Day 3: A film I never get bored watching

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Persuasion (1995)

The films I’m most likely to watch over and over again are comfort films, perfect for a rainy day or when you’re ill in bed. I love a Jane Austen adaptation and regularly rewatch the 1995 BBC version of Pride and Prejudice (not the awkwardly awful 2005 remake with Keira Knightley) but my favourite is this much less famous 1995 adaptation of Persuasion.

It is quiet and understated and Amanda Root is a calm and capable Anne Elliot (unlike Sally Hawkins breathless and dizzy characterisation in the 2007 remake). Ciarán Hinds does a good job as the stalwart but bitter Captain Wentworth and Samuel West is convincingly handsome and odious as Mr Eliott. It’s the secondary characters that I love best, though – Fiona Shaw as Mrs Croft, Phoebe Nicholls as the ghastly Elizabeth Elliot and Sophie Thompson as narcissistic Mary Musgrove.

Find it here on IMDb.

What film do you never get bored of?

Posted as part of the 30-Day Fillums Challenge, created by me. If you want to see what’s coming up, have a look at my post here and feel free to join in by commenting each day with your own choice.

Coming Next: Day 4: Your favourite book to film adaptation

Day 2: My favourite film with a name in the title

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For Sama (2019)

This was a difficult choice and I nearly picked Toni Erdmann (2016) or About Elly (2009) but this searing documentary by journalist Waad Al-Kateab, trapped in Aleppo, Syria during the uprising and titled as a message to her daughter, Sama, is impossible to forget. It opens your eyes to the real impact of political discord and the tragedy behind the headlines we scroll past. You can read my review here and see details on IMDb here.

What’s your favourite film that has a name in the title? I’m betting at least one person chooses Shrek (2001).

Posted as part of the 30-Day Fillums Challenge, created by me. If you want to see what’s coming up, have a look at my post here and feel free to join in by commenting each day with your own choice.

Coming Next: Day 3: A film you never get bored watching

Hustlers (2019)

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It’s a rare treat to see a mainstream Hollywood film where so many of the leads are women of colour. Lorene Scafaria’s Hustlers takes a true story of a group of women in the late 2000s, who survive the financial crash by fleecing businessman, and turns it into a warm and vibrant story of female friendship. Continue reading →

Day 1: The last film I saw at a cinema

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The Extraordinary (2019)

I had a last trip to Melbourne to see films just before lockdown in March and this was a part of the Alliance Français French Film Festival screening at Palace cinemas. It was a 6pm screening on the day before Palace closed all its cinemas so I was lucky to see it.

Also known as Hors Normes and The Specials, this is a follow up feature by Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano, who also wrote and directed the beautiful The Intouchables (2011). I reviewed it here if you want to read more about it. I gave it 4.5 stars and loved it for its heart and authenticity. It’s not quite as mainstream as The Intouchables but I’m confident it will get a release at some point.

What was the last film you saw at a cinema? In Australia it’s been nearly two months that cinemas have been closed so you might find it a bit hard to remember.

Posted as part of the 30-Day Fillums Challenge, created by me. If you want to see what’s coming up, have a look at my post here and feel free to join in by commenting each day with your own choice.

Coming Next: Day 2: Your favourite film with a name in the title