Blog archive
Whale Rider and Girl with a Pearl Earring · Jan 7, 07:14 PM
I watched a couple of films over the festive period, Maori film Whale Rider and Girl with a Pearl Earring about the Dutch Mona Lisa.
Whale Rider is a beautiful little film from New Zealand about a young Maori girl’s struggle against conservatism in her culture and her fight for acceptance from her grandfather, a Maori chief. The story provides an interesting insight into the tribal culture of New Zealand and highlights the difficulties of maintaining tradition and culture in our modern society. The child actress playing the part of the protagonist is incredibly talented and makes the whole film very moving to watch.
Girl with a Pearl Earring stars Scarlett Johansson as a maid working for the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer (Colin Firth) in the 17th Century Netherlands. The film follows Vermeer’s maid as she struggles to fit into her tough new life and becomes the inspiration for the artist’s famous Girl with a Pearl Earring painting. Scarlett Johansson is fantastic in this film. Her part involves little dialogue, yet her performance is excellent and helps to keep one engaged. The slow pace and sparse dialogue could have made this film difficult to watch, but both Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth make the film engaging to watch and the story is well told.
— Andy
mmm…that photo of the girl with a earring does not really fit my imagination and interpretation about the painting, I am afraid. I watched a film, Goya’s Ghost, on my flight to Japan. It was disturbing and shocking, but very very good.
— wanchen · Jan 28, 09:06 AM · #
Wanchen, you should really see this film if you haven’t already. Don’t be put off by the photo, it all seems to work well if you watch the movie.
— Andy · Jan 28, 08:51 PM · #