It's great when you're talented and your efforts are appreciated by your family members and the support has been given to you from early childhood. You then thank your parents when receiving another award and thrive supporting them in return. But when you're extremely talented and there is no support, not even acceptance among the members of your closest family, the talent and success itself are not enough to make you happy. How one world-famous singer had to face his demons, addictions and find a way to personal happiness? Early years of Elton John, Rocketman.
War is not a child's game. It's about politics and ruthless killing. But once you form a unit of juveniles, equip them with weapons and make them take care of a hostage, you might deal with another Lord of the Flies. How pristine are human reactions in the face of a common enemy? Why trust is so easy to break? Why leadership goes from hands to hands in the face of circumstances? And why establishing a few rules makes people behave against their own beliefs? Monos.
There's something wrong with the human race, as from time to time, it decides to hate one of its variety. Some think themselves better, others perceiving as monsters. But hatred between nations and religions is based on stereotypes and these stereotypes are easy to repeat. But what if during World War II a German, Hitler-obsessed boy was forced to accept a Jewish girl hiding in his house? What if another boy happened to be so close to the Concentration Camp and befriended one of its prisoners? How close can you be to the consequences of blind ideology and admit that you were wrong? A different perception of war, one funny in its bittersweetness, another heartbreakingly realistic and two moving pictures of how cruel was our history and our mistakes. Both based on books, Jojo Rabbit and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.
Sometimes in life, you need a sign, a signal from God that will lead you to a life vocation, a coincidence that will allow you to choose a profession that will make sense and make you fulfilled and happy. It can be a sign for your personal decision, retirement or resignation and making place for someone new.
We change as a society and as a society, we need different leaders; we need those who will understand us, have followed our footsteps and dived in the world of our mistakes. But we fluctuate from being conservative and liberal, trying to choose the right path and finding ourselves in the bowling pot of voices screaming which life is the best. This leadership especially touches upon the Church. Sometimes a major life decision is required to bring the essence of the Church (which is undoubtedly ultimately good) to the masses. Sometimes it requires the change of the Pope. Sometimes it calls for a film bringing two popes into our homes via Netflix. After over two thousand years of Christianity, it seems that the Vatican, Sistine Chapel, and those responsible for the Church can be close to us as humans and that atonement is possible for everybody. Unprecedented story of Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis, and a chapter of our history. The Two Popes.
As a girl, you play various games: in your imagination, you can be a captain of a ship, a writer, a soldier, a TV presenter or a cook. And then, as a woman, you are limited to social status: single, married, in a relationship, divorced, or widowed and wonder what could possibly have gone wrong.
What is the purpose of a woman on this planet? Why is she educated, cherished, and brought up to face the obstacles of the world? For many years, her only life dream and ability to survive was to get married as soon (and rich) as possible. But for generations of women, she was supposed to succeed and fall in love, passionately and romantically. Maybe that's why we were all enchanted by Little Women. Jo, Amy, Meg, and Beth March were always somewhere at the back of the minds of girls choosing their careers or making life decisions. They represented independence, friendship, sisterhood, dreams, and coming of age, they portrayed life seemingly distant from us, but so universal, everybody could relate. Little girls watching the 1994 adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's novel can now, as grown women, admire another movie about four girls making their way in the world, where money count more than dreams, society deprives of values, and very few privileges allow women to live on their own terms. Surely girls being born today will need another reminder that there once were sisters with very similar dilemmas.
It wasn't a long time ago when women were only a possession; their fathers', husbands', brothers', and sons' property to take care of or cruelly dispose of. Having the right to vote or engaging in typically male activities was unthinkable. Great World Wars changed it all, they pushed men from workplaces to the frontline and women from households to fields, plants, and services. And (oh Lord what a surprise!) they managed. Women succeeded in each and every area previously occupied by men and restoring the old order proved to be as difficult as restoring aristocracy.
Years have passed and still, a woman with a certain ambition has to devote as much as a man with the same dreams, but also face the social criticism of men, women (who pushed their ambition aside for the sake of cooking and cleaning), and society as such. Regardless, she is not willing to resign. One hundred years ago, a thought about a woman exploring the space would be laughed at. Now it's a fact. A professional struggle of one dreamer and a very realistic portrayal of a mother who wants to be something more than a parent and partner. Inspirational for many girls, Proxima.