Film Review - Big Eyes - By Tim Burton

Big eyes is a drama about the life of painter Margaret Keane and her struggles for recognition as a painter.

It shows the legal difficulties and abuse she suffered at the hand of her husband who liked to claim credit for her work. It is beautiful to witness the journey of her coming into her own. Anne

Movie Club—Stand By Me

In August the Movie Club will be screening Stand By Me, directed by Rob Reiner and starring River Phoenix, Wil Wheaton, Corey Feldman, Jerry O'Connell, and Kiefer Sutherland.

In Castle Rock, Oregon, 1959, four boys, Gordie (Wheaton), Chris (Phoenix), Teddy (Feldman), and Vern (O'Connell), come to believe that they know the location of the dead body of a boy who went missing from a nearby town. They decide to take a journey out of town and across the country to find the body and be celebrated as local heroes. While taking the journey the boys face many perils, some real, some only rumour. But what they really find along the journey is who they are and where they are going.

The film is based on a Stephen King novella, originally entitled "They Body", from the Different Seasons collection, which also contained "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption", which was also made into a film in 1996. Like The Shawshank Redemption, the film has become an audience favourite, and won the approval of King, who believes it to be one of the first accurate adaptations of his work. It has become the quintessential coming-of-age film, dealing with the loss of childhood innocence, death, nostalgia, and the uncertainty of growing up.

The film will be screened on Wednesday 10 August at 6pm at Narellan Library, Corner of Queen and Elyard Street, Narellan. Tea, coffee, and biscuits provided, but BYO snacks are more than welcome. Stay after the screening to share your thoughts about the film and join in a discussion about the many intriguing insights the film explores.

Book Review—The Elephant’s Journey by José Saramago

João III, the king of Portugal, has a dilemma: the wedding gift to his cousin, Maximillian of Austria, at the time of his nuptials seems insufficient. But a solution has been discovered in the form of Solomon the elephant. In the king’s possession for many years, it has hardly garnered the attention such a creature demands, and so sees it not only as an option to dispense with an overlooked royal asset but also to give a stunning gift. This means transporting the beast from Lisbon to Vienna. At each new location the elephant inspires the fascination of the locals, with all viewing the elephant as a different being of elation, concern, or utility.

The use of an elephant is no coincidence. Although an elephant did indeed cross Europe in 1551, the aptness of the creature is more intertwined with the narrative that is less about the historical than the anecdotal. Wherever Solomon is seen he becomes the proverbial elephant in the room, those thoughts that hitherto words were incapable of giving form. Thus Solomon becomes a contingent object, being added to a family cress, or being prayed on to remove a curse, or an umbrella stand. But equally he becomes an object that, although now a source of fascination, will one day simply become a memory, something shared in a reminiscent glance with a fellow witness, or a colourful yarn regaled to strangers. Like Queen Catherine of Portugal who, when asking “whatever happened to Solomon?”, will feign innocence and manufacture amusement at being given news of his whereabouts. It is all a testimony to the fact that “memory, which isn’t anyone’s strong point, is best not overburdened with too much detail.”

The Elephant’s Journey is a rich, whimsical tale filled with humour, solemnity, and the truth of the circumstantial.

Andreas

Film Review - Dallas Buyers Club By Directer Jean- Marc Vallee

Dallas Buyers Club stars Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner. Winner of 3 Academy awards.

Texas cowboy Ron Woodroof is diagnosed as HIV positive and given 30 days to live. Not accepting his death sentence he embarks on his own journey, sometimes humorous with his disguises to seek other treatments and defy the odds. Making new friends along the way he challenges the medical community. This is a story of true strength of character and resilience. Anne
MA 15+ Strong sex scenes, drug use and course language