history

Secondhand Time: The Last of the Soviets by Svetlana Alexievich – Book Review

October 13, 2020June 1, 2021yggdrasille

I put off reading this book forever, mostly because I was intimidated by its sheer doorstop size. In the end, this requiem for the Soviet era proved to be both an easy and hard read. While perhaps not the pick if you’re looking to lift your spirits in the time of a global pandemic, it’s a book that fully deserves the term “masterpiece”.

Downfall – Film Review

April 14, 2020yggdrasille

I finally got around to watching this dark and gripping 2004 German drama about the last days of Hitler and the Third Reich. Realistic, hard-hitting, impeccably crafted, meticulously researched and detailed, Downfall is easily one of the best historical war films I’ve seen.

I, Claudius – TV Review

March 10, 2020March 1, 2022yggdrasille

I don’t usually write about TV shows on my blog, but I really wanted to give a shout-out to this classic 1976 BBC mini-series set in ancient Rome, based on the historical fiction novels by Robert Graves (which I of course will have to read now).

1917 – Film Review

March 3, 2020yggdrasille

I’m slowly catching up on the acclaimed 2019 movies, most recently this World War I drama from the director Sam Mendes. I always have to overcome a barrier of reluctance with war movies set in the modern era, but I’m glad I managed to watch 1917 on the big screen (and in the plush comfort of Village Gold Class too!)

A Royal Affair – Film Review

November 4, 2018yggdrasille

I continued my recent Danish streak with this historical film about adultery and Enlightenment in the 18th century Denmark, which succeeds both as a sweeping romance and a tense political drama.

Farewell, My Queen – Film Review

July 22, 2018June 20, 2021yggdrasille

The royal palace of Versailles and its doomed queen Marie Antoinette get a new perspective in this French film, which covers the last fraught days of the monarchy through the eyes of a young woman serving as the queen’s official reader. While ultimately somewhat slight, the movie’s eavesdropping-on-history approach is compelling, and gains a lot from being shot at the real location.

Good Time Girls of the Alaska-Yukon Gold Rush by Lael Morgan – Book Review

October 20, 2017October 17, 2022yggdrasille

One of the joys of travel is finding things you’re never going to encounter at home. I spotted this book at a supermarket checkout while in Alaska, and I think it’s safe to say I wouldn’t have come across it anywhere else.

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World – Film Review

September 28, 2017November 25, 2020yggdrasille

Another gem brought to my attention by the History Buffs YouTube channel. Directed by Peter Weir and adapted from nautical historical novels by Patrick O’Brian, Master and Commander unfortunately didn’t make enough money to become a series, which is a shame. Maybe the long unwieldy name put people off; as far as terrible film titles go it’s no Mrs Caldicot’s Cabbage War, but unless you’re a fan of the books it doesn’t really sound like an exciting proposition, which is probably why I skipped the theatrical release myself.

Bridge of Spies – Film Review

August 20, 2017October 17, 2017yggdrasille

A solid, low-key Cold War drama thriller from Steven Spielberg. “Solid” might not sound like much of a compliment, but sometimes it’s just satisfying to watch a well-made film that might not be edgy or exceptional and just about avoids the worthy and dull basket, but which also brims with confidence and expertise in cinematic craft. It achieves a difficult balance of dramatising a true story where, on one hand, too much of real life would probably make it boring and on the other, it still has to retain some realism in order to not lapse completely into fake movie-land.

Dunkirk – Film Review

August 12, 2017August 4, 2020yggdrasille

It takes something special to lure me into a cinema to watch a modern war movie, and the involvement of Christopher Nolan definitely piqued my interest, even though I thought that The Dark Knight Rises was a bloated misfire and Interstellar was deeply flawed. Thankfully, Dunkirk is a lean mean machine that dispenses with stilted dialogue about love, and in fact relies very little on the dialogue.