dual personalities

We all look for things to divert us from our cares, but after a while it can be difficult to find anything new to watch (of books the number is infinite). I am pleased to say that this week I have TWO viewing recommendations, one on Amazon and the other on Netflix. Let’s start with Amazon. This one is not free but it didn’t cost much and it was worth it. It is the 2017 German-French (?) miniseries called Maximilian and Marie de Bourgogne. The story of Maximilian, son of the Holy Roman Emperor, and the Duchess of Burgundy takes place in the 1470s. After Charles the Bold is killed in battle, his daughter Marie inherits the Duchy, but without a husband to fight for her, struggles to stay independent of France. Meanwhile, Maximilian of Austria, frustrated at his father’s passivity, seeks action. In this photo, Maximilian has just won a duel and is plotting to save his 12 year old sister from being married off to the king of Hungary who is nearly four times her age. It was a hard world for female royals — well, for everyone.

It is worth watching just for the production values. Like the miniseries Wolf Hall, Maximilian is all shot on location and in natural light. I cannot vouch for its historical accuracy, since I am unfamiliar with this period, but it sure is nice to watch and the tone feels right. The main characters all face difficult challenges, so they are serious and not given to flights of emotion. The Duchess is in a terrible position, but she does not weep and wring her hands; she thinks and does what she needs to do.

Try this. You won’t regret it.

Last night I watched another historical drama, Netflix’s just released The Dig, a wonderful film about the excavation of the Sutton Hoo ship burial in Suffolk on the eve of WWII. Ralph Fiennes stars as Basil Brown, the local amateur archaeologist hired by Mrs. Pretty (Carey Mulligan) to find out what is in the barrow on her property. Both Fiennes and Mulligan deliver excellent performances. The little boy who plays Mulligan’s son is noteworthy as well. Here’s the preview:

Although the Ipswich and British Museums compete (gently) to become custodians of the treasure, the only real conflict takes place internally, as each character deals with the vicissitudes of life. This is a very British film; everyone is flawlessly polite, secrets are known but not acknowledged, and kindness prevails. We can forgive the director for modeling the onset of the war scenes on those in The King’s Speech and for being scrupulously secular. That the underlying philosophy is more Anglo-Saxon than Christian is no accident and perfectly fits the Sutton Hoo context. More a meditation on time and mortality than a treasure hunt, The Dig reminds us that life is fleeting and fragile, and we should make the most of it while we can. It’s a sad movie that emphasizes the importance of history and recognizing that we belong to an unbroken chain of human endeavor. If you think about it, the title of this post might as well refer to the whole earth as to any specially designated corner of it. Fight and compete though we must, we are all humans and will one day meet the same end. The only thing we can hope to control is what we do with the time we have.

Take heart. There are good movies/shows out there. You just have to keep looking. And if you come up short, read a book!

P.S. I put the subtitles on for The Dig — sometimes those local English accents are a little hard to process and as I get older I like to use subtitles as back-up.

*Basil Brown in The Dig.