Rosy the Reviewer Does Italy, Pt 3: Positano, Capri and the Amalfi Coast

Now comes the really picturesque part of our Italian trip.

(If you need to get caught up, here are Part 1 and Part 2 of "Rosy the Reviewer Does Italy").

Now don't get me wrong.  Sorrento was lovely and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

But Positano and the Amalfi Coast are something special. 

The Amalfi Coast is a stretch of Mediterranean coastline in Southern Italy that is known as a playground for the rich and famous, especially in the 1970's.

Peter O'Toole was a frequent visitor to Positano after falling in love with it while filming the remake of "Goodbye Mr. Chips" in 1969.  Gore Vidal left the U.S. to live full time in Ravello.  And even today, I just finished Andy Cohen's "diary" and he has a long entry about a recent trip to Positano.

There is a reason why the Amalfi Coast attracts the rich and famous.

It's a magical place.

But it's not an easy place to get to for those of us who are not the rich and famous.  I can imagine those folks going in on their yachts but for us regular folks, it's bus or taxi or renting a car. 

Good old travel writer Rick Steves had put the fear in us about driving the winding road with the sheer cliffs between Sorrento and Positano ourselves.  Even if we wanted to drive it, one of us would have to watch the road (Hubby) and so would miss the views.  We could have taken the bus, but the staff at our hotel said if we didn't want to stand the whole way, we should catch the bus at the train station. The train station was a long haul from our hotel and with our luggage?  No way.  So, the bus did not appeal and we thought a taxi would cost too much.  If you remember from last week's post, we paid 23 euro for a taxi to just take us up a hill in Sorrento.

So Hubby had the bright idea of hiring a private car. 

We inquired at the hotel and yes, such an option was available through them for 70 euro.  Since it cost us 23 euro to ride up that hill in a taxi in Sorrento, we thought this was a deal.  So we arranged to be met at 10am the next morning.

Right at 10am a lovely Mercedes awaited us with a driver who spoke some English. 

Tip #1:  Don't be cheap.

I can't emphasize enough the importance of this tip.  When traveling abroad, often a trip you may never do again, counting your pennies is not recommended.  If it's the difference between sitting in comfort and seeing the gorgeous coastline or navigating a treacherous road yourself and missing most of it, money should not be the first priority.  And then there's the whole issue of your wife bitching about how cheap you are the whole ride.  But that's a different story. 

We sat in luxurious comfort in the back of the Mercedes sedan.  Hubby even remarked later how much fun it was for him to just sit and relax while being driven around.  I told him to not get any ideas.

Our driver asked if we wanted the "panoramico" drive?  "Si."

Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperating with "panoramico."  Coastlines and fog go together like a horse and carriage.  Living on the Central Coast of California for over 30 years, we were used to the unpredictability of coastal fog so accepted the fact that the Italian coastline must deal with it as well.

But all was not lost.  As we neared Positano, it cleared somewhat and we could still enjoy the vistas. 

 

 

We also planned to go on to the town of Amalfi in a few days which would take us further along the coastline and afford us another opportunity.

Tip #2:  Try to be positive, even when the weather is not cooperating and your wife is sighing deeply and saying "Why us?"

As we neared Positano, our driver asked for the phone number of the hotel.  We were not sure why he wanted that, but when we arrived, someone from the hotel was waiting for us on the road to carry our luggage to the hotel. 

Why was that important?

Did I mention the stairs?

Positano is a town built into a cliff overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.  The entire town is nothing but stairs except for one street that winds it's way through town. 

 

If your hotel happens to be down at the beach or far from the road, you would have to carry your luggage up and down stairs for a long, long way.  We didn't even think about that or that someone would meet us to carry our bags.

Tip #3: Hiring a local driver has its perks.

We were happy to have a member of the hotel staff meet us and carry our luggage because, as usual, I was wearing unsuitable shoes and we might have had problems finding our hotel within the rabbit warren of paths.

 

Our room was ready when we arrived and it was a lovely room with a large terrace overlooking the Mediterranean.

The room also had those lovely Italian tiles I have come to enjoy.

 

And breakfast served on the terrace.

 

 

I can SO get used to this!

The Italian breakfast:  assorted roles and cappuccino, and if requested, a hard boiled egg and some yogurt. Perfetto!

We had made plans to meet my Swedish cousin, Jane, and her husband, Lars.

They were driving to Positano from Rome and wouldn't be coming in until the evening so we decided to take a walk and do some exploring.

Did I mention there were stairs?

 

 

 

 

And views?

 

And a beach? 

 

 

 

 

 



 

After all of those stairs, time to get some lunch at the Café Positano.

 

 

 

And some wine.

 

 

 

 

Did I mention how cheap wine is in Italy?  In most of Europe the wine and beer are cheap and cocktails expensive.  Wine was cheaper than the bottled water!

 

Tip #4: Drink lots of wine.

We struck up a conversation with a young couple who were sitting near us.  They were on their honeymoon.

Tip #5:  Don't be afraid to start conversations with strangers.  You can share travel tips and you might just make some new friends (more on them later).

 

Jane and Lars had booked their hotel before us and when Hubby tried to get a room where they were staying, the hotel was already booked.

Tip #6:  For popular destinations, book your hotel as early as you can, especially if you are using guidebook recommendations.

But Hubby is a resourceful fellow and using Google Earth found a hotel only a few steps from theirs.  And as it turned out, their hotel put them in an annex -- and the annex was right next door to us!

 

We have started a tradition of sorts, of meeting up with Jane and Lars every couple of years when we travel to Europe.  The last time we met them was in Amsterdam two years ago and we had a great time.

Jane and Lars are wonderful traveling companions.  They are generous, considerate, up for anything, and positive no matter what happens.

Tip #7:  Choose traveling companions who are generous, considerate, up for anything, and positive no matter what happens!

After getting caught up at dinner, we sat out on our terrace  planning our next couple of days together.

We planned to sail to the island of Capri the next day and take the bus to Ravello and Amalfi the day after that.

Here is the first thing you need to know about Capri:  it's pronounced KAH-pree.  Second thing:  it's crowded as hell even in May.  Did I already say that May is no longer a particularly good time to travel?

It was very convenient that boats traveled to Capri right from Positano. That was the good news.  The bad news was I found the ride rather harrowing.  Huge storm clouds were gathering overhead and the boat captain must have been in a hurry because he didn't seem to think that heading straight into the waves was a bad idea. We crashed into the waves like a lead basketball.  Where's that cheap wine when you need it?

Capri is a small island - only four miles by two miles - with two small towns:  Capri and Anacapri, both up the hill from the boat dock. To get to Capri you can take a taxi or the funicular and Anacapri is even farther up the hill. 

But the big draw is the famous Blue Grotto.

The guidebooks recommend that you do the Blue Grotto as soon as you arrive, because it requires that you take a boat to the other side of the island and then you have to get into a little rowboat to be taken into the grotto.  And weather is an issue.

And it was for us that day.  It was closed.  Boo.  Disappointment #1.

So we headed across the square for the funicular along with a thousand other folks.

The funicular could only hold 70 people at a time so it was a long wait.  And you had to stand in line at another location to buy tickets.

When we eventually made our way up the hill to Capri, it was time for lunch. We stopped for lunch and then explored the town.

Since I feel strongly about keeping a low profile when I am traveling and trying to blend in as a local, I am not sure what I am doing here, but it appears to amuse Jane and Lars.

One of the streets is nicknamed "Rodeo Drive," because of it's many high-end shops.  Hubby kept me moving.

 

And the views were to die for

(speaking of "to die," I thought I was going to die on that damn boat trip to get here)! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is also a very romantic place.

 

We could have spent more time in Capri, but decided to catch the 3 o'clock boat back to Positano and beat those storm clouds.

This time there were some young men passing out shots of Limoncello on the boat.  Hubby in his ever trusting and naïve way thought the shots were free but I was already pulling the euros out of my purse before he discovered they were NOT free.

Tip #8:  Nothing is ever free.

However, I needed that shot for the journey back so well worth the 3 euros each.

When we arrived back at Positano, we all went back to our respective hotels to freshen up.

Tip #9:  When traveling, take some breaks back at your hotel from time to time to regroup.  That way you can maintain your energy throughout the evening and enjoy that hotel room you are paying for.

Remember that young couple we met the day before at lunch?  They had recommended a restaurant to us so that's where we headed for dinner:   Ristorante Bruno, known for its seafood. 

Turns out Rick Steves had also recommended it so it was crowded but after a short wait we shared a delicious meal, and later in the evening back at Jane and Lars' hotel room, we sat out on the terrace and listened to music.

The next day was a bit rainy but we walked up the hill to catch the bus to Amalfi and then on to Ravello.

I wanted to see Ravello because that is where Gore Vidal had lived and there was also a stair walk I wanted to do - to walk down the hill from Ravello to Amalfi.

But first we had to ride the bus.

Now let me just say there are bus rides and then there are bus rides.

The bus drivers who drive the Amalfi Coast are amazing and must have nerves of steel.  They maneuver their large buses around blind corners, squeezing by oncoming traffic in all kinds of original ways, all the while avoiding sliding off the side of the cliff.  Tour buses are only allowed to go in one direction, but the local SITA buses go in both directions so buses encounter each other at every turn.

And lest you think me a complete wimp, let me explain what is happening here. 

That bus you see in the picture.  We are NOT in that bus.  We are in a bus GOING THE OTHER WAY INCHES FROM IT!

The buses cling to the cliff and the riders cling to each other.

 

Because it's a long way down.

I found God many times on that bus ride.



We changed buses in Amalfi and made our way up to Ravello.

There is not a whole lot going on in Ravello.  There is a lovely little square with a church.

But there are also two villas with lovely gardens and views.

But just as we arrived at the Villa Cimbrone, it began to pour.  We tried to wait it out but it just continued to pour, dashing our hopes of not only seeing the gardens and its views, but of taking that stair walk down the hill that I wanted to take.  Boo!  Disappointment #2.

While waiting under a canopy for the rain to stop, we ran into that young couple again. They had just finished checking out the gardens before the rain started so we could find out what we missed!

Speaking of what we missed. We just missed the bus back down to Amalfi so what do you think we did to while away the time?

Right!  More wine!

We carefully watched the time and gave ourselves a 15-minute window to get up and get back to the bus and it's a good thing we did.  The next bus left early. We barely made it.

Tip #10:  The trains may run on time in Italy but it seems the buses arrive and leave whenever they feel like it so plan accordingly.



We spent a little time in Amalfi touring the Amalfi Cathedral,

when all of a sudden the front doors swung open, and a priest entered followed by a coffin carried by pall bearers. A funeral was in progress and we were now a part of village life.

We thought a boat ride back to Positano would be quicker and less frightening than the bus (even though I was still a bit boat shy since Capri), and it was.

That night we had a delightful dinner at another restaurant recommended by that young couple (see what striking up a conversation with you nearby dinner lunch companions can do?) - Next2.  Hubby was impressed that the restaurant had Knob Creek whiskey.

After dinner we took a stroll but decided because it was our last night together,  we wanted to hang out.  Hubby now had a taste for some good American whiskey and so we tried a couple of places, none of which had acceptable whiskey and none of which seemed to want our business so back to Next2 we went where we kept the poor waiters after hours.

The next day Lars and Jane drove us back to Naples via Sorrento where we had lunch under some lemon trees at the Café Latino.

Lars ably drove the winding roads from Positano and managed the crazy traffic that is Naples with Jane and the Swedish Garmin navigating from the back seat.

We said our goodbyes, vowing to meet up again in a couple of years - Ireland?  Scotland?  France?

The next day we took the fast train from Naples back to Rome, spent another night in Rome in the Trastevere and then flew home.

Why did we spend another night in Naples instead of heading back to Rome with Jane and Lars? Ask Hubby.


What I liked about Positano and the Amalfi Coast:

I could wax poetic about the quaint little lanes, breakfast on the terrace, the views, the lifestyle, but I will just say

I liked everything, especially sharing it with good friends, Jane and Lars.

What I didn't like about Positano and the Amalfi Coast:

Nothing!

And that my dear readers was our trip to Italy.

 

So to change it up a bit from how Rick Steves signs off from his shows,

 

"Until next time,

let's all keep on traveling."

(I learned a lot on this trip and if you are interested, see you next Tuesday for "Rosy the Reviewer Does Italy, Pt. 4:  What I Learned.") 

 

Thanks for Reading!

 

See you Friday

for my review of the new movie 

 

"Jurassic World" 

and

 

The Week in Reviews

 

(What to See or Read and What to Avoid)

and the latest on

My 1001 Movies I Must See Before

 I Die Project."

 

 

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to click on the share buttons to share it on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn, email it to your friends and LIKE me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rosythereviewer

 

"Love and Mercy" and the Week in Reviews

[This week it's all about biopics and Elizabeth Banks and there's only one clunker. I review the new movie about Brian Wilson "Love and Mercy," the DVD "Walk of Shame" and the TV movie "Grace of Monaco," which stars Nicole Kidman and available to stream on Netflix.  The Book of the Week is "Why Acting Matters."  I also bring you up to date on "My 1001 Movies I Must See Before I Die Project" with the classic and funny teen slasher movie "Scream"]

 

Love and Mercy

 

Biopic about Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys and his struggle with mental illness.

This film is really two films in one.  Paul Dano plays the young Brian during the 1960's when he was creating his masterpiece "Pet Sounds" and ultimately the Beach Boys' biggest selling hit, "Good Vibrations," while at the same time dealing with his burgeoning mental illness exacerbated by drug abuse.  John Cusack plays the older Brian during the 1990's when he was under the "care" of  Dr. Eugene Landy, a Svengali-like therapist who took complete control of Brian's life. 

The film rocks back and forth between the two eras with the older Brian meeting Melinda Ledbetter (Elizabeth Banks) and falling in love and her becoming increasingly concerned about the control Dr. Landy exerts over Brian. 

The Beach Boys were as popular as the Beatles in their time with such surfing and beach hits as "Surfin' Safari," "Surfer Girl" and "Little Deuce Coupe."  The band consisted of brothers Brian, Carl and Dennis plus their friend Al Jardine and cousin Mike Love. They all grew up in Hawthorne, California and their music was pegged "The California Sound."  Brian was the songwriter and provided the high notes with the others providing close harmony.  Brian also produced the records and his innovation and creativity is widely acknowledged in the musical world.

Their father, Murray Wilson, was their manager and like Joe Jackson of The Jackson 5, he was a hard-driving taskmaster and was not above hitting his sons. The film hints at Brian's upbringing and his desire to please his father as a cause for his mental illness, but it is well-known that he also abused alcohol and drugs and had trouble dealing with the price of fame, so it is difficult to say what the contributing factors were to his breakdowns and the film doesn't really try to answer that question.

Paul Dano puts in an Oscar-worthy performance as the younger Brian and seems to channel him. He plays Brian as a sweet, gentle Teddy Bear who hears the music in his head and just wants to make the best music he can. The scenes showing how Brian wrote his songs and created the albums are wonderful.  Not surprisingly, this film was made with the full cooperation of Brian Wilson and his wife, Melinda.

Though John Cusack is a marvelous actor and also puts in a good performance, his casting was a mistake.  He looks so little like Brian Wilson that it is a distraction and no matter how good his performance or his ability to mimic some of Wilson's mannerisms, he is not able to shake the fact that he is miscast.  One wonders if his name was needed to carry this film since the film took over 10 years to bring to fruition.  But who carries the film?  Dano.

Elizabeth Banks is able to unleash her dramatic acting chops as Brian's patient and caring love interest after stints as a kooky character in "The Hunger Games" and stranded news anchor in the comedy "Walk of Shame (see review below)." This might be her break out role, because she is a beautiful gifted actress who deserves to carry a film herself.

Paul Giamatti plays Landy in his usual over-the-top, eye bulging way.  I have never been a fan of his and have finally figured out why.  No matter what role he plays, he overacts.  And the silly wig he wears in this doesn't help.

Written by Oren Moverman and Michael Alan Lerner and directed by Bill Pohlad, this film is not your usual biopic. Instead of the cradle to grave treatment we usually see, this one concentrates on two particular times in Wilson's life and gets inside Wilson's head to capture his unorthodox creative process and his struggles to create despite his increasing mental illness. 

I could have done without the montage at the end that tries to sum up Wilson's demons, but all in all, this is a fine film and does Wilson and his wife Melinda proud. This film is as much about Melinda and her role in "saving" Brian as it is about him.  They have been making the talk show rounds and you can tell she is a driving force, just as she was portrayed in the film. 

And by the way, Brian never learned to surf.

Rosy the Reviewer says...one of the best films I've seen this year.

 

***DVDS***

You Might Have Missed

And Some You Will Be Glad You Did)

 

Walk of Shame (2014)

 

News anchor Meghan (Elizabeth Banks) is up for a promotion and after an uncharacteristic one-night-stand finds herself stranded in L.A. with no money, car, phone or ID and only a few hours to get to that all important interview.

In her preliminary interview for a promotion, TV anchor Meghan is asked if there are any skeletons in her closet.  It's down to her and another hopeful, Wendy Chang. Meghan assures the interviewers she is a "good girl."  

At the same time that Meghan's boyfriend breaks up with her and takes everything, she finds out Chang has gotten the job, so Meghan decides to go out drinking at a club with her girlfriends to drown her sorrows.  She drinks too much and gets locked out of the club while looking for the restroom.  She gets her heel caught on a fire escape and is rescued by a handsome stranger (James Marsden) who it turns out was actually the bartender in the club. He offers to take her home but when he asks her where she lives, she replies, "Where do YOU live?"  MEET CUTE ALERT!

They have a sexy, drunken fun night together, and then...

Meghan wakes up, hung over, not knowing where she is (who hasn't had that happen?).  She checks her voice mail only to discover Wendy Chang DID have some skeletons in her closet and the promotion is now Meghan's if she can get to the studio in time for another interview.

When she makes her way back to her car, she discovers it has been towed.  From there, wacky adventures ensue as Meghan tries to get to her interview in time, making her way through the mean streets of L.A. with no money, no car, no phone and no ID.

A "walk of shame" is defined as having to go home from a one-night-stand wearing the hoochy dress you went out clubbing in the night before.  So our girl, wearing a bright yellow, tight, Band-Aid dress is, of course, mistaken for a hooker.  She is also befriended by some crack dealers and finds herself in the midst of a drug deal gone wrong. 

The "girl in the bright yellow dress" becomes a big news story as she wrecks havoc all over L.A.  Our "good girl" gone wrong.

We know Elizabeth Banks from "The Hunger Games," where she plays a wacky funny character and as one of the girls in "Pitch Perfect (1 and 2)," but here the focus is on her, and she really gets to show her comedy chops.  The rest of the cast are also very funny, especially her two girlfriends and the crack dealers.

It's a bit raunchy, a bit politically incorrect and the story is far-fetched story, especially the ending, but I laughed in spite of myself and that's how I judge a comedy.  Did I laugh?  Yes, I did. This was actually quite a humorous film written and directed by Steven Brill, reminiscent of "Adventures in Babysitting," a film I really enjoyed, and Elizabeth Banks is quite endearing here.

Rosy the Reviewer says...this isn't Woody Allen or "Bridesmaids," but it's a funny and fun little trifle.  Recommended for a date night at home when the kids are in bed.

Grace of Monaco  (2014)

 

A biopic on Princess Grace that concentrates on the time she almost went back to Hollywood to star in Hitchcock's "Marnie."

It's no secret that Alfred Hitchcock liked blondes and he had a particular affinity for Grace Kelly. It broke his heart when she married Prince Rainier of Monaco and retired from acting to become a real life Princess. However, when he decided to do "Marnie," Grace was his first choice and he traveled to Monaco to pitch the film to the Princess and try to lure her back to Hollywood.

The film depicts Grace (Nicole Kidman) as still having a difficult time fulfilling her princess role and fitting in as a Monagasque, even five years after her fairy tale marriage.  She is shown as stifled and not being able to "speak her mind." So when "Hitch" asks her to star in "Marnie," she is torn.  Can she go back to Hollywood without it tarnishing her Princess-hood? 

When Grace broached the idea of her doing the film, Prince Rainier was supportive at first, but there was political intrigue going on between France and Monaco and the palace PR machine warned that if she went back to Hollywood it would look she was abandoning her husband. Her one chance.  Lost. We know the role went to Tippi Hedren, another pretty blonde.
 

Kidman had high hopes for this movie, but when it went to the Cannes Film Festival it bombed so badly that they couldn't get distribution and it ended up being picked up by Lifetime. 

Nicole Kidman on Lifetime?  How the mighty have fallen.  And let me tell you, she was not happy about it!

As a Lifetime Movie aficionado (I'm so bad that I just got through watching "Double Daddy" and have never gotten over Tori Spelling in the classically bad "Mother May I Sleep With Danger?"), even I was shocked to see Nicole Kidman in a Lifetime Movie. 

And Tim Roth (as Prince Rainier), Derek Jacobi and Frank Langella are also in this thing. Parker Posey is almost unrecognizable as Madge, whose role is unclear (she is some sort of disapproving assistant to Princess Grace).

This was directed by Olivier Dahan, the same guy who brought us the wonderful "La Vie En Rose."  So what the hell happened here?

The script is stodgy and melodramatic and dare I say it?  Very Lifetime Movie-like.  And the drama is replaced by extreme close-ups of Kidman. There are a lot of them. Kidman's botoxed forehead seems to also be one of the stars.  Not sure about those close-ups as directorial choices.

Kidman does her best to channel Princess Grace and at times, looks very much like her.  She does what she can with the script but even she can't overcome it. Unlike "Love and Mercy (reviewed above)," this biopic falls into the melodramatic biopic formula we have come to know and hate.

Rosy the Reviewer says...Princess Grace deserved better than this.  So did Nicole and the rest of the cast.

***My 1001 Movies I Must See Before I Die Project***

 

260 to go!

Scream  (1996)

 

 

Our heroine Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) must survive the attacks of a slasher film fanatic hell bent on killing her.  But why is he doing it?

 

Drew Barrymore's 10 minutes at the beginning of the film are truly scary and who knew the ringing of the phone could be such a horror film moment? Well, Alfred Hitchcock did, who started it all.  Remember, "Dial M for Murder?"  And John Carpenter used it again to scary effect in "Halloween."

This whole film is an homage to and a send-up of the horror film genre, including director Wes Craven's own "Nightmare on Elm Street" which he makes fun of when Barrymore says the sequels weren't very good, but that doesn't mean it's not scary.  It is.  I was glad I was watching it on a sunny afternoon.  I couldn't believe I missed it the first time around.

Kevin Williamson wrote a brilliant script that is smart, funny and skewers all of the horror movie conventions we have come to expect.

A character outlines the "rules" for horror films:

"There are certain RULES that one must abide by in order to successfully survive a horror movie.

For instance, number one: you can never have sex.  ...sex equals death, okay?

Number two: you can never drink or do drugs. The sin factor! It's a sin. It's an extension of number one.

And number three: never, ever, ever under any circumstances say, "I'll be right back." Because you won't be back.

"I'm gettin' another beer, you want one? I'll be right back.

"See, you push the laws and you end up dead. Okay, I'll see you in the kitchen with a knife."

Another character says something like life is a movie and you don't get to pick the genre.

Great stuff.

This film also highlighted a bevy of young stars who went on to greater things: in addition to Barrymore and Neve Campbell: Skeet Ulrich, David Arquette, Rose McGowan, Liev Schreiber (in a barely there role - if you blink you will miss him), Courtney Cox and Jamie Kennedy. And Henry Winkler (uncredited) as the school principal? How fun is that? Also uncredited and in homage to the horror film genre, Linda Blair appears as an "Obnoxious Reporter and Wes Craven himself is "Fred the Janitor."  The movie grossed over $103 million and started a whole new craze of teen slasher films, not to mention sequels and parodies of itself.

Though "Halloween" was original for its day, it hasn't really passed the test of time when it comes to the "scare" factor, though it figures prominently in this film. "Scream" is still scary even by today's standards.

Why it's a Must See: "Among the reasons for Scream's outstanding success is an often hilarious script (written by Kevin Williamson, who would go on to create the hit teen TV show Dawson's Creek), the numerous jokey references to earlier horror movies, and Craven's expert direction, which manages to frighten audiences even while they are laughing."
---1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

Rosy the Reviewer says...a really stylish and scary horror film that set a standard in the horror film genre by being funny.  If you are a fan of horror films or even a movie trivia buff, a must! 
(MTV will be airing a TV series based on "Scream" beginning June 30th).


  
 

***Book of the Week***

Why Acting Matters  by David Thomson (2015)

 

Thomson reflects on the importance of the performing arts, the history of acting, the cult of celebrity and compares actors past and present and stage acting vs. film acting in this long, thoughtful essay.

I am glad Thomson took this on because as someone whose pursuit was acting for many years, I always knew it was an important part of what makes us human.

As humans, our need for "acting out" started with the cave men and women as they told stories, sometimes embellished, to each other. So it's no great leap that we put it all on film or started to tell our stories on stage.

"It is a fancy to imagine tribesmen or cave dwellers returning from the veldt or the swamp and telling stories about it, reenacting what transpired...What is just as interesting is to wonder at the evolutionary process whereby the returning tribesman thought to himself as he limped home -- well, what am I going to say, or what am I going to do to act out the adventure?  How can I explain why I didn't catch anything?"

"When did he see that as a storyteller he controlled the process?"

In the end, we are all actors.  Whether it's during a job interview or our roles as parents or employees, we are often different selves for different people depending on our roles.  We want to be our best version of ourselves.  And our lives are long-running plays.

"With our favorite actors we have seen them grow older, and we read the implication that something just as drastic must have happened to us.  Acting is an entertainment, but it is a model for our existence and collapse. We try to act human.  That seems the least we can do, and as long as that condition prevails -- do not trust it forever -- then acting is our engine, and we are driving on a desert road."
 

 

Rosy the Reviewer says...Now you know why you should care.

 

Thanks for Reading!

 

That's it for this week.

See you Tuesday for

Rosy the Reviewer Does Italy, Pt. 3: Positano and The Amalfi Coast
(with travel tips and my usual pithy observations)

 

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Check your local library for DVDs and books mentioned.

 

Note:  Next time you are wondering whether or not to watch a particular film, check out my reviews on IMDB (The International Movie Database). 

 

 

Find the page for the movie, click on "Explore More" on the right side panel and then scroll down to "External Reviews."  Look for "Rosy the Reviewer" on the list. Or if you are using a mobile device, look for "Critics Reviews." Click on that and you will find me alphabetically under "Rosy the Reviewer."