birdienl | Impressions of The Love Letter, 10.000 BC and Colour Blind

The Love Letter (1998)

Adaptation of: a short story by Jack Finney
Length: 99 min

Summary: Scotty Corrigan buys an antique desk and finds a Civil War era letter inside it, written by a women who died over a hunderd year ago. Fancifully, he writers a letter back, only to have it inexplicably reach its destination in the past.....

Familiar faces: not really

Watch this if:
- It's stormy outside and you want to curl up on your couch with a sweet movie
- You like your love stories with a touch of magic

Don't watch this if:
- You already thought Lark Rise to Candleford was too sugary

Best part: The first time 'Scotty' and Elizabeth meet each other in the 19th century and you see the attraction between them developing.

10.000 BC (2008)

Adaptation of: no adaptation
Length: 109 min

Summary: The young mammoth hunter D'Leh travels further than any of his tribe has ever done to find back his kidnapped bride Evolet and secure the future of his tribe.

Familiar faces: not really

Watch this if:
- You're in the mood for an epic historical adventure and don't care too much about a coherent storyline
- You've always wanted to see a stampede of a mammoth herd

Don't watch this if:
- You like your movies to be at least somewhat historically correct

Best part: The stunning CGI recreation of an Egypt-like society where pyramids are being build by large numbers of slaves driving mammoths. The scenes taking place here are really epic, which can be trusted in the hands of director Roland Emmerich, who made other movies with lots of spectacle such as Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow.

Colour Blind

Adaptation of: the novel by Catherine Cookson
Length: 150 min

Summary: Life for the McQueen family is turned upside down when daughter Bridget arrives home with a black husband. Prejudices against coloured people are strong and Bridget and her James are forced to live a secluded life, even from some members of her own family. Not much has changed for the better when their daughter Rose-Angela has grown up some 20 years later. But luckily there are some people who accept and love the young woman.

Watch this if:
- You like your period dramas gritty and realistic, with dirt and violence included
- You want to get a good picture of how difficult life was for coloured people less than a century ago

Don't watch this if:
- You're easily annoyed by Catherine Cookson's mode of storytelling; this one has quite some typical elements in it

Best part: The kindly pastor telling the little Rose-Angela that God is colour blind