Ataraxia

  Shoeshine aka Sciuscia by Vittorio De Sica was The 1948 Nominee for The Oscar for Best Writing, Original Screenplay and was The Winner of   the Honorary Award at that festivity, it is also one of The New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made – you have many notes on films from The NYT 1,000 and other lists, together with reviews of books from The GOAT and other sites on my blog and YouTube channel https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/do-you-have-any-feedback.html   9 out of 10   Vittorio De Sica was one of the greatest film makers of all time, although I have been thinking of him mostly as a ‘comedian’, remembering him as the director of Marriage Italian Style https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/07/marriage-italian-style-based-on.html although De Sica has made fabulous tragedies as well   Giuseppe Filippucci and Pasquale Maggi are the children who dominate this film, Franco Interlenghi has the role of the latter, he would later have ...

  They Were Expendable by William White is one of The New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made and we can see why – there are many notes on films from The NYT 1,000 list, reviews on magnum opera from The GOAT and other web pages on my blog and YouTube channel https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/do-you-have-any-feedback.html maybe you care to visit…you will be welcome   8 out of 10   They Were Expendable is formidable.   Alas, I have some qualms   First the merits: it is about valor, patriotism, courage, magnanimity, Emotional Intelligence, resilience, zest, and other character strengths, as identified by Martin Seligman https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/01/flourish-by-martin-seligman.html founder of Positive Psychology Robert Montgomery has the role of Lt. John Brickley, while John Wayne is Lt. (J.G.) 'Rusty' Ryan, and these command troops in World War II, as America is under attack, this is the stage when the Japanese are w...

  My reading of D H Lawrence has ups and downs. The first novel I read was Sons and Lovers, placed among the top 10 novels, by The Modern Library. I loved it, the first time I read it. So much so, that I started reading it again. The second time, I did not feel the same pleasure. The Rainbow, even if it had been anticipated as a book full o excitement, banned and even burned, did not impress upon me. To put it plainly, it has been a disappointment. That’s not D H Lawrence, I am sure that his work is o great value. For various subjective reasons, I could not relate to it…to think of a possible explanation- nowadays, the financial crisis hits with full force upon our house… “And all the clouds that loured upon our house In the deep bosom of the ocean buried… “ I wish I could say that. In this world economy turmoil, my mind can’t always concentrate on what I am reading. The tension, anguish, high anxiety is taking a toll on my nerves, my power of concentration, joie de vivre and more....

  Women who Kill Men by Mihau Tonetki Das ewig weibliche…with 7 out of 10   We are used with works where men appear to be chauvinistic, arrogant and even aggressive towards women Mankind is an example of male decisions- man stands for human and mankind for the whole human race. We do not say womankind and for 99% of history, women have been treated badly, denied the vote and a voice, They have been relegated to the cave and then to the kitchen, doing lesser work and often treated as slaves. Alas, even today women are mistreated in many parts of the world, where their second class status is enshrined in the law of land. When that law is sharia, or whatever males make out of it, there are all kinds of restrictions and penalties for women.   As the title makes plain, in this story women are not the victims and they turn the position of females on its head. They have had enough and they want revenge. Two women have taken a man prisoner and want to make him pay for his philand...

  Tristana by Luis Bunuel was the 1971 Nominee for The Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, and it is one of The New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made – they even have a challenge there, you could see how many of those you have seen…on my blog and YouTube channel you find notes on films from The NYT 1,000 list and reviews of books from the GOAT and other sites https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/do-you-have-any-feedback.html     8 out of 10   Luis Bunuel was one of the greatest auteurs https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2026/01/belle-de-jour-directed-by-luis-bunuel.html in cinematic history, he revolutionized what was called the seventh art (maybe the term is still used, but who knows, if it is seen as WOKE, maybe MAGA banned it) with surrealistic features   Tristana is the heroine of the motion picture, the majestic Catherine Deneuve, one of the best thespians ever, has the leading role, she has also worked with Luis Bunuel on ano...

  Arrowsmith by Sinclair Lewis won the 1926 Pulitzer Prize, which I just found that the author declined, it is ranked 1630 th on The Greatest Books of All Time – you find many reviews on magnum opera from The GOAT and other sites, along with notes on films on my blog and YouTube channel https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/do-you-have-any-feedback.html I will be pleased if you visit and ecstatic if you subscribe   9 out of 10   The Hero compared with the Orange Villain   Most often, when I read or see a movie these days I think about the protagonist, the ideals, moral in the book or film in contrast with what I see in the world today – now I have in the background the show Washington Week with The Atlantic, I listened to it on every Saturday and they comment on what happened in the past seven days   While Arrowsmith is a hero, we have now a model that is the Mobster – modelled on the Orange Fool from the White House, no longer the build...