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Emma and the Italian Love Spell

I was pretty busy last week so I couldn't go to a restaurant. Now it looks like I won't be able to till after this all blows over. Good thing I have plenty of movies to watch.

Monday: Cry 'Havoc' (1943)
         This movie is about a group of nurses stationed in the Philippines during WWII. Lt. Mary Smith is told by her captain to find volunteer nurses to help at the hospital. She finds some women in a local village. They are a strange mix of women. At first they have a hard time adjusting to the work and living on an army hospital base. Soon they get used to their surroundings. One of the nurses falls for a lieutenant that works in the radio building. Mary is secretly involved with him. She can't say anything. Tensions rise between her and the nurse. The war draws closer to their camp and the hospital. They have to do what they can to survive. I thought this movie was good. It is a unique movie for it's time. It is a female driven film. Even the main love interest is never seen on screen. You just hear his voice. It focused on these women and how they helped with the war.

I volunteered at the Portland International Film Festival this week. The next two films are the ones I saw as part of that.

Tuesday: It Must Be Heaven (2019)
      This movie is from Palestine. Elia is a filmmaker who lives in Palestine. He spends most of his time observing people and unique situations that come up on an otherwise ordinary day. Elia travels to Paris and New York City trying to get his latest film made. There he observes the similarities and differences between those cities and his own. I enjoyed this movie. Not a lot happened. Like I said he mostly just walks around and watches people. But it is better than most foreign films I've seen. Elia also doesn't talk for most of the movie. He has maybe two lines. His facial expressions tell it all. Elia is played by Elia Suleiman, who also wrote and directed the movie.

Wednesday: Martin Eden (2019)
       This is an Italian film. Martin is a poor ship worker. One day he saves the life of a rich young man. The young man takes Marin to meet his family so they can thank him. There Marin meets Elena. He falls for her. But he wants to impress her. His education is lacking. So he starts a journey of self education. Martin becomes passionate about writing. He hopes to become successful and then he can provide for Elena. Martin struggles for a long time. Also he gets involved with socialism, which only brings him trouble. I didn't really like this movie. Although there was more of a plot, there was still a lot of philosophical ramblings. Mostly about education and socialism. I don't like foreign films that do that. I don't know why it can't just be a normal movie and plot just in Italian. There doesn't have to be a lecture imbedded in each movie.

Friday: Emma (2020)
       Based on the book by Jane Austen, Emma is about a young woman who is rich and vain. She fancies herself a matchmaker. Emma has good intentions, but it doesn't go as planned. She makes friends with a young woman named Harriet. Harriet is in love with a farmer named Mr. Martin. Emma believes he is below Harriet. So she convinces Harriet that she should turn her affections to Mr. Elton the local priest. Her childhood friend, Mr. Knightley, tries to convince her that she has made an error. He does his best to advise her but she continues to meddle in other people's lives. It does not go well. I liked this movie a lot. It was funny and over the top in a good way. Some if it is a little cheesy. The dresses are very pretty. But I can't get behind that hair. It just looks weird. The actor who played Mr. Knightley is good. He was able to portray his changing emotions very well.

Saturday: All You Could Ever Wish For (2018)
      Tyler is the son of a wealthy fashion mogul. He is sent to Milan to oversee some buying. On his first night he is kidnapped. The kidnappers plan to hold up somewhere and demand ransom money from his dad. By mistake they end up in a small village. They sleep in a barn with a love spell on it. In the morning they fall in love with the first person, or animal, that they see. Aldo falls in love with the ugly sister of a local farmer. Bambo falls for a young woodsman. Cetto is in love with the mayor's cow. Tyler falls in love with the local tavern owner, Rosalia. The men decide to stay in the village to be close to the ones they love. Most are successful in getting close to their love. Tyler has a harder time. Rosalia has her walls up and won't let anyone in. She knows about the spell. Tyler has to find a way to convince her that he loves her without the spell. This movie is ok. It is Hallmark movie quality. Entertaining but not the best. I watched it because Darren Criss plays Tyler.

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