
Romantic novelist George Sand's Mauprat as adapted by cinema visionary Jean Epstein. As a child, orphan Bernard de Mauprat was adopted by Tristan, a brigand who brought him up with his biological sons to hate, kill and pillage. Hubert de Mauprat, the elder brother of Tristan, the very incarnation of nobility, and his daughter, the beautiful and intrepid Edmée, undertake to tear wild-eyed Bernard away from his uncle. Still uncouth and rough, Bernard endeavors to wrest the love of Edmée away from her betrothed.
The social issues The Half of it takes on are handled well, between the antagonization brought on to Ellie for her race and the conflict that arises from her being gay. Both aspects of her character are built up over the course of the film and don’t seem abrupt or rushed. The film shows racism towards Ellie and her and father in varying levels, from having her schoolmates specifically address her as "Chinese girl” to the fore mentioned way her Dad is treated due to language barriers. The same can be said about Ellie being a lesbian. While she never truly “comes out” in the narrative, that does not undermine her journey of self-discovery from being meaningful. These ideas aren’t thrust upon the viewer in a preachy manor, the scenarios that occur feel believable given the rural setting. The film presents watchers with problems whom those like Ellie may face, and leaves us to sit with them and reflect.
There is no such thing as watching too many movies. Since we're still quarantined, I wanted to recommend another 19 movies for people to check out across Netflix, HBO Max, and more.
Haven't you heard? There's a new horror subgenre: cerebral gore, that's probably been around for decades and we're now just starting to talk about it.
'My Policeman' simultaneously delighted and disappointed audiences at TIFF, but everyone can agree that the performances and truth of the story will convince audiences that this film is worth the watch.
At its heart, it’s a fond tribute to an influential artist and thus one that can speak to everyone’s inner artist, even if it lacks the sincere commentary you may wish to see.