Book Review: Empire Adrift

Author: Patrick Wilcken

Review: It's refreshing, in a way, to read about this period in time from a non-Portuguese or non-Brazilian perspective. And even those are rare. Mr Wilcken is writting from a neutral stand, as he neither has crippling hate for, say, the Royal Family, or blind adoration.

I especially liked the sources, particularly Lord Strangford, the oportunist sleaze-bag that he was. Others though, are the basic. Marrocos' correspondence remains a 'must read', for anything relating the transference of the Court.

That alone is one of the most staggering moments of the Napoleonic Era. The Royal Family, hundreds of courtiers, burocrats, servants, most of the Royal Library, carriages, furniture and anything else that can be thought of was just packed up and moved across the Atlantic.

The odd-balls tht composed the Royal Family must truly have been a sight for the brazilian eye. The insane queen, the Louis XVI-esque Regent Prince, the wicked 'Regent' Princess Carlota of Spain that spent half her time trying to depose her husband and the other half attempting to crown herself as Queen ot the Spanish territories in America.

The kiddies were a doozie as well. The vulgar and rebelious offspring were as weird as their parents, and some of them racked more chaos than their mother, which is a feat in itself.

The life of the court in Rio is narrated with extraordinary detail, (even if sometimes the portuguese translation was less than stellar).

What I really, really liked, though, was that at least, Mr Wilcken gave some air time to Portugal, after the Court's escape. A chapter recounts the horrific situation that resulted of the Invasions, whilst also mentioning the gruesome fates of some French soldiers that ended up captured by the vengeful portuguese peasents and guerilla fighters. Some included crucifications.

It then ends with the long-awaited return to Portugal due to an insurrection in Porto. A brief summary of the long and bloody Civil War that followed ends this wonderful book that I heartly recomend.

Movie Review: Affair of the Necklace

Staring: Hilary Swank, Jonathan Pryce, Simon Baker, Adrien Brody, Joely Richardson and Christopher Walken.

Rating: 2½ stars

Review: I’m not too sure about this one. On one hand, it was a beautifully designed movie with a great cast, but on the other it’s… How shall I put it? Ah, yes. Tacky.

Not because of the acting. The acting was good, except Hilary Swank’s, who’s clearly not comfortable in her role. The screen-play itself had some good moments, but what really annoyed me was the narration. More than half the time it was completely unnecessary, gave the movie the feeling of the documentary, and as the movie progressed, made it more and more boring to watch. We could deduce these things for ourselves. That’s what makes a movie fun to watch, allowing us the make our own thoughts about the situation. With this movie we're not given that chance.

Now the good parts: Other than a shirtless Adrien Brody, the production and the costumes were wonderful. It was indeed the costumes of the great Milena Canonero, that helped the viewer, much more than the narration, to place himself in the situation and acknowledge the evolution of the characters.

I try to avoid, when watching an historical movie, to preach about the inacuracies, but one thing really peeved me. Jeanne’s childhood was shown as very idyllic, and then destroyed, parents murdered, etc, etc. This is not only inaccurate, but also incredibly cliché.

While it’s true that she was a descendant from an illegitimate line of the Valois dinasty, her father was a drunk, her mother a servant, and the young Jeanne had to beg. In my opinion they should have kept the truth. Would have been much more realistic and given a clearer view of her motives.

But this is just my opinion.