I don’t recall what prompted me to add
Come and See (1985) to my list at Netflix, but I’m glad I did. Although the story is familiar, it is set in a region I recognize by name only, Byelorussia, now Belarus, in the northwestern corner of the former Soviet Union. It is another WWII tale of Nazi atrocities, different in that they are perpetrated against farmers. The monsters burned many villages and executed the people. This is seen through the eyes of a teenager who leaves home to join partisan forces in the fight against the invaders. In the beginning he has a youthful, goofy look. By the end he looks like an old man. Who wouldn’t after witnessing such madness? One of the aspects I love about films like this is seeing a completely foreign cast. It brings a freshness to the work. There are no preconceptions. The film is not perfect. It takes leaps in story line, several scenes go on too long, and some of the acting is over the top, but, overall, it is powerful, gut-wrenching. It runs 140 minutes, requiring patience to sit through. It pulls no punches, offers no happiness. Toward the end there is an extended sequence of old Third Reich film clips running backwards. If only it had been that easy to reverse the evil that Hitler and his minions brought to the world. The film is rated an impressive 8.2 of ten at IMDb. On a scale of five, I rate it four. Belarus gained its independence in 1991. Its population is ten million.
Football players have been getting bigger and faster each decade. Here’s someone who is off the charts. Tony Picard is a 6’ 4” 400 pound running back/nose tackle. He led his Washington high school to a 9-1 record. Somehow the team lost in the first round of the statewide playoffs. His size brings to mind a teaching point Brooklyn’s James Madison High School coach Al Caruso used regarding tackling, which I include in my second novel,
Adjustments: “From the ankles down, we’re all created equal.” Or maybe that’s not the case here. Here’s a picture of the behemoth:
RIP Doris Lessing, 94, British author, whose
The Golden Notebook has been embraced by feminists, to the chagrin of the author, whose opinions were often controversial. I read that novel in the 70's. I have only a vague recollection of it, but I've never forgotten a quote from it, a pearl of wisdom: "If what we feel is pain, we must feel it, acknowledging that the only alternative is death."
The floating book shop had another lucky session. I forced myself to set up despite sprinkles in the air. Fortunately, I had a couple of quick sales and ended up making twice as much as yesterday, when the weather was beautiful. But the best part was seeing Old Carmine, who said he liked
Close to the Edge, and asked if it were autobiographical. One third of Part One certainly is. I also had a visit from a young mom who I hadn't seen in a while. She was unaware that Stephen King wrote several books under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. She bought
The Regulators. She mentioned that she now has a Kindle and I suggested she check out my books at Amazon. She committed my name to memory, spelling it aloud as she was leaving.
Vic's 4th Novel:
http://tinyurl.com/bszwlxh
Vic's 3rd Novel:
http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Website:
http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle):
http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel:
http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic's 1st Novel:
http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic's Screenplay on Kindle:
http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3
Vic’s Short Story on Kindle:
http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
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