Compartment Number 6: Romantic Road Movie

Movie Review: Compartment Number 6 (2021) on Apple TV or Prime 👎

Compartment Number 6 is a "road movie" that actually takes place on a Russian compartment train. It follows the travel of two strangers--a student (Laura, a Finn played by Seidi Haarla) and a miner (Ljoha, a Russian played by Yuriy Borisov) traveling to the Arctic Circle. (See official movie trailer below, released after it was Grand Award Winner at Cannes in 2021.)

Laura wants to study petroglyphs for her archeology studies. Ljoha wants to get to work, he says to earn money to build a business. They share the small compartment with only a language in common between them. At first Ljoha is brash and clumsy with Laura and she attempts to leave the train at the first stop. But with few resources to help her get along on her own, she returns. He softens his approach to her and they become closer. 

As they learn more about each other, learn to trust each other, learn to like each other, a relationship develops. They become companions, united by their common ground rather than divided by what is different. They help each other. The train stops overnight in a small town and Ljoha takes Laura to meet his mother. It's time to move and when they arrive in Murmansk and her long mission to see the petroglyphs falls apart, she goes to the mine to see him. He comes to her aid.  

This isn't your typical romance film, but it has those overtones by the end and it loses its claustrophobic feel once Laura is free to be herself in Ljoha's presence and even more so when they become physically and emotionally closer as a couple. 

The ending is ambiguous. That's where the film faults and you're left feeling unfulfilled. That's why I gave it a thumbs down. It could have been so much more. You're left to wonder at too many unspoken, unexplained and undeveloped questions. This film could have been so much more. They raised the story to a climax and then let it drop.

Here is the movie trailer via YouTube:

Broken: Crime Fiction

Book Review: Broken by Don Winslow (2020) 👍

Don Winslow is a best-selling storyteller. I found out how much while reading his six-story collection in Broken. Winslow's beat here is crime fiction, not usually my forte, but this is so well written I couldn't take my eyes off it. About 40 or so pages a story. So easy to get involved in the characters and their stories.

The feast before my eyes is six short stories, each an entirely separate, unique story, though they share some characters and some settings. It's not necessary to know that because they stories aren't connected. Each has its unique twist on crime with its own viewpoint and its own narrative thread. 

"Broken" takes place in New Orleans. It's a gritty, heart-pounding crime tale about one brother seeking vengeance for the heartless murder of his kid-brother cop. "Crime 101" isn't about one place but about a string of places: the Pacific Coast Highway, and tracking down a thief about to hit a jewelry store--which one and by whom? "The San Diego Zoo" starts off hilarious, but soon melds into something more serious--how did a chimp get a gun? And there is the whodunit tale. "Sunset", "Paradise", and "The Last Ride" are equally different stories of crime and the pursuit of justice by well-defined characters you just have to know more about and you just have to stick with till the end of their story. And Winslow is such a good storyteller you're glad you're there to hear his story. "The Last Ride" has a very different kind of ending, an unsettling ending for sure. It was unexpected. 

Winslow is such a good writer I'm eager to begin a reading journey in another of his books, Force. Let's see if it's as good as Broken. I'll bet it is. 

The Truffle Hunters: Foreign Documentary

Movie Review: The Truffle Hunters (2020) on Hulu and Starz 👍

The Truffle Hunters is a documentary style foreign film with subtitles that explores the lifestyles of the 70- and 80-year-old men of Piedmont, Italy, who hunt the rare and expensive white Alba truffle with their close friends, family dogs. (See the movie trailer below.)

    Film follows the day and night exploits of several experienced scavengers. Shows the love and frustrations of supplying the cultural and epicurean interests of this delicacy. Features an interesting assortment of colorful local and regional characters fighting the battle to protect personal property rights and hunting sites from those who invade them for community and profit. You'll see why truffles are so expensive.

    Offers good insight into one of Europe's finer gourmet food delicacies and the hunt to preserve their heritage. Highly recommended view.

Here is the official movie trailer via YouTube:

Yankee Mission: Historical Fiction/Adventure

Book Review: Yankee Mission by Julian Stockwin  👌

Julian Stockin's 25th in the Thomas Kydd series, Yankee Mission, is another in the brilliant historical fiction age-of-sail adventure series. 

    There's not a bad moment in this narrative, which begins with a battle in the North American seas to save the British Navy's reputation against America's increasingly successful frigate campaigns versus the far more seasoned English. Captain Sir Thomas Kydd rejoins the Tyger crew, but he's wounded in battle and must convalesce back at home. There, the Admiralty finds him work proofing untested new technology for the British Navy, and he tries to learn a new lifestyle away from life at sea to which he's become accustomed. You'd be surprised what we take for granted today that needed to be concept tested before adoption in Kydd's day. 

    Then the Americans come after British merchant ships along native ports and once Kydd has restored his good health, he joins another fighting British frigate to chase down the mischief makers. But the chasing takes them across the Atlantic, south to the bitter cold waters of the Antarctic, and then up into the Pacific tracking down the enemy. There he finds a former American ally as a formidable foe and crew that will test his own considerable skills. The journey and battle is great storytelling, as always.

    All of Stockwin's books are well researched, adding authenticity to his exciting tales. Available as hardcover, Kindle, or audiobook. 

The Estate: Adultish Comedy

Movie Review: The Estate (2022) on Hulu and Prime Video 👎

I find The Estate, rated R, gross humor with explicit sexual situations and rampant foul language. Definitely not for the whole family. (See movie trailer below.)

    Two sisters with a failing low-end restaurant on the wrong side of the tracks (it literally sits on the dilapidated side of the railroad tracks) rush to the side of their dying aunt's side in the hope of earning the inheritance of her estate. However, they find when they get there they aren't the only ones vying for the huge prize. Everyone has something at stake and no one is about to give up as the battle to win as the aunt's favorite relative heats up. Cast of very strange characters, none in the family with socially redeeming qualities.

    Not a bad cast, but it seems like a waste of their talents. Some laughs, if you can get past the awkwardness of some of the situations and the language. I'm not a prude, but this goes overboard.

    Not surprising, The Estate grossed very poorly worldwide, according to IMDb.com. I'd skip it.

    Movie trailer via YouTube:

The Phantom of the Open: Another British Drama/Comedy

Movie Review: The Phantom of the Open (2021) on Apple TV or Prime Video 👍

Are superhero sports heroes your thing? Maybe you prefer an everyday anti-hero who rises to the occasion despite his shortcomings to succeed beyond his wildest dreams. That's the story behind The Phantom of the Open. (See the movie trailer below.)

    The Phantom of the Open is based on a true story. Maurice Flitcroft (Mark Rylance) is a British crane operator about to lose his job to nationalization. When teased about transitioning to his dream job, all he can think of is winning the British Open Championship, although he's never played golf in his life. Still, the alure of living the lavish lifestyle seems dreamy and it becomes his obsession. 

    Everyone in the family is smitten with his obsession, too. His wife Jean (Academy Award Winner Sally Hawkins) helps him send in the qualification round forms. Step son Michael (Jake Davies), who is part of the management team negotiating nationalizing the company, helps his step dad get the equipment, clothes, and sponsorships befitting his entry. And twin sons Gene (Christian Lees) and James (Jonah Lees) volunteer to be his caddies. Everything feeds his obsession and his self-overconfidence heading into the championship.

    Mark Rylance often plays self-deprecating characters and Maurice Flitcroft fits this role perfectly. Although he falsely poses as a professional player it is out of ignorance, and he displays no false sense of acumen. From the first shot to the last, he gives each his best shot. It's not long before everyone around him realizes he's not a golf pro and he hasn't qualified. 

    But that's not the finish of Maurice's dream. Although he's been banned from the British Open Championship forever and from joining any clubs, he keeps trying, thinking surely with enough practice he will get better. Wearing disguises he re-applies each year to try once again. 

    Just when he's about to give up, he receives good news from an entirely unexpected place. A golf club in the United States is so inspired by his high score that first year and his perseverance, they offer to pay all expenses for his whole family to visit so they can celebrate him. (I had never heard of this before, but this was in my own backyard! It took me watching this film to find out. What a great suprise!) 

    The family and community had practically disowned Maurice after his disgraceful performance, but this celebration helped them see Maurice in an entirely new light. The uplifting end and humor in this story make it a great family film with a good message and good feels.

Film trailer from YouTube:

The Duke: British Drama/Comedy.

Movie Review: The Duke (2022) on Apple TV and Prime Video 👌

The Duke (2022), is a quirky yet charming British film with an interesting cast headed by veteran actors Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren. They make this film. (See trailer below.)

    Mirren is Dorothy, the forbearing wife always at odds with Broadbent. Broadbent is Kempton, the never-produced script writer who fills his time barking at street corners for personal rights, when he stumbles into possession of a government work of art. Suddenly he's focused on how to make something of his possession without getting into trouble, with Dorothy (who doesn't know he has it) and the bumbling government (who thinks professional art thieves have it).

    And when things get too hot around the house, where he's hidden it just under Dorothy's nose, Kempton decides it's best to simply return the work to the government. And that's where things actually turn interesting. He gets his opportunity to bark for personal rights in court, and he gets to charm the pants off the jury with his humor and common sense, when sage and wisdom will do his self most good. Broadbent shines here.

    The Duke is based on a true story. It would have been interesting to see it play out in real life.

    Trailer from YouTube: