai and a blanket and for a little ‘random book shopping’ post!  There aren’t a ton this time around, but I can tell you I was pretty excited over these:

Edith Schaeffer’s non fiction book, “Hidden Art [of Homemaking]” is one of my favorites. I was fortunate to find this in the free bin at the thrift store!”>”A Way of Seeing,” by Edith Schaeffer

As a kid, one particular summer when I had a walloping case of poison ivy, Mom had me soak in ginger baths while she read to me the Mains’ “Tales of the Kingdom.” I later learned there is a trilogy of these wonderful children’s stories, and I was finally able to get my hands on the second one.

Ron Dicianni is one my favorite modern day artists. His paintings of the spiritual life are so full of light and the supernatural. I used to have a book of his paintings before (“Tell Me a Story”), but somewhere along the way of moving 5 times, it got lost or destroyed. I was so happy to find this one! It has even more paintings in it!

*See note below gallery of post.

*This was the best find out of all of them!  Have you heard of the story of Diet Eman?  This brave young Dutch woman defied the Nazis along with her fiancé in hiding Jews during WWII.  About ten years ago, I listened to a recorded speech she gave that aired on Focus on the Family.  It was split into two parts and I remember being so engrossed in the Part 1 and not wanting to miss the next day’s continuation.  But I was unable to at that time (didn’t have the benefit of looking up past programs on the internet), and was so sorry to have missed it.  A short time later after moving to another state, I saw a flyer announcing a small community theater performing a play based on Diet Eman’s biography.  It was said that Diet herself may be there to meet and greet afterward!  I was so excited and we all bought tickets.  The play (named after the book, “Things We Couldn’t Say”) was riveting.  Unfortunately, Ms. Eman (who is now quite elderly) couldn’t make it that night and we never got to meet her.  But.  I was looking through the wealth of books at a local Salvation Army store and came across her autobiography in great condition.  And when I opened it up… I saw she had autographed it!  !!!!!  How COOL is that?!  I am so thrilled and honored to have a book signed by her own hand to keep for my own and pass on.  It is my hope that I get to meet her one day in person.

You never know what you might find at a thrift store!  Do you have any special book finds?  Please share!

 

Edgar Harrell’s Story

Not one weekend newspaper goes by that I don’t see at least one -if not several- World War II veteran obituaries.  It is estimated that 430 of the ‘greatest generation’ vets pass away each day.  So with Independence Day approaching, I thought I’d post a link to the story of a noble WWII vet with a remarkable survival story.  I remember listening to Edgar Harrell being interviewed years ago by Charles Morris on Haven Today.  It was such an edge-of-your-seat true tale that we didn’t dare miss the next day’s episode!  I wasn’t able to find that same interview unfortunately, but you can listen to Harrell’s interview on In the Market with Janet Parshall by clicking here.  You can also watch him tell his story on a video posted below.  Edgar wrote an autobiography about his experiences called “Out of the Depths.”  I highly recommend this to you!  And don’t forget to say thank you to the veterans who fought for your freedom (regardless of which war) in your life!

 

Journaling Our Journey: Doing the Dishes

Sometimes, journaling can be like doing the dishes. You know it needs done.  You know you’ll regret it and get overwhelmed if you don’t, but… you just don’t wanna.  So you put it off.  And before you know it a few months have gone by, but it’s not like anything really super exciting happened, so you’re getting away with it, right?  You’ll wait until some big moment in life arrives and then you’ll journal, you promise yourself.  Except that when that time happens, you’re so swamped with the details of life that it’s nearly impossible to chronicle your internal state of affairs.  Eventually, you give up.  And your life is passing without your inner thoughts, feelings, observations, hopes, dreams, decisions, the life-changing events, and the little moments that really make up the reality of life being set down to last.

The Bible tells us:

It’s a sobering thought, but true nonetheless. We don’t really know what tomorrow will bring.  It seems to be that most of life is lived in the ordinary, slow, waiting mode, and then BOOM! the dramatic, life-changing events happen all of a sudden.  Not just the scary, traumatizing stuff of life, but also the good, happy things full of love and joy.

Who will capture our lives to set down to be remembered if we don’t? Most of us don’t have biographers or will write a published autobiography.  It’s up to us to record things so they didn’t happen in vain.  Why does this matter so much?  It matters for those coming after us (relatives or even non-relatives who maybe never knew us) because they can learn or identify from our lives.  It’s like a snapshot of what people in our day and generation thought about the world going on around us.  It also matters to us because someday we will hopefully be able to look back and see how far we’ve grown and matured.  Or for us to remember things better.  It gives a sense that our lives do matter.

Remembering the importance of journaling can help motivate us to ‘do those journaling dishes’ even when we don’t feel like it. I get in this slump lots of times.  In fact, right now I’m going through a phase where I find it hard to do anything I should do and easy to do everything I shouldn’t!  But I find it helpful to keep journaling by setting aside one day a week and making it a priority.  First, I write about landmark events.  Who had a baby?  Who’s running for president?  Then, I write about what stood out to me during the course of the last week.  Maybe an argument I had with someone, or an achievement I earned.  If nothing comes to my mind for either of these prompts, I come up with some sort of opinion or thought I’ve been holding in my mind lately.  What are my favorite colors currently and why?  What annoys me about certain people?  I don’t just write about the flowery things of life.  I try to be real.

Here’s a tip: It’s much, much easier to journal when you don’t have a boatload of important things to write about. Slowly processing through the last seven days can become more of a contemplative activity than a chore.  And if something big happens (like someone ending up in the hospital), seven days are hard enough to document without having to play catch-up first.

What are some ways that you overcome procrastination in journaling?

 

Book Review: “Inclined to Escape,” by Yuri Vetokhin

Genre: non fiction; autobiography; survival; memoir

Plot Summary: Yuri Vetohkhin, native born Russian, tells the story of his life in the Soviet Union and his three attempts to escape to freedom.

My Book Review: My mom has had this book ever since I could remember. The dust jacket is worn and torn, but one day I opened up the cover and discovered that the author signed his autograph on the inside page. Hmm… we owned a book signed by a person who had endured unspeakable torture. That peaked my interest! How could I not read it?

This wasn’t a cheery book, obviously. Yuri’s life under Communist rule is told in extreme (sometimes monotonous) detail, including his 9 year internment at a psychiatric concentration camp, which takes up a good portion of the book. At times I got very depressed reading about his horrific tortures and the hopelessness he experienced as a result of communism. I had to break up my reading it, alternating between it and other books, which is why it took me about a year to finish it. There were a lot of typos and the English translation of Russian conversations was awkward and didn’t flow very well. I usually forgot who most of the people he mentioned were, and Russian names are hard to pronounce for English speakers.

But I pushed myself to keep reading and I’m glad I did. Even though the story isn’t pleasant, I think it’s important to be informed about how totalitarian governments control people. How do people survive concentration camps? I’ve always wondered what I would do should I ever be sent to one. The only way to know is read about the testimonies of others who have been there.

Yuri speaks often about God and claims to be a Catholic. I won’t dispute that, but be aware that there are several points in his story where he unabashedly admits to being the lover of more than one woman, and to having an affair with a married woman.

The author, Yuri Vetokhin

The book’s pace picks up somewhat after he is released from prison and he schemes his third escape attempt. I can’t even imagine how lonely he must have been spending 20 years keeping his plans entirely to himself and working alone. That he was able to swim for such great distances at age 50 was amazing!

After finishing the book, I tried to learn more about Yuri Vetokhin. There is little information out there, but to the best of my knowledge, he is still alive (now in his 80’s) and living at his San Diego home in CA. That is also amazing, considering all of the poisionous drugs his heart and body took while in the internment camp.

This is a rare book that is hard to get ahold of nowadays, but I would recommend it for anyone interested in testimonies such as Yuri’s.

 

 

Journaling Our Journey: For Posterity

If you journal, do you ever envision someone reading what your write someday? It’s sort of a humbling thought. It can make one more conscious of the fact that what we choose to do today could influence another tomorrow.

Let’s take the published diaries of famous people that we may enjoy reading about. The Diary of Anne Frank; The Selected Journals of L. M. Montgomery; Diaries and Letters of Anne Morrow Lindbergh… (Sorry to list only female writers here: I try to write what I know.) What is it about reading someone else’s diary that interests us so much? I think in large part it is because we feel a connection to someone else. They may have lived in a different place at a totally different time, but we still can identify with universal human emotions. In Ecclesiastes we read, “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” Somehow, we don’t feel quite as alone when we connect with someone who has felt similarly at one time or another. We are drawn out of our isolation, out of our selves, and are exposed to new ideas and ways of looking at things.

I’m currently watching the riveting docudrama The Great War Diary,– reenactments based on real life diaries and letters of people who lived through the first modern war in history. A diary can be a snapshot in time. We get to see what a person thought or felt during a specific event. Some diaries may mention world news, others may not. Regardless, reading about how others managed through the times in which they lived can help us find strength and inspiration for our lives today. People can learn from others from both the good and the bad.

There is something quite different about reading someone’s journal as opposed to fiction. It’s not a contrived plot. The person writing a particular entry had no idea what would occur the next day. Maybe we know the ending, as unfortunately most do when reading about Anne Frank. But they didn’t, and had a choice to do the best they could with what they had at a given time. Not all things are wrapped up with a bow at the end of the story. Sometimes we see realistic periods of time where seemingly nothing happens, or maybe the entries are blank. The feelings described were real and were felt by real people, like us. In that way, we can identify and maybe be comforted by the fact that we’re not the only ones.

So, what responsibility have we when we set to journal our journeys through life? I think being honest is the most important things we can be when pouring out ourselves, even to the pages of a book. Nobody’s perfect and in our journals– whatever else our lives may pressure us to be—we can be safe to reveal that and hopefully process through it. In so doing, we pave a way for readers who may come after us.  What else are we here for than to be a light to others?

Keeping a journal of our thoughts and feelings is also a way to not let it all be in vain. When I feel sad or happy, I don’t want those emotions to be for nothing. So I will sometimes sit down and write it all out. Then it is recorded—not lost, and I feel as though it has not been wasted.

Perhaps all this may sound scary to some. Those who felt inhibited about being vulnerable before now may feel doubly so. “That’s what I was afraid of! I’m terrified someone may read my journals one day!” I know a couple of family members who pitched their older diaries because they were embarrassed. If this is the only way one can feel better about keeping a diary, then I suppose this could be an option as opposed to living in so much dread someone may find it that it keeps you from writing at all. But I urge careful consideration before destroying all your precious thoughts. They really can be an invaluable aid for future generations, whether you think so or not.

In a digital age where text, email, posts, and twitter are thoughtlessly punched out and type quickly vanishes, a journal can be an even more precious gift for ourselves and those who come after. A journal’s voice keeps on speaking long after the writer is gone.

 

The Audie Awards 2015

Arg!  Completely missed the Audie Awards at the end of May two weeks ago (May 28th)!  You know how frustrating it is when you keep on reminding yourself it’s coming up for months, and then when it’s actually time you forget?  😦

Audie Awards are exciting in that they are the biggest awards of the year for audiobooks, narrators, and audio dramas.  In fact, they are often dubbed “The Oscars” of the audio world.

This year had a few interesting finalists.  LA Theatre Works won Best AudioDrama for their version of “The Hound of the Baskervilles.”  Alan Cumming won for his narration of his autiobiography, “Not My Father’s Son.” Max Lucado’s non fiction book, “Before Amen” won in the best Inspirational non fiction audiobook category.  The exciting sounding, “The Auschwitz Escape,” by Joel Rosenberg won for best Inspirational fiction.  And Simon Vance won yet another Audie!

You can look at the list of finalists and winners by clicking here, as well as listen to samples all mentioned.

Although I have not had time to watch it yet, here is the Audie Awards 2015 on video.  Now, hopefully I can remember to tune in live next year!  Arg again.

Have you heard any of these audio productions?  What did you think of them?

 

 

Midday WePick BookClub: The Color of Water

Midday’s We Pick Book Club w/ Rosie de Rosset will take place tomorrow at 12 pm CT (you can also hear it for free for up to a year post-airtime).  Discussion will be about the memoir, “The Color of Water,” by James MacBride.

 

Movie Review: My Brilliant Career

Based on the book by Miles Franklin.

Version: 1979; directed by Gillian Armstrong; starring Judy Davis and Sam Neill

Genre: classic; drama; romance

Plot Summary: Sybella Melvyn is a headstrong young lady living in turn of the century Australia. She longs to be able to follow the path of a career for herself, even though her family is struggling to make ends meet in the country. When she is invited to stay with her wealthy relations, she jumps at the chance … and is reacquainted with handsome well-to-do Harry Beecham. When he starts showing interest in her which leads to a proposal, she is forced to choose between a life a with Harry, or a life of independence.

My Review: Disclaimer*: I have not read the original book, so this review will not be comparing it to that novel.  Only as a story in and of itself, totally unrelated to the book.   When I first noticed this film on Netflix, I was surprised to see that it was only rated PG. What, really? I thought, and decided to check it out. The last time I saw a ‘PG’ on the back of a DVD case I thought it deserved a more of a degenerate rating, so I was watching this with fingers crossed. It turns out that yes, this really is rated PG (in my opinion).

I really enjoyed this movie. I knew nothing about it before I watched it, but was immediately taken in by young Judy Davis’s amazing voice (I’m going to check and see if she ever narrated audiobooks!). Was Sam Neill really that young and handsome once? Oh, yes! I appreciated the slow-moving build up of Sybella and Harry’s romance. Not rushed. Not forced. Not much said. Making them wait. Making you wait. All resulting in a quietly culminating plot.

This is a story that gets you to thinking. SPOILER ALERT: Did Sybella make the right decision in the end? It’s hard to say, and I probably will want to go back and watch this again in order to think more about it. On the one hand, my first reaction is that apparently Sybella knew herself well enough to know that she couldn’t ever be really happy with Harry.  I think that she made the right decision for herself at that time.  Two complete people make for a better, stronger marriage.  Sybella seems to make her choice based on the fact that she knows she would not be able to make Harry a satisfactory partner if she didn’t have some time in which she could figure out who she really was first.  But on the other hand, perhaps Sybella makes a blinded choice based on her self-hatred.  Could it be that she loathes her looks and personality so much that she denies herself and the person she truly loves happiness?  If this is the case, then maybe Sybella still made the right choice in that her persistent dislike of herself (left undealt with) could make a life with Harry miserable.  END OF SPOILER.

Some may find this movie boring. It definitely is on the quiet side, but I was not bored due to the suspenseful build up of the plotline. Sometimes we may struggle with liking the main character, but I chose to see her as an imperfect heroine figuring out life just as I am. She makes a mistake here or there, but we all do. Yay for people who know exactly what they want at age 18 and never change their minds and never regret their choices, but I’m not one of them and neither are most people, I’m guessing.  Undoubtedly some will probably read more into this story than I have when it comes to themes of feminism. I just took the story as I saw it..

Have you seen My Brilliant Career?  What did you think of it?  Share your thoughts below!