Carol Naylor's REVIEW it...

                 The Book Thief Film Review. "I wanted to tell the book thief that she was one of the few souls that made me wonder what it was like to live. But in the end there were no words. Only peace. The only truth I truly know is that I am haunted by humans." Based on the book by Australian writer Markus Zusak which was on the New York Times Best Seller List for over 230 weeks. It's not surprising to learn that Zusak's parents grew up in Nazi Germany. The book was inspired by two real life events: the bombing of Munich and a teenage boy offering bread to an emaciated Jew being marched through the streets. Additional inspiration came from a tale of a real life book thief in Sydney. The film is closely based on the novel. Directed by Brian Percival and scripted by Michael Petroni, it was filmed in Gorlitz, Saxony, Berlin and Studio Babelsberg, Potsdam, Brandenburg covering the period 19...

Private Peaceful film review. " I don't believe in heaven. I'm not sure I've ever really believed in God….the church. I'd look up at Jesus hanging on the cross and wonder why God, who is supposed to be his father, almighty and powerful would let them do that to him. Would let him suffer so much." Charlie: " He seemed to me like Jesus hanging on the cross in the church back home." This 2012 adaptation, directed by Pat O'Connor is based on Michael Morpurgo's book. It proved so popular that by April 2004 it had been adapted into a play by Simon Reade and was first performed at the Bristol Old Vic starring Alexander Campbell before transferring to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and London's West End. The film stars Jack O'Connell (Charlie Peaceful), George Mackay (Tommo Peaceful), Alexandra Roach (Molly Monks), John Lynch (Sergeant Hanley) and the late Richard Griffiths (the Colonel) amongst its cast. It was shot on loca...

                 My Week With Marilyn Film Review. "What I remembered most was her embrace, her belief in me and the joy she gave, that was her gift. When I think of her now, I think of that time when a dream came true and my only talent was not to close my eyes." Colin Clark. This film was based on two of Colin Clark's diaries: The Prince, The Showgirl and Me and My Week With Marilyn published in 1995. Clark was the least famous of his family in 1956 but he achieved great success after this brief but memorable and intimate encounter with Marilyn Monroe. His father was the renowned Kenneth Clark, art historian and his elder brother was Alan Clark M.P, another renowned diarist. Clark chronicled the clash of egos between two legends: Olivier (played by Branagh) and Monroe (Michelle Williams) as well as his growing infatuation with Monroe which left him with a broken heart. Written by Adrian Hodges and directed by Simon Curtis-t...

                 Night Music by Jojo Moyes. "There was nothing gentle about grief. It launched itself at you like a rogue wave on the seafront, flooding you, threatening to pull you under." This is Moyes' sixth book. She has an unusual Christian name doesn't she? Her parents were artists and named her after a famous Beatles' song. But I'm sure you probably knew that! The two main female characters are strong and tough although we see their vulnerabilities and plenty of tears. They are meant to be very different, one more Mother Earth, typically a home-maker, the other a professional musician who has chosen a career before her husband and family. Do they have anything in common? The Spanish house and betrayal by the men they loved. After a lot of soul-searching and intensity they both have second chances. Isabel moves on at an alarming rate unlike Laura who relished the opportunity to be loved by a faithful and honest man only to ...

A View from the Bridge by Arthur Miller. "You won't have a friend in the world. Even those who understand will turn against you, even the ones who feel the same will despise you." Miller's parents were immigrants. His father had a clothing manufacturing business and the family lived in prosperity in America until the Wall Street Crash. Miller became a journalist and he wrote scripts for the radio. During the second world war he worked as a shipfitter in the Brooklyn Navy Shipyard where he sets this drama. Many of the workers were Italian migrant workers and this is probably where Miller made connections for A View from the Bridge , 1955. Miller's hallmark as a writer seems to display an ability to dramatize the attempts made by characters to find a necessary balance between the conflicting demands of private and public life. New York's Brooklyn harbour was depicted as  a dangerous and mysterious world at the water's edge during the 40s. T...