Marley Cat

[The Famous Marley Cat, warming himself into a stupor under his favourite lamp]

Just in Passing

[A lonely passing place, Scottish Borders]

Film: Twin Sisters (Die Tweeling)

I found this to be a top quality, earnest and memorable film. However, with an Oscar nomination for 'Best Foreign Language Film' 2004, the film is in itself, somewhat modest and understated.

The story follows the divergent and contrasting lives of two twin sisters Anna and Lotte Banberg. Forcibly separated as infants to live with relatives on opposing sides of the German / Dutch border, we see the lives of both subjects as they seek to respectively develop, live and eventually just survive amid the momentous events surrounding World War II. Told with emotional credibility the story cleverly contrasts and balances the lives of the two fated sisters as they progress through the most formative periods of their lives, seeking to re-connect with one another, under greatly contrasting circumstances.

As Anna is taken to live a privileged life with her educated and liberal relatives in Holland, Lotte is left to survive the crushing rural poverty of depression era Germany with an austere and abusive Catholic farming family. With an impressive degree of historical authenticity and accuracy it is at first only slowly that we begin to perceive the encroaching winds of political and martial change that will not only alter the lives of the two sisters, but also the lives of millions. Directly encompassing the issue of the holocaust, the film portrays a suitably complex view of individual morality and the greater question of German war guilt. There are also those on the Dutch side who are less than noble.

Based upon the best selling European novel by Tessa de Loo, there is a sense that this is an adaptation film. The author herself noted that she would have hoped for more humour in the adaptation, but although sombre in much of its outlook, I would not say that this compromises the film, but is actualy integral to it. Indeed, my only real area of disappointment, is the rather affected and in my view over sentimentalised, scenes of the two elderly sisters as they finally seek to reconcile with one another at the end of their lives.

All in all though, a very good movie and one that I will be happy to add to my foreign language war-period collection. I intend to make a future posting outlining the best titles I have found amongst this genre of films.

Caesar & Drinking

"That he was the most sparing drinker of wine, his very enemies did not even deny. Whereuopon rose the remark of Marcus Cato:"

'that Caesar was the only sober man amongst all those who had tried to overthrow the state'

[Suetonius, Julius Caesar, 53]