A review of the 2014 French film “Gemma Bovery”
April 30th, 2021 by Roger Darlington
In the beginning (1856), there was the classic French novel “Madame Bovary” by Gustave Flaubert of which there have been many film versions in French, English and even Hindi. Then, in 1999, there was an English-language graphic novel “Gemma Bovery” by Posy Simmons which reworked the story into a satirical tale of English expatriates in France.
Finally, in 2014, we have a (largely) French-language film version of the novel by Luxembourger director Anne Fontaine. The point of view is that of Martin (Fabrice Luchini), an ex-Parisian with something of an obsession for Gustave Flaubert’s work, who has settled in a village in Normandy as a baker (lots of gorgeous countryside and delicious bread on display). He becomes overly involved in the life of a British couple who have just moved into the village, Charles Bovery (Jason Flemyng) and his bewitchingly beautiful wife Gemma (Gemma Arterton).
The success of the film is due to Arterton’s looks and acting. Originally Fontaine rejected Arterton for the role because the British actor had starred in another film adaptation of a Posy Simmonds graphic novel, “Tamara Drewe” (2010). Also Arterton didn’t speak a word of French when she was cast in the film, but she learned to speak her French lines with the help of her then boyfriend Franklin Ohannessian who also worked on the production.
The story is presented as both comedy and drama which might confuse some viewers, but I loved the movie as an under-appreciated gem (sorry for the pun).
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The joy of writing and the challenge of the short story
April 29th, 2021 by Roger Darlington
I’ve always enjoyed writing.
For 59 years now, I’ve kept a daily diary. Some 36 years ago, I even wrote a book: a biography of a Second World War night fighter pilot. I write a lot on my website – especially book reviews and film reviews. But all this is non-fiction: my life, someone else’s life, and other people’s books and films.
Twelve years ago, I wondered if I could write fiction and set out to write a short story or two. In the end, I wrote 31 short stories. Since then, they’ve just been sitting on my website.
But I’ve decided that it might be fun to have these stories collected into a book so, over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been busy editing and curating the stories. Given the events of the last year, I particularly enjoyed rereading “The Day Of Reckoning”.
You might like to check out some of my stories, maybe starting with the one that I’ve highlighted (remember: it was written in 2010). If, as a result, you think that you’d be interested in the book, just let me know.
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (2)
What do you remember about your childhood?
April 28th, 2021 by Roger Darlington
I was brought up in Britain in the 1950s and 1960s, so I have a particular set of memories.
Do you remember early closing of shops on Wednesday and early release from work on Friday? These days, shops are open all the time and people work all the time.
Do you remember being sent home early from school because of fog, thalidomide babies being born with deformed limbs, or people dying from tuberculosis? Some things have got better.
In fact, I feel that the timing of my birth has led me to be part of a blessed generation, as I explain here.
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Word of the day: synesthesia
April 23rd, 2021 by Roger Darlington
Synesthesia is an anomalous blending of the senses in which the stimulation of one modality simultaneously produces sensation in a different modality. Synesthetes hear colours, feel sounds and taste shapes.
What makes synesthesia different from drug-induced hallucinations is that synesthetic sensations are highly consistent: for particular synesthetes, the note F is always a reddish shade of rust, a 3 is always pink or truck is always blue.
More information here.
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A review of the novel “Moonstone” by Sjón
April 17th, 2021 by Roger Darlington
This novella – it runs to a mere 100 pages of actual text – is the product of Icelandic writer Sigurjón Birgir Sigurðsson (Sjón is his pen name). The setting (the Icelandic capital Reykjavík) and the period (October-December 1918) are unusual and the central character – 16 year old Máni Steinn or the titular Moonstone (an Anglicised version of his name) – has some unconventional habits.
Sjón tells three interwoven stories: a young man’s discovery of self, the devastation of so-called Spanish flu on a community, and the impact of the early years of cinema. It is not a tale that will be to everyone’s taste and, if I’m honest, it wasn’t really to mine, but the novel has won prizes and was recommended to me by very close friends. .
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Who is the most powerful man in the United States?
April 17th, 2021 by Roger Darlington
This is not a trick question, but a serious one. Let’s start with the answer: Joe Manchin, Democratic senator for West Virginia.
You could have been forgiven for thinking that the answer to the question is President Joe Biden. But Biden can achieve nothing substantial without getting legislation through Congress.
That requires a majority in the House of Representatives (which the Democrats have) and a majority in the Senate (which is much more problematic).
Most non-Americans know that the Democrats now have 50 seats in the 100-seat Senate and that the Vice-President (Democrat Kamala Harris) has the casting vote. What most non-Americans do not appreciate is that not all of those 50 Democrats can be relied upon to support Biden’s agenda in a vote.
The most conservative and independent of the Democrat senators is Joe Manchin. He represents West Virginia which is usually seen as a Republican state (it voted for Trump in the presidential election). So currently Manchin is hesitating to support Biden’s infrastructure investment bill and there will be other legislation in which his support will be uncertain but decisive.
Hence my suggestion that currently he could be seen as the most powerful man in America. Want to know more about Manchin? Click here.
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)
Word of the day: ecocide
April 16th, 2021 by Roger Darlington
International lawyers are drafting plans for a legally enforceable crime of ecocide – criminalising destruction of the world’s ecosystems – that is already attracting support from European countries and island nations at risk from rising sea levels. The panel coordinating the initiative is chaired by Professor Philippe Sands QC, of University College London, and Florence Mumba, a former judge at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The aim is to draw up a legal definition of “ecocide” that would complement other existing international offences such as crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide.
The project, convened by the Stop Ecocide Foundation at the request of Swedish parliamentarians, was launched in November 2020 to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the opening of the Nuremberg war crimes trials of Nazi leaders in 1945.
Already, citizens, scientists and youth activists including Greta Thunberg are calling on global leaders to introduce ecocide at the ICC. Following the lead of climate-vulnerable ocean states Vanuatu and the Maldives in December 2019, President Emmanuel Macron of France vowed to champion it on the international stage and has proposed a version of it in French law.
Finland and Belgium both expressed interest during the ICC’s annual assembly, and Spain’s parliamentary foreign affairs committee has issued recommendations to consider it. The EU has also voted to encourage its recognition by member states.
The Stop Ecocide Foundation has recently convened a panel of heavyweight international lawyers to draft a robust legal definition of ecocide which this growing list of states can seriously consider proposing as an amendment to the ICC’s Rome Statute.
Posted in Environment | Comments (0)
Word of the day: Anthropocene
April 15th, 2021 by Roger Darlington
The ‘Anthropocene’ is a term increasingly used to define a new planetary era: one in which humans have become the dominant force shaping Earth’s bio-geophysical composition and processes.
Initially emerging in the earth sciences as the name for a proposed new geological epoch, the Anthropocene has been widely adopted across academia as a catch-all description of the overwhelming impact of human activity on the planet.
Key markers of human effects on the global planet eco-system are:
- Increasing average temperature
- Rise in the sea level
- Unprecedented rates of biodiversity loss and extinction
- Changing chemical composition of soils, oceans and atmosphere
- Effects of plastic pollution on marine and terrestrial processes
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A review of the new biography “Walter Citrine” by Dr Jim Moher
April 14th, 2021 by Roger Darlington
The subtitle of this book is “Forgotten Statesman of the Trades Union Congress”. Now most books and programmes that use the words ‘forgotten’ or ‘unknown’ in their title are usually something of an exaggeration, but not this one. In spite of over 50 years of Labour movement activism (including half of that time as a national trade union official), I confess that I knew little about Citrine other than his authorship of an “ABC Of Chairmanship” (1939). Moher is, therefore to be congratulated on producing a fascinating and highly-readable account of a remarkable life.
Walter Citrine (1887-1983) was born in Liverpool, a working class man who left school at 12 and became a local and then national official with the Electrical Trades Union (ETU), before spending two decades (1926-1946) as the General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC). What might have been retirement years for many men were, in Citrine’s case, occupied as Director of Welfare & Training at the National Coal Board, Chair of the British Electricity Authority, and member of the House of Lords. He died aged 95.
The heart of this narrative is his time at the TUC which encompassed the first Labour Government of 1924, the General Strike of 1926, the second Labour Government of 1929-31, and his role at home and abroad in support of the wartime Coalition Government of 1940-45. We learn a lot about his professionalisation of the TUC and his role in making the trade union movement a genuine partner in the war effort. He never wanted to be wartime minister but, in 1940, Churchill made him a Privy Councillor so that he could easily approach Ministers including the PM himself. I would have liked rather more on the General Strike and a bit less on international trade union affairs, but balancing a biography of such a rich life has ultimately to be a personal choice.
In the 1930s and 1940s, there was only one other trade union figure who rivalled Citrine in stature and influence and that is Ernest Bevin who was General Secretary of the Transport & General Workers’ Union and then wartime Minister of Labour & National Service. A major theme of this biography is the relationship between Citrine and Bevin which was initially close and increasingly became strained.
Moher writes of “the extraordinary emerging ‘involuntary partnership’ between two remarkable union leaders”. He explains that “Inevitably, they were rivals as well as partners and never close but … they complemented each other’s strengths”. As far as the crucial wartime years are concerned, he writes: “”While it is the case that Bevin had the more public role in raising the labour supply, it was Citrine’s work behind the scenes which was pivotal in the complex and delicate task of persuading unions to suspend hard-won rights”.
It is clear that Moher believes that Citrine has been underrated by historians and that in contrast Bevin’s role has been somewhat overstated. Moher even suggests that, in part at least, Citrine’s record was deliberately undermined by Bevin. He writes of Bevin’s “cumulative list of moves to undermine Citrine” and suggests that this “shows a ruthless, devious character, which in others would be condemned, not praised”.
While there have been several biographies of Bevin, this is the first of Citrine, although Citrine did produce two volumes of biography (1964 & 1967). Most biographers – including me – are very fond of their subjects and Moher does not disguise his great admiration for Citrine. He highlights “his brilliant intellect, imaginative administrative flair and highly effective forensic skills” and concludes that “Walter Citrine was probably the most powerful figure to have graced the Labour movement in the twentieth century”.
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Word of the day: fungibility
April 12th, 2021 by Roger Darlington
In economics, fungibility is the property of a good or a commodity whose individual units are essentially interchangeable, and each of its parts is indistinguishable from another part.
For example, gold is fungible since a specified amount of pure gold is equivalent to that same amount of pure gold, whether in the form of coins, ingots, or in other states. Other fungible commodities include sweet crude oil, company shares, bonds, other precious metals, and currencies.
Fungibility refers only to the equivalence and indistinguishability of each unit of a commodity with other units of the same commodity, and not to the exchange of one commodity for another.
OK, now that you understand fungibility, how about the current excitement over non-fungible tokens? Know all about those?
A non-fungible token (NFT) is a unit of data stored on a digital ledger, called a blockchain, that certifies a digital asset to be unique and therefore not interchangeable. NFTs can be used to represent items such as photographs, videos, audio and other types of digital files.
Access to any copy of the original file, however, is not restricted to the buyer of the NFT. While copies of these digital items are available for anyone to obtain, NFTs are tracked on blockchains to provide the owner with a proof of ownership that is separate from copyright.
So, now you know …
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