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Christopher Eccleston has just received a nomination for an International Emmy. What a great honor and so very well-deserved -- even though I've only seen clips, it's the kind of role he cares about, and when he cares about a role he knocks it out of the park. All you friends who are wondering, why is Liss in such a rage of Eccleston Marathoning -- I know his work is hard to come by in the US, but he is simply FANTASTIC. And he has an amazing body OF WORK. body of work!!! :D
I'm currently in the middle of Anchoress (1993, dir. Chris Newby, wr. Judith Stanley-Smith and Christine Watkins). Overall, the film is strikingly beautiful to watch. It is filmed in black and white in an old-fashioned, art film style. I read someplace that the film might be regarded as an homage to Carl Theodor Dreyer's "The Passion of Joan of Arc" (1928) and it does remind me strongly of that film, which I remember way back from auditing a film course in college. The landscape and the huge sky dominate the film (it was a Belgian co-production and may have been filmed in Flanders?). The story goes that a girl, Christine, begins to fixate on a statue of the Virgin, and falls into symbolic reveries while contemplating Her. The Priest, played by CE, offers to wall her up as an anchorite.
Once again, I can't believe that this film is not raved about more often! Halfway through, I guess there could be some stunning turn of events that would derail it, but I don't find that likely.
The Priest is a mixture of good and bad -- just the kind of character Chris excels at playing. As a Medieval Priest -- he is condemnatory of anything that seems to smack of witchcraft, and he hates Christine's mother, Pauline, whom he regards as a witch. In one exemplary scene, he denies Christine food because she won't make confession, and of course, she experiences her ecstatic visions of the Virgin in a loaf of bread or a cup of water or the sound of birdsong. Her spirituality is remarkably pagan and earth-based, which infuriates the Priest. He asks her what color are the Virgin's robes in her visions, and she says Red, and he's like NO THEY'RE BLUE BECAUSE SHE'S THE QUEEN OF HEAVEN!!!. So it's very much an interesting and feminist take on women's spirituality in medieval times. I'm looking forward to learning more about the real-life Anchoress of Shere -- her cell, connected to a village church in Surrey, is still there today!
For fans of Chris-- he is absolutely gorgeous in this movie. The black and white format, the lighting, his priestly robes -- everything conspire to highlight his dramatic bone structure and the ferocity of his eyes. And then, his lines are so fierce and Chris simply rocks in this movie, villain (as I suspect) or not. OM NOM NOM. The Priest would say I am such a foul daughter of Eve! Yay, I SO AM. :D It's so awesome when Pauline, the mother, totally PISSES AT HIM. \o/ Her actual piss is foreshadowed when she says "I piss at him" and THEN SHE DOES. one of the best feminist f* you moments ever.
Wow: The Shadow Line.
Okay, so, Chris is perfect as Joseph Bede. But this is not my kind of thing. Spoilers under cut.
( spoilers for shadow line )
Let him Have It arrived on DVD, and Jude is still on order, and I think I'll try to watch "The Accused: Willy's Story" next which earned Chris the Emmy Nom. I am so happy for him!!! My other boy, Jensen Ackles, was shortlisted for an emmy nom, and we exploded with glee on that account. :)
I'm currently in the middle of Anchoress (1993, dir. Chris Newby, wr. Judith Stanley-Smith and Christine Watkins). Overall, the film is strikingly beautiful to watch. It is filmed in black and white in an old-fashioned, art film style. I read someplace that the film might be regarded as an homage to Carl Theodor Dreyer's "The Passion of Joan of Arc" (1928) and it does remind me strongly of that film, which I remember way back from auditing a film course in college. The landscape and the huge sky dominate the film (it was a Belgian co-production and may have been filmed in Flanders?). The story goes that a girl, Christine, begins to fixate on a statue of the Virgin, and falls into symbolic reveries while contemplating Her. The Priest, played by CE, offers to wall her up as an anchorite.
Once again, I can't believe that this film is not raved about more often! Halfway through, I guess there could be some stunning turn of events that would derail it, but I don't find that likely.
The Priest is a mixture of good and bad -- just the kind of character Chris excels at playing. As a Medieval Priest -- he is condemnatory of anything that seems to smack of witchcraft, and he hates Christine's mother, Pauline, whom he regards as a witch. In one exemplary scene, he denies Christine food because she won't make confession, and of course, she experiences her ecstatic visions of the Virgin in a loaf of bread or a cup of water or the sound of birdsong. Her spirituality is remarkably pagan and earth-based, which infuriates the Priest. He asks her what color are the Virgin's robes in her visions, and she says Red, and he's like NO THEY'RE BLUE BECAUSE SHE'S THE QUEEN OF HEAVEN!!!. So it's very much an interesting and feminist take on women's spirituality in medieval times. I'm looking forward to learning more about the real-life Anchoress of Shere -- her cell, connected to a village church in Surrey, is still there today!
For fans of Chris-- he is absolutely gorgeous in this movie. The black and white format, the lighting, his priestly robes -- everything conspire to highlight his dramatic bone structure and the ferocity of his eyes. And then, his lines are so fierce and Chris simply rocks in this movie, villain (as I suspect) or not. OM NOM NOM. The Priest would say I am such a foul daughter of Eve! Yay, I SO AM. :D It's so awesome when Pauline, the mother, totally PISSES AT HIM. \o/ Her actual piss is foreshadowed when she says "I piss at him" and THEN SHE DOES. one of the best feminist f* you moments ever.
Wow: The Shadow Line.
Okay, so, Chris is perfect as Joseph Bede. But this is not my kind of thing. Spoilers under cut.
( spoilers for shadow line )
Let him Have It arrived on DVD, and Jude is still on order, and I think I'll try to watch "The Accused: Willy's Story" next which earned Chris the Emmy Nom. I am so happy for him!!! My other boy, Jensen Ackles, was shortlisted for an emmy nom, and we exploded with glee on that account. :)
