BY PHILIP CU UNJIENG
AT A GLANCE
Flora and Son (Apple+) - Even if this is a minor feature compared to the big-budget production of All the Light, I choose to review this first because it’s a minor gem that people should watch.
All the Light We Cannot See (Netflix) - This four-episode Limited Series sadly answers the question of ‘How can you go wrong adapting a novel awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the Andes Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction?’
Every work of Art has to have its own beating heart - whether a film, a song, a painting, or a book. Here are two recent drops on our streaming platforms, and they show clearly how hearts can be found…and lost.
Flora and Son (Apple+) - Even if this is a minor feature compared to the big-budget production of All the Light, I choose to review this first because it’s a minor gem that people should watch. Plus, I guarantee they’ll enjoy the simple tale and how it meshes single motherhood, the pains of parenting, the cost of dreaming, and tying it all in with songwriting and composing music. That may sound like a mouthful, but set in Dublin, Ireland, and directed by John Carney (Once, Begin Again, and Sing Street), you know that here’s a guy who knows how to embed the music in his stories. Here, we have a single Mom, Flora (Eve Hewson), who’s giving up on what to do with her delinquent son, Max (Oren Kinlan).
One idea is to gift him a guitar, as his father, still in the neighborhood, used to be in a band (Jack Reynor as Ian). Max rejects the guitar as he’s into ambient and electronica. In desperation and when teased by Ian, Flora decides to take up the instrument herself, looks for a teacher online, and finds Jack (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a teacher from out West Coast USA. There are no spoilers here, but things develop in a manner you won’t expect, and I mean this more in songwriting and how music can have a purpose. What Max ends up doing, the revelations that come, and how everything flows naturally and in a low-key manner are all welcome aspects of this charmer of a film. Sundance and Toronto experienced how this film was such a hit with audiences, so don’t miss out!
All the Light We Cannot See (Netflix) - This four-episode Limited Series sadly answers the question of ‘How can you go wrong adapting a novel awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the Andes Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction?’ And the unfortunate answer is ‘Quite badly!’ Don’t get me wrong, I loved the novel because it was a World War II tale that transcended the era and asked the big questions about Hope, redemption, fate, and perseverance. The bare bones of the narrative were about a young, blind French girl and a young orphaned German soldier; how the war was both challenging them to survive and maintain their humanity and how it was placing them on opposite sides while being the vehicle that could, against all odds, bring them together.
But as developed by Stephen Knight of Peaky Blinders and directed by Shawn Levy, we have an adaptation that makes the barest of surface contact with the novel I read. There are also poor casting choices - an unknown, Aria Mia Loberti, plays the central figure of Marie-Laure, and honestly, it shows that this is her first major role. Mark Ruffalo and Hugh Laurie take on major roles, but Ruffalo’s accent is all over the place and keeps changing. At the same time, Laurie thankfully sticks to his English accent while playing a Frenchman - consistency is a godsend in this production. Something was lost in transition - and the wonderful novel I read and enjoyed is missing in action. Honestly, I think this is a great travesty, as people may not even be moved to read the novel anymore, and they’d be missing out on a good thing. For those who loved reading the book, keep that memory and keep away from this series.
