The Cider House Rules

"Goodnight, you princes of Maine, you kings of New England."

Released: December 10, 1999

Directed by: Lasse Hallström

Rating: 4 1/2 stars

Description: A boy named Homer that is raised in an orphanage in Maine, leaves to see the world and becomes an apple picker on a family's apple farm. He learns about life and love and what it means to belong in the process. It's a coming-of-age story that is based off a book by John Irving of the same name. 

Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and felt that I related to Homer in some ways. Here's a man who's never left the orphanage and was taken in by Dr. Wilbur Larch (Michael Caine) and he taught him all the things he knew about being a doctor, even though Homer wasn't actually certified. He appreciated what he learned and Dr. Larch thought of him as a son, but he didn't think that he would amount to anything else if he left, so he didn't really approve, but Homer did anyway. He wanted to find out where he belonged. He wanted to help others, but he didn't feel like he had to be a doctor to do that. In the end though, he ended up going back to help at the orphanage he had left. I think he came back because he felt like that was the right thing to do, but he had learned some lessons while he was gone that he could bring back with him to the orphanage. He never knew his real family, but he had found a family within the orphanage with Dr. Larch, the nurses and the kids who looked up to him. 

Charlize Theron gave a great performance as Candy Kendall and her in a way finding herself also. Being there for Homer, not wanting to be alone while her boyfriend was off at war and the experience she and Homer had together. I loved that it was set in the 1940s since historical, period films are some of my favorites. The scenery was so gorgeous. It was so beautifully shot and it made me want to visit the New England states that much more. They are the most beautiful during Autumn. I loved what he learned and the experiences he was able to have by leaving, but then after he had them, he came back and stayed there. It was like he just needed that time to find out who he was and where he belonged and ultimately he belonged back at the orphanage. It came full circle and it shows that even though we leave and need to find our place, in the end we always come back to where we came from. I also undeerstand where the title for the movie came from because the were rules in the Cider house that no one could read and Homer reads them. The symbolism of it all is that the rules were pretty much never followed to begin with and that life isn't necessarily all about rules. They made mistakes, they learned. Homer got to make those mistakes. Same with Candy and all the others that worked there. It was a place where mistakes and experiences happened. That's what makes life so interesting and fun and I think Homer had his "fun" so we he went back to what he knew and mayeb he will go outside of that orphanage again and help others or maybe he will just stay there with those kids. That's what is left for us to think about. 

The Zookeeper's Wife

"You can never tell who your enemies are, or who to trust. Maybe that's why I love animals so much. You look in their eyes, and you know exactly what's in their hearts. They're not like people."

Ever since I found out about this movie, I have wanted to see it and now I can finally saw that I have. I mean it's not all that old, it came out last year, but still. I love movies that are based on true stories and this was one of those. The story of Antonina and Jan Zabinski who ran a zoo in Warsaw, Poland and used the basement and areas of their zoo to hide Jews during the war. It was so inspiring, but also sad because of the content.

Jessica Chastain gave an amazing performance and she even got the Polish accent down, which I imagine was difficult. One of the things I really loved about her character was how she didn't want to leave. She didn't want her son to be moved around anytime things got dangerous. Yes they were taking a risk by staying, but they were able to help all these people because of it and I loved her determination in staying and keep people save despite the circumstances.

The Holocaust wiped about most of the population of Warsaw, Poland. Only 6 percent remained, but the Zabinski's rebuilt their zoo. All the people they saved survived. I love that there were people during the war who did what they could to save the Jews. The story of determination and heroism in a time in history that was anything but beautiful, they demonstrated beauty through their passion for animals and people and using their resources to help the ones who were suffering. It was as good as I expected it to be, if not better. It gets a 5 star rating from me. Now, I just need to read the book...

Best Picture Winners: Gentleman's Agreement

I'm back with another Best Picture Winner post. This time it's Gentleman's Agreement starring Gregory Peck. I wasn't planning on seeing this today, but it ended up being the perfect opportunity since it is Gregory Peck's birthday... 

Well this movie had a lot to offer and there's a reason why it won Best Picture in 1947. Gregory Peck plays Philip Schuyler Green, a reporter who is given an assignment to cover a story on anti-Semitism. He feels what better way to actually know what it's like to be a Jew than to pose as one, so that is just what he does.

In posing as a Jew, he encounters hate and bigotry right away. His anger at the way he's being treated causes problems in his relationship with Kathy (played by Dorothy McGuire) who is the publisher's niece and the one who suggested the story.

It causes problems because with the "Gentleman's Agreement," which is shared in polite society that the biased attitudes between Christians and Jews is a conspiracy of silence, allowing prejudice to thrive. Kathy is upset by the pretense in order to get at the truth of hypocritical treatment the Jews suffer. The fact that she comes from a Christian Connecticut family causes strain as well.

When Phil's friend Dave (played by John Garfield) comes to town and finds out about Phil posing as a Jew, he warns him that he has let him and Phil's son, Tommy, in for a quiet onslaught of prejudice.

I also really love Celeste Holm's performance as Anne Dettrey. She is so cheerful and then tells Phil how she feels there needs to be action, and how she's tired of being just saying they are tolerant, but don't actually do anything to help the problem, and by doing that it makes it worse. I just really loved seeing how we see this side of the character that wasn't expected.

I love the scene where Elaine Wales, who is the secretary, finds out that he isn't really Jewish and is in fact Christian. That he is the same person as he as always been, but she just knows this about him. He tells her that she can't understand why someone would give up the glory of being a Christian to be a Jew is anti-semitism and that it doesn't matter what the race, it's the person that matters.

That is what I love about these classic films: the fact that these types of issues are addressed and how relevant they still are now. While they were controversial for the time, they are important films to see. They address the things that most people are afraid to talk about, the actors do it with such sincerity and Gregory Peck proves that.

Well Dave ends up talking to Kathy about things and gets to her understand Phil's point of view and they make up at the end.

Gentleman's Agreement is a truly wonderful film and it lets us all know how people and love are what should matter, not what race they are.