Love, Betrayal and Dante’s Judgement in The English Patient

“You can’t save someone from themselves”, says the Brazilian poet Paulo Coelho. And yet, the more we love someone, the less we seem to be able to resist the urge to try. Coelho’s aphorism could very well be the preface to Anthony Minghella’s movie The English Patient from 1996, based on Michael Ondaatje’s homonymous novel. The movie actually tells 2 storylines, who become interlaced by … Continue reading Love, Betrayal and Dante’s Judgement in The English Patient

Struggling Between Order and Chaos: Beth Harmon’s 7 Moves in “The Queen’s Gambit”

The success of Allan Scott’s Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit has been a surprise in many aspects. It took the Scottish TV-producer 30 years and 9 rewrites to finally find a company willing to produce the show. The most frequent reason given when studios rejected the project, was that “nobody would be interested in chess.” Before The Queen’s Gambit came out on Netflix, nobody could … Continue reading Struggling Between Order and Chaos: Beth Harmon’s 7 Moves in “The Queen’s Gambit”

Ego, Love and the Self in Lisa Joy’s Reminiscence (2021)

While science fiction often offers a detached look on mostly sociocultural or historical aspects of human civilization, near-future-scenarios like the Cyberpunk-genre seem to have a natural affinity to focus on existential aspects of the human condition. Lisa Joy’s Reminiscence is a romantic thriller set in just such a near future neo-noir scenario. It is very closely related to the Cyberpunk-genre, but offers an original atmosphere … Continue reading Ego, Love and the Self in Lisa Joy’s Reminiscence (2021)

The burning hand in Dune’s “Gom Jabbar”- and in Fight Club’s “Chemical Burn”-scene

The Gom Jabbar scene from Dune and the Chemical Burn scene from Fight Club share strong structural similarities. The most general similarity between these two scenes is that both Paul Atreides and the narrator from Fight Club (“Jack”) are being tested. They are being tested to suffer pain in their right hand. This similarity is what raises my interest to compare these two scenes and … Continue reading The burning hand in Dune’s “Gom Jabbar”- and in Fight Club’s “Chemical Burn”-scene