RHODYLIFE

At the Movies with Joyce and Don

Posted 11/5/20

MARTIN EDEN *** (Italian melodrama) Adapted from a 1909 Jack London novel, this Italian melodrama is set in Italy and bares no resemblance to the only book I ever read by the American author, "e;The Call of the Wild."e; Luca Marinelli stars as the title

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in
RHODYLIFE

At the Movies with Joyce and Don

Posted

MARTIN EDEN

***

(Italian melodrama)

Adapted from a 1909 Jack London novel, this Italian melodrama is set in Italy and bares no resemblance to the only book I ever read by the American author, “The Call of the Wild.”

Luca Marinelli stars as the title character, an uneducated, rough-around-the-edges, working-class man who wants to be a writer but lacks all the necessary skills.

He saves a young man from getting beat up and is brought home to receive thanks from the man’s family, where he meets his beautiful sister Elena.

It is love at first sight, but there is a major culture clash. Elena does her best to educate him and introduce him to her way of living.

Meanwhile, he is influenced by an intellectual socialist poet, causing conflict with Elena’s bourgeois family and friends.

The movie gets very intellectual and political, causing conflict in both Martin’s personal and political life.

He struggles for years before becoming one of Italy’s most famous socialist writers, all leading to a tragic conclusion.

Interesting, but a bit overwhelming.

Rated R with English subtitles. It’s at the Avon, where loyal patrons are returning to see quality films. On opening night, one of them brought a bottle of champagne and other two pizzas. “We had a champagne and pizza grand opening,” manager Richard Dulgarian said.

NETFLIX

“The Queen’s Gambit” is the latest eight-part series on Netflix, and it is most interesting.

Anya Taylor-Joy plays a chess genius who has many psychological problems complicating her life. The 8-year-old orphan learns the game from her orphanage janitor, is adopted by an alcoholic mother, and goes on to win major chess tournaments around the world. I enjoyed the series while not knowing the difference between a queen and a rook. Chess players will certainly enjoy it even more.

TELEVISION

Many of last year’s TV series are starting up in November, including “The Good Doctor” and the “Chicago Med/Fire/P.D.” series.

I watched the “This Is Us” two-hour opening special last week and was disappointed. The network advertised “limited commercial interruption” and held true to that promise for the first 25 minutes. From then on, there were ads every 10 minutes.

In addition, Randall, Kevin, and Kate started getting on my nerves. Let’s hope the show doesn’t go downhill like many series that stick around too long.

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here