The Way Back

As you know if you've read this blog, I'm a fan of survival movies and TV shows.  I have a new one to recommend.  It's called The Way Back, and it's about a group of men who escape from a Soviet gulag in Siberia and walk to freedom in India.  The sweeping vistas of Siberia, the Gobi desert, and the Himalayas (it was produced by National Geographic) would have been enough for me to watch this, but it was also beautifully written and acted.  Ed Harris, in particular, is amazingly understated and perfect.  A+

Vision

Sorry for the long hiatus.  I temporarily had a life.  This week, I'm recommending Vision, a German movie about St Hildegard. It's beautifully produced, with lovely sets and costumes (you know how much I love that!). The lead actress is very good, and St. Hildegard is an interesting character. She was a 12th century christian mystic who taught a life of harmony with nature, scientific learning, and an omniscient, all-loving, Living Light. I wish there had been more of Hildegard's art and music, but it was overall entertaining. The first half is better than the second, which gets a little slow. If you, like me, love sets and costumes and beautiful shots of sunlight filtering through trees, you'll like it. If that's not enough, you should probably look elsewhere. Visually: A-, plot-wise, B+.