Persuasion (1816)

Author: Jane Austen

Those of you who follow my blog and read everything (or at least part of everything) I write might have noticed that I'm a Jane Austen's book lover. It's hard to explain where this love comes from, but maybe it's because every story of hers has a happy ending and they're all about love, and I like romance. Yet until now there has been only one book I've read from cover to cover, and it's "Pride and Prejudice". Others like "Emma" and "Sense and sensibility" I've seen on TV, and their time will come some day.

So what is this book about, why it is so special? The main thing that this novel teaches you is the generally known truth that money can't buy you happiness. The protagonist Anne is the middle sister in her family, though often ignored, especially when it comes to her feelings. Once she lost her love due to the pressure of her family and closest friends, now Anne is ready to come back and fight for her happiness. This is story about forgiveness and a warm heart which is accompanied by strong determination. If you are good to other people, good things will eventually happen to you as well, just remember that money can't be the most important thing in your life.

Rust and Bone (2012)

Director: Jacques Audiard

Before I get down to reviewing this film, I would really like to say something. Probably I would have never gone to the cinema if I didn't learn French and love everything about France, oh and if there wasn't Marion Cotillard  in the main role, which I wouldn't have known if I had not watched Anna Karenina and saw the trailer. These things just made a good reason why I should go and see this film on the big screen.

I don't want to ruin your desire to watch "Rust and Bone", but if I'm writing a review, I have to be honest. First of all, this film is not as romantic as it may seem in the trailer (that's why I give 3 stars, though the actors are very, very good). There's a lot of pain and misunderstandings. It's not like Stephanie and Alain fell in love from the first time they saw each other. No. But one thing I know for sure - there wasn't any other person whom they could trust as much as they trusted on each other in the whole world. It took some time to understand that there's no other person they could ever love as well.

Les Miserables (2012)

Director: Tom Hooper

It's been a long time since I last wrote an article, but I guess was worth waiting if the film I'm going to talk about is as "big" as Les Miz. First of all, from the moment I found out that there is going to be a film partly based on the novel by Victor Hugo and on the 1980s musical, I knew that there is no chance I'm going to see it anywhere else but on the big screen. Even though I had to wait additional 1,5 months until Les Miserables arrived to my country, it did pay off. Splendid clothing, beautiful music, amazing dramatics and emotions - who doesn't love that, but everything by turns.

I've never been keen on musicals because I preferred talking to singing. However, I've always loved Grease (1978) and, though singing was an integral part here as well, I somehow could handle that because the main characters spoke quite a lot at the same time. This time it was different. If I remember correctly, the cases of speaking can be counted on the fingers of one hand, yet I didn't need more. Everything was clear and even more emotional than it could be if the characters spoke more than sung. Even later I couldn't stop listening to some of the songs. They definitely live their own lives now, without any motion behind. So it's 1:0 for Tom because Hugo's novel filmed as any typical historical film wouldn't be such a success. That would be too boring and would last for more than 3 hours. It is good as it is.