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Some admirable effort was put into this BBC Warner miniseries based on Charles Dicken’s “Bleak House.” I’d just read the novel and was wondering how all the complexity would translate into film and this adaptation did an excellent job of it.

Dickens gets away with rather cardboard characters because his writing is rich in underlying social and political analysis. But often the translation of these 2D characters into film makes for maudlin entertainment and doesn’t do justice to Dicken’s stories or writing. In this adaptation many creative filming devices are used to convey nuance and subtlety that add some of the deeper meanings (not necessarily portrayed by the characters) into the film. It truly captures Dicken’s juxtapositioning of the dark and deluded aspects of humanity with the potential for goodness or at least humor.

I generally don’t like schmaltzy themes but I’ll make an exception for this one.  The set and costume colors were pure fun and my eyes were very very happy through the whole film.  I also really dislike Broadway musicals but since the music in this one had an Indian twist it was slightly more bearable than usual.  This movie fit the bill for some light entertainment and served up some truly delicious eye candy.

I’ve spent the last few weeks engrossed in this fascinating biography of C.G. Jung. The author is not a Jung "devotee" and you can see her efforts to present all sides of every issue. Her vignettes give several, sometimes conflicting, views of Jung’s character and work which effected his immediate circle of family, friends and acquaintances as well as the world of psychology in numerous, often disparate ways. This is a fascinating read if you are at all interested in Jung and/or his theories.

This documentary is a clear and insightful account of a group of people in unoccupied France who reached out to help Jewish children during World War II in a remarkable act of compassion and bravery.

This story affirms the goodness and demonstrates the long lasting effects of simple acts of good will that humans can show towards each other.

Artwork and photos of the children of Chabannes