Family Movie Night
By Karyn Bowman
In this day and age one of the things that fascinates me is how you can watch movie streaming. I am amazed by the movies that produced by companies such as Amazon and Netflix and Hulu.
I have talked about other programs that I have watched but I was able to find DVD formats for those movies.
This time around, I watched a movie through Netflix because I wanted to see this movie while it was still freshly out.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was published in 2008 and became a book club darling immediately.
The story is told through letters as a British writer that is trying to find her way at the end of WWII and a return to whatever is normal.
It is what some might call a gentle read even as it deals with the occupation of the island of Guernsey during WWII.
When I saw there was a movie version, I was quite excited. I really enjoyed the book despite my vow to stop reading stories about WWII. It was quick moving tale while telling a compelling story about survival during the pain of war.
I was not disappointed.
The movie opens with four people coming home after a night of eating and drinking. They are walking home and know they are beyond the curfew hour. German soldiers are out, demanding papers. They want to know why the group is out and, suddenly, they come up with a name.
In creating a literary society, the group realizes they need reading material and so need reading material are found. That is how they get started and connect with Juliet, our London-based writer.
Juliet is in the middle of a book tour regarding her light-hearted columns printed during the war. And she is still in shock from losing her apartment during the blitzkrieg. But she also must write another book for her publisher and is intrigued by the island’s story of survival during the occupation. So she decides to go there and learn more.
I enjoyed the movie for both its simplicities and intricateness. The movie is beautifully shot and Lily James as Juliet is always lovely from simple sweaters and dresses to her gorgeous evening wear. But we are also telling a tale of the occupation and what happens to those people. How lines are crossed for love or collaboration or the birthing of calves.
This movie does not include car chases or gunfire. There isn’t any swearing or sexuality. Instead, there is the terror of always having to act in a certain way or face dire consequences. That to me is more insidious, more frightening.
Good movies don’t happen because of one person. James is supported wonderfully by Michael Huisman as Dulsey, Tom Courtney as Eben, Katherine Parkinson as Isola, Penolope Wilton as Amelia, Glen Powell as rich American Mark Reynolds, and Jessica Brown Findlay as the mysterious Elizabeth. Each takes on his or hers various quirks to make the story interesting and the characters familiar to us.
We know these people. We learn of their struggles and slowly come to understand them in the way that Juliet does. It is a movie you can watch with girlfriends or the husband. If the kids happen to walk in, you won’t have to shield their eye. That’s always a plus.
Notes from Rumbly Cottage 