Category: writing

The Glass Maker by Tracy Chevalier

Once again, not usually my kind of thing, but I’ve heard good things about it, so maybe it was worth a punt.

Set in Venice during … well, we’ll get to that in a minute … this epic tale follows the life and nearly loves of Orsola Rosso, one of the fabled glass makers who lived in Murano (a stone’s skip from Venice) round about the time of the Renaissance. Through the use of a slightly unconventional timeline, Orsola and her family ply their trade across several centuries, including such upheavals as the plague, the coming of high-volume manufacturing, and finally (believe it or not) COVID. Along the way, Orsola makes new friends, loses family and pines for a love lost to her across the extended passage of time …

The Glass Maker
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Flow

I don’t do film reviews usually, but Flow is a bit special.

Made in Lithuania, I believe; it picked up the Oscar for best animated feature — and having watched it twice and being equally moved the second time round, I can see why.

Flow

Flow is a short film (well, short by today’s standards anyway) that follows the adventures of a small black cat trying to escape a flood. On his perilous journey, he encounters a handful of creatures whom he barely tolerates but allows to join him in his attempt to flee the rising waters.

There are no people and no dialogue. The animals (the cat, a labrador, an injured bird, a capybara, and a lemur) carry the entire movie on their own. There’s peril a plenty, along with some genuinely sad and spectacular moments.

And the ending won’t leave a dry eye in the house.

Through some stunning animation and artwork and an incredibly well-written story, Flow teaches us a simple, vital lesson: regardless of our differences, we’re better off together.

Film of the year.