Weekly Roundup! January 21st, 2024

Welcome to Weekly Roundup!, where we dive into the captivating world of films, books, and articles that caught our attention over the past week. 

Watches of the week

• The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) by Jacques Demy — 4.5/5
  • A recommendation to anyone who can overcome the “1-inch-tall barrier of subtitles.”
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Parts 1 & 2
  • It pains me that they wrapped up the series this way. I love movies 1-6, but 7 & 8 just don’t do it for me. And that’s coming from someone with a Deathly Hallows tattoo. 
• Murder on the Orient Express (1974) by Sidney Lumet — DNF
  • We did not finish the movie, but will rewatch at some point. Initial impression—we both prefer the 2017 version with Kenneth Branagh. 

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

We started the week traveling back in time to Cherbourg, France, circa 1957 to witness the complicated love affair—by that, I mean very French/European—between a young umbrella shop owner’s daughter, Geneviève, and auto garage mechanic, Guy. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg stars the transcendentally beautiful Catherine Deneuve (Geneviève) and Nino Castelnuovo (Guy), who are fraught with young love despite the protestations of Geneviève’s mother, seeing no future for Guy. Her diagnosis is not improved when Guy is drafted to fight in Algeria. 

The movie is a musical, but not in the Mamma Mia! or Chicago sense; there are no random breakouts of fully choreographed singing and dancing. Instead, each and every line is delivered in a melodic, sing-song way. While initially, I thought I’d find that distracting, it quickly took a back seat to the array of vibrant colors used throughout the beautiful cinematography. It’s also in French, so that might have helped too. I won’t spoil anymore; I’ll just say I thoroughly enjoyed the entire film, from the opening credits to the very end. A French ending, not Hollywood.

Murder on the Orient Express

Having already enjoyed the 2017 version of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express, we were excited to watch the original film adaptation from 1974 by Sidney Lumet. Sadly, we did not finish. Maybe we were too tired. Maybe we had too much to eat during dinner. Maybe both. Either way, we found ourselves pausing the movie in favor of a nap. Unfortunately, from what we did see, despite the star-studded cast—Alfred Finney, Lauren Bacall, Martin Balsam, Ingrid Bergman, Sean Connery, Jean Pierre Cassel—we preferred the 2017 version and Kenneth Branagh’s spunkier portrayal of Hercule Poirot. With that said, we plan to give the original another shot. 

Reads of the week

• White Fang by Jack London
• Pandemic Learning Loss by Matt Klein

White Fang

A logical follow-up piece after reading Jack London’s The Call of the Wild, White Fang is a similar survival novel also set in the rugged wilderness of the Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush. The furry protagonist in this story, White Fang—named because of his, well, “white fangs”—doesn’t even open his eyes to the world until chapter 6, where he is still only known as “gray cub.” The opening chapters follow a duo (trio if you count the man in the coffin) pulled by dog-sled trying to make their way through the wilderness to the closest fort to return their less fortunate companion to civilization and a proper burial (he was a Lord). 

Just as in The Call of the Wild, I am immediately struck by the vivid imagery painted in the opening chapters. Even with the most limited imagination, you will feel like you’re smack-dab in the middle of it, riding alongside the dog-sled, making camp each night as a pack of wolves visits, who are slowly becoming bolder and getting closer and closer each night, knowing there’s nothing you can do with your remaining three bullets. The wolves get closer, the sleep more scarce, and now the sled dogs are being picked off one by one through the night. You’ll have to read for yourself to see how they fare. 

Assuming you’ve made it through the opening chapters, you’ll now see the world through the eyes of the titular wolf-dog as he leverages his instincts and navigates a journey of adaptation and survival through the untamed wilderness of the Yukon and the will of different human masters. Every day, a struggle for survival. 

Matt Klein on Pandemic Learning Loss

I stumbled upon Matt Klein’s ZINE as a recommended publication here on Substack. His latest post at the time of writing this, Pandemic Learning Loss: Understanding Academic, Mental, and Developmental Delays, delves into the alarming realization about how the COVID pandemic has disrupted and stunted the growth and development for so many of our youth. New research and statistics show the palpable effects this time away from in-person classes and interactions has had, and will come to have, on those 18 and younger. 

It’s not difficult to sympathize with them. While I’ve enjoyed the shift to hybrid/remote work and the change in culture brought on by the pandemic, I couldn’t imagine if that happened during high school. I look fondly upon those formational years and the fun that was had standing on the precipice of adulthood. To have a year or more robbed, forced to take lectures and see classmates through a computer screen, and to miss out on the camaraderie of my high school hockey team, would have been a tough pill to swallow. 

The New York Times Editorial Board calls this learning loss the “most damaging disruption in the history of American education.”

What are the possible remedies? Nothing that students, teachers, and parents would be overly excited about. Besides the obvious, some new suggestions include “…supplemental online education, summer programs, injecting education into summer camps, lengthening the school day or year, weekend classes, curriculum adjustments (i.e., combining subjects), …”. And lastly—a 13th school year. 

Everything I’ve mentioned here only pertains to the academic loss. The remainder of the article goes on to cover the effects on the emotional, social, and developmental (think toddlers beginning to speak later). Similarly, the consequences if not addressed are looking dire. 

Reader Recommendations

Now, I want to hear from you! What movies, books, or articles captured your attention this week? Share your top picks in the comments below; your insights might just lead someone to their next favorite film or book. 

Stay tuned until next week!