You know what I love about Xmas?
The Words (offical film poster, CBS films)
It’s a holiday time and I can burrow into cushions and watch my favourite films on DVD while seeping mulled wine and devouring the contents of my fridge and cupboards, the edible ones, of course.
I’ve always been in love with cinema, and when I started writing prose on a regular basis 5-6 years ago I’ve developed a passion for watching films about writers.
Yesterday, I watched a beautiful drama called The Words about one of the biggest mistakes a writer and in fact any other person can make.
So I thought I should put together a list of my favourite films about writers.
I googled it and annoying found a couple of good ones here and here.
Yet some of my favourite films didn’t make these best -of-the-best lists so I decided to put together my top 5.
Bright Star – a heart-breaking romantic story of the English poet John Keats and a tayloress Fanny Brawne breath-takingly played by Ben Whishaw and Abbie Cornish. I cried like a toddler who broke his favourite toy.
Shakespeare in Love is a 7 Oscar-winning classic starring Josef Fiennes and Gwyneth Paltrow. Can it get more romantic than that?
Moliere – what a brilliant portrayal of the king of French comedy by the ridiculously talented Romain Duris. Lively, exuberrant, humourous costume drama. You’ll laugh so hard your diaphragm might jump out of your mouth.
The Last Station is a story of final years of Lev Tolstoy’s life. He was a contraversial celebrity writer who was denied a Nobel prize, though he wrote some of the greatest books of all time – War and Peace and Anna Karenina.
Atonement – this is perhaps my favourite story by Ian McEwan and my favourtie British film in years. Its postmodernist tools to reflect the crumbling lives of the major characters only enhance the tragic realism of the story. I was gutted (figuratively speaking)
What is your top 5 list? Any other suggestions? Please share, there’re many writers are stopping by to read this blog, and I’m sure everyone would appreciate few comments in addition to just my opinion.
The biggest list of 263 films about writers by Christina Katz can be found here. Enjoy!