Movie Review: The Last Duel (2021)

The Last Duel (2021) directed by Ridley Scott

Former friends Jean (Matt Damon) and Jacques (Adam Driver) are locked in the titular battle during the movie's opening. The story then moves back in time to explain how they wound up in the last publicly-sanctioned (i.e. royally-approved) duel to prove the innocence of someone. Since it's the mid-1300s, France is at war with England and most able-bodied men are fighting. Jean is called a squire though he leads several battles, most failures. He returns home where his wife and son have died of plague. His father is captain of a keep. He looks forward to taking on the constabulary responsibilities when his father passes on but is concerned about his lack of an heir and his status with the hierarchy. The local lord (Ben Affleck) finds Jean annoying and has no interest in supporting him since Jean is a failure in many ways. Jacques has the ear of the local lord (they do a lot of carousing together) and occasionally puts in a good word. Jean does not help on that front when he marries Marguerite (Jodie Comer), the daughter of a disgraced, but wealthy, knight. She is charming and well-educated, catching the attention of the Don-Juanish Jacques. The male friendship falls apart as Jacques becomes the rent collector for the lord, forcing Jean to look for money to pay debts. He goes off to war, leaving his wife behind with his unsympathetic mother. The mother takes all the servants one day to run errands, the day that Jacques comes to declare his love. That declaration turns into rape, which brings the friends into court and then the battlefield to determine whether Marguerite was really raped or not.

The movie uses a Rashomon-style narrative, relating events first from Jean's perspective, then Jacques', then Marguerite's. Each telling has different details and nuances that are clearly from the prejudices and attitudes of each character. The beginning and the ending, i.e. the duel, is an objective framing device, with the typical end credits describing how the lives of the surviving characters turned out. Watching the actors perform variations of the characters based on the perspectives of other characters is interesting. But not enough to carry the movie, which has several flaws.

First, the filmmakers blow the Rashomon-style by clearly flagging up one of the narratives as "The Truth," cutting the dramatic tension and intellectual enjoyment. Another problem is that the "Truth" character seems least likely to have actually lived in the late Middle Ages (though the way the film is produced, they clearly think of the time as the Dark Ages). Most of the characters come off more like modern people except for minor characters like doctors (who are all about "bodily humors" and astrological assessments) and priests (who are more about male patriarchy than divinity). Scott's other medieval films (Robin Hood and Kingdom of Heaven) have very similar problems. The performances are entertaining but the overall plot and visual style leave a lot to be desired.

Not recommended--this is another "based on true events" hatchet-job on the Middle Ages by Ridley Scott.

 

Historic Saint Marys City, Maryland, 2024

My youngest had a school field trip to St. Marys City, the original capital of the colony of Maryland (the capital moved to Annapolis before the American Revolution). This trip took us to some new places that we hadn't seen back in 2022 when visited as a family (see our last visit here and here). Our first stop was the Godiah Spray Tobacco Plantation. The first building we saw was the barn, which naturally had livestock nearby.

Colonial barn

Bulls

Pigs

The guide said that the pigs were the same breed used in colonial times, so they are period-accurate without being a couple of hundred years old.

Around back of the barn, we had a presentation on tobacco. Back then it was a cash crop, meaning not only that it was a highly valuable commodity, but also it was actually used as cash. For example, a pair of shoes might cost ten pounds of tobacco (shoes were imported from England, so pretty expensive). I was amazed when he talked about the insecticide they used back then....Kids were sent into the fields to pick bugs off the plants. Not just the servants' kids either--all the kids had a hand in keeping the cash crop in top condition.

Tobacco presentation

Our next stop was the main house. Godiah Spray was a tenant farmer, meaning he did not own the land but worked it. Some people came to the colony of Maryland as indentured servants. They would work for seven or ten years and then receive payment in the form of three barrels of corn, a barrel of tobacco, and rights to fifty acres of land. Typically, the granted land was not yet cleared of forest, which meant some more work before it could be turned into a viable farm.

Tenant farm house

The main living area

Drying herbs in the kitchen

Typical kitchen implements

A lot of axe heads

Dishes and bottles

The docent in the house explained that farms tended to be much more self-sufficient than we are nowadays. Walking to town was a whole day affair, so no one just popped off to the drug store for a cold remedy. Colonists would make their own pharmaceuticals from the garden herbs. Feverfew was a popular plant that would be crushed in a mortar and pestle, mixed with water, and heated with a hot iron from the fireplace, just like the picture below. The brew would be drunk immediately. 

Home-made aspirin?

The house garden

We then walked over to the Woodland Indian Hamlet. This area was occupied by the Yaocomaco people. They built large buildings as homes, with many of the accoutrements that the Europeans had. To build the structure, they used a wooden frame and covered it with grass and tree bark. 

Native home reconstruction

The main living area

Pelts

Frame without coverings

The homes were more primitive but also mobile. They could be taken apart and reassembled in another area if they had to move for the seasons or for other reasons.

Further in the village, a docent demonstrated how animal pelts were treated to provide leather or furs for various purposes.

Fur processing

The natives used stone tools, like the small axe below. Ropes were made from deer tendons or woven from strong grasses. When the colonists came, metal tools were a popular trade item.

Native axe

Trade items

Canoes were made by burning out the insides of a log. By carefully packing wet clay in certain spots, they could have controlled burns that hollowed out the tree. Shells were used to scrape out the ash and smooth out rough spots.

Making a canoe

Our next stop was the waterfront. We saw a recreation of the Dove, one of the two ships that brought Leonard Calvert and the original colonists.

The Dove

My son and I

The dock and ship had several educational stations. The most impressive to me was the captain's station, where the costumed interpreter explained dead reckoning, i.e. how the colonial sailors would track their voyages by measuring their direction, speed, and time. The information was charted on a map so they knew where they were in the ocean. Getting lost at sea was basically a death sentence, so crews were very careful about charting their position.

Captain

We saw the archeological dig at Leonard Calvert's home. Since the original was built of wood, it has not survived. Many other items, like pottery and metal bits, are found in the ground and give clues to how the colonists lived.

Leonard Calvert House archeology

One of our last stops was at the Print House, where the printer demonstrated his press. Back in the day, they did not print books or newspapers at the colony. Legal documents and notices were more practical and necessary with a one-sheet printer. People would send over hand-written texts to be printed.

Printing press

It was a delightful visit. I was glad to go.

Book Review: Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

A small, nestled away cafe in Tokyo is the subject of an urban legend. The stories say that customers can travel to the past at the cafe. The tales are true, though like every seemingly-idyllic situation, there's a catch. Or, more accurately, there's a bunch of rules. A person can travel back only in a certain chair at one of the few tables. The chair is regularly occupied by a woman who happens to be a ghost. Trying to force her out of the chair brings a horrible curse; patrons have to wait till she vacates on her own. Then, they have to sit in the chair and get served coffee. The trip back lasts only as long as the coffee stays warm. And the traveler must stay in the chair. Whoever they want to see or talk to in the past has to show up at the cafe in the time it takes to finish the drink. Finally, and this is the detail that made people much less interested in the cafe's unique powers, whatever happens in the past will have no effect on the present. Nothing will change. With such a set of restrictions, who would bother, even to travel in time?

Well, certain people do in this book (or there'd be no story). They are desperate to resolve situations with loved ones. Most of the people in the novel are regulars at the cafe, so they have a connection to the owners who manage the time travel and to the other patrons. The book goes through four stories where individuals need to come to a better understanding of their relationship to each other and the larger world. I don't want to spoil the surprises, so I won't go into narrative detail.

Overall, the book does a great job with the time travel, because it is not about changing the past or the present. Instead, the characters learn key details or make shifts in their attitudes that improves their own lives even without changing the past or the present. The narrative is very humanist and the outcomes are touching developments.

The writing style is a bit bland. The descriptions are a little repetitive--at first, I thought this was four short stories strung together to make a full book. In large part they are, though the narratives have interconnections. Some characters get more depth as the stories unfold. I found it very interesting and enjoyable. 

The book is discussed on Episode 331 of A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast. Check it out!

Recommended--there are more books in this series, so I will definitely be reading them.

Eldest's Eagle Court of Honor

We are proud of our eldest who has earned Eagle Scout in his troop. The ceremony was this month (May 2024), full of a lot of pomp and circumstance. 

Eagle

Speeches described the path to Eagle and all the variety of merit badges (see the sash above) and experiences (mostly leadership and camping (including some awesome summer camps) in the troop). 

Scoutmaster speech

Another Eagle talks about the lifetime commitment

The scout handshake

Part of the ceremony recognized us parents who put in a lot of effort to support the Eagle throughout the years and especially in the Eagle Project. We actually did less than other scout parents, based on the anecdotal evidence. When I was at the scout store to pick up items, among the gifts on display was a small wine glass for the Eagle mom who did a lot of work on the Eagle Project. I didn't buy it since neither of us did all that much (other than transportation and volunteering).

Mom gets her Eagle pin

Dad gets his Eagle pin

My son gave a fine speech, acknowledging all the support he got from various members of the troop and of the community. 

Eagle speech

When the ceremony was over, we had a reception line, though mostly people shook his hand and not ours. Maybe we were too far back? We were so happy, we did not care.

Reception line

We had food at a reception afterwards. Displays showed his journey through Cub Scouts and Scouts BSA.

Display table

Cub scout memories

Scout memories

Cake!

Book Review: Spy X Family Vol. 11 by Tatsuya Endo

Spy X Family Volume 11 by Tatsuya Endo

Anya's class is supposed to go on a field trip but the situation takes a frightening turn. Terrorists take over the two school busses. The baddies are from the organization Red Circus and want some of their compatriots freed from jail. To prove how serious they are, they strap a bomb around Anya's neck. With Anya's mind-reading ability, she discovers that the bomb is a fake meant to scare the kids into submission. Her bus gets cornered by the local police, leading to a hostage stand-off.

This issue had more drama than comedy, though plenty of comedic moments pop up. Loid and Yor have only very minor roles in the story, this is Anya's opportunity to shine. Can she defuse the situation and make progress on befriending Damian Desmond? The story is fun and exciting, leaving me wanting more (though the situation is resolved by the end of this book).

Recommended.

Movie Review: Fiddler on the Roof (1971)

Fiddler on the Roof (1971) directed by Norman Jewison

Based on the hit stage musical which was based on a series of short stories, this musical tells the story of Tevye (Topol), a poor milkman with a large family of daughters in Czarist Russia. They live in the small, isolated town of Anatevka, which isn't isolated enough to be free from the threats of anti-Semitic rulers and the intellectual and social revolutions looming in the twentieth century. Tevye is a traditionally-minded Jew who follows the old customs and old laws, though he has a rather frank, almost feisty, relationship with The Lord. He puts complaints and requests for clarification to the Supreme Being in his prayers. His biggest problem is marrying off his five daughters. Eldest Tzeitel (Rosalind Harris) needs to be married first. The village matchmaker works out a deal with the town's butcher, Lazar Wolf (Paul Mann), which makes her parents happy, since he is so wealthy. But Tzeitel has pledged her love to the town's tailor, Motel (Leonard Frey), who is not rich or assertive, making it difficult for him to ask for her hand in marriage from Tevye. The other daughters have their own beaus and woes, making life challenging for simple and honest Tevye.

The musical numbers are quite memorable and well-staged. They have much more breadth and visual flair than could be had in a theater. The outdoor locations have authenticity. The town and Tevye's home are not embellished or romanticized--they live in poverty on dusty streets with worn clothes. When Tevye sings "If I Were a Rich Man," he is dancing in his barn with his animals around him. The squalor fades away in the joy of Topol's performance. He has the screen presence and charm that makes his character so endearing. The production is both lavish and down-to-earth. And it shows the great joy amidst the great suffering that Tevye, his family, and his town endures.

Highly recommended--this is easily in the top five movie musicals of all time.

Other Art at National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

After seeing a bunch of sacred art, I also saw some secular art at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

Side entrance to the National Gallery of Art

When we visited, the gallery had a special exhibit on German Expressionism in print, paintings, and drawings. I love a bunch of silent-era German films that use expressionism in their visuals (Metropolis, Nosferatu, and The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari being the most famous examples). I was naturally interested in the exhibit.

The intro graphic

 Self Portrait in Profile, Facing Left, While Drawing, is by Kathe Kollwitz in 1933.

Self Portrait in Profile, Facing Left, While Drawing, click to enlarge (hereafter CTE)

Most Expressionistic art is in black and white, probably to provide stark contrast. A sense of melancholy or stress is often found in Expressionism, this piece leans towards melancholy.

Umbra Vitae, which translates as "Shadow of Life," is the title of a book with two drawings (the title page and the red and black image) by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. He paired the drawings (along with other drawings inside the book) with poems by Georg Heym, whose work had a haunting effect on Kirchner.

Title page from Umbra Vitae

This example is more of what I expected. The blocky images provide more stress and surreality. The character's shadows suggest their inner feelings in high contrast. The weird images are fascinating and captivating.

Frau im Wald (Woman in the Woods) is a woodblock print by Karl Schmidt-Rottluff in 1921. 

Frau im Wald

The weird angles and harsh visuals give the sense that this walk in the woods is full of danger and anxiety. This is not a happy woman or a safe place to be.

A lot of the other art in the exhibit is more graphic and bleak. The experience made me want to stick with the films!

Outside, the gallery has larger sculptures in a garden setting. Wandering Rocks is a set of abstract 3D geometric shapes crafted in 1967 by Tony Smith.

Wandering Rocks

To me, they seem like 3D tangrams, like a visitor should be able to put them together to make other figures or images. Of course, visitors are not supposed to touch the works and they are all over 360 pounds, so a lot to lift or move, even if you were allowed to do such things.

Spider by Louise Bourgeois in 1997 is a bit creepy, not the sort of thing you want to see in a dark alley in the dead of night.

Spider

Back inside, I went downstairs to the sculpture area for a change from the paintings above. Sculptures are fascinating to me because seeing pictures of them does not do justice to the work. Since it is three-dimensional, the sculpture needs to be seen from more than one angle for full appreciation. A good example is Venus and Cupid, crafted by followers of Giovanni Bologna in 1575.

Venus and Cupid, CTE

Venus and Cupid, CTE

The statue is meant to be part of a fountain, so Venus's hair probably would be dripping into Cupid's conch shell. She has a classical look while her son has more of a playful, outdoorsy feel that goes with a fountain. One has a hard time seeing all the rich detail with just photos.

Another example of "it needs to be seen in person" is Veiled Bust (The Veiled Nun), after the style of Giuseppe Croff, sculpted in 1863.

Veiled Bust

The delicate marble carving suggests a translucent cloth across the face of a woman. The effect is amazing. From every angle it looks like a sheer veil. From a distance, one might think someone threw a veil over the bust. I spent quite a while admiring the craftsmanship.

The Thinker by Auguste Rodin is a famous sculpture with many copies all over the world. The gallery has one as well.

The Thinker

The statue was originally made to be part of a larger "Gates of Hell" composition that was never completed. Intended to represent the poet Dante, it became a universal figure for contemplation.

In the halls downstairs, I spotted this Degas painting called Four Dancers from 1899.

Four Dancers

The painting shows the joyous preparation, maybe for a stage performance or an outdoor performance. Whether the back dancer's hand is on a prop or on an actual tree is unclear. They have energy and elegance, making a delightful scene.