Book and Movie Recommendations
It is summertime and who wouldn’t want to watch a good scary movie. I got one for you: A Quiet Place, Part II.
Usually, sequels disappoint. They either re- hash the first film and do it poorly, or they take the story to a place where the audience would rather not go. This film deepens and expands the original, allowing the characters to grow from their previous experiences.
And once again, it is quite a ride.
If you missed the first part, I would recommend you watching it first, it will deepen your experience of the second film. Needless to say is thrilling as well. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. It tells the story of a family trying to survive in a world where these creatures have taken over. The trick is that the creatures are blind, but they have super hearing. So any little noise causes them to attack suddenly. So most of the movie is silent as the family seeks to merely survive. The kicker of the first film is that the mother of the family is pregnant. You can only imagine how they survive that.
The second film sets itself up with a sequence about how the creatures are first en- countered. A new character is introduced, as are some subtle hints as to where the rest of the film is headed. The real star of the show is an actress named Millicent Simmonds who plays the daughter. In real life, she is deaf and her impaired hearing plays a big part of the plot. Simply put, she is amazing. (Hey Oscar folks, if you want people to come back to watch, nominate her for Best Supporting Actress. People will watch, because this is a movie that people actually went to see.) There is a scene toward the end of the film where the camera lingers on her face and we see a wide range of emotions from grief to pride. That is what acting is all about.
The film is not gory, but it is suspenseful. Really, really suspenseful. I don’t want to spoil the ending, but I will tell you it is satis- fying, but not in a “wrap everything up in a tidy bow” type of way.
Don’t wait for this to be streamed, go see it in a theatre, where you can feel the sound. It is rated PG-13.
I finished my first book of the summer, an equally suspenseful true story called
In Order To Live by Yeonmi Park. She tells of her escape from North Korea, and the struggles she face as she made it to China first and then Mongolia and South Korea and finally the United States.
Park’s description of life in North Korea is harrowing. What I found surprising is the growing black market that people participate in, so as to make some income. As you might guess, the government does not like this, and when Park’s father is caught, the whole family suffers.
North Korea is a land caught in a time warp. The rest of the world has moved into the 21st century, but North Korea is in the 1950’s moving toward the Stone Age. It is also a land of the Cult of Personality as one family (the Kim’s) has dominated the political, so- cial, economic and cultural landscape. It is as horrifying as the creatures in the movie, and they are listening intently as well.
It is a quick and enlightening read. You will be infuriated by the arrogance of North Ko- rea’s leaders as their people suffer and starve. You will hold your breath as Park and her mother seek to escape. And you will feel triumph in their eventual search for freedom. I highly recommend this book.