Your Name Film Review

My younger teenage son and I saw Your Name in Japanese with subtitles just before Christmas. At the end of the screening, we were both left with the feeling that here was a film that we wanted to see again - and again. Your Name is already a massive Japanese box office hit. This film transcends international borders - something many films find difficult. Although  it was not nominated for 2017, Your Name deserves an Oscar and every international film award going in my view. It's outstanding.

Adjusting to your new body as a teenager is tough. It's even harder if you find yourself changing gender, your normal environment and time. Body transfer is a familiar subject to Hollywood. Your Name is a Japanese animation that explores the theme of teenage awkwardness and embarrassment with affectionate humour. 

Your Name is a well-rounded story. The age-old body transfer fantasy is refreshed with numerous other story threads. It shows the small town girl in the big city; the big town boy in the country. It demonstrates the value of teenage friendships. It explores differences and tensions between the generations. It contrasts modern technological Japan with its ancient traditions and beliefs. It shows parental loss and estrangement. There is time travel - albeit just three years' difference. The early humour of the younger sister exasperated with her elder sister Mitsuha suddenly transforms the story into a drama with a race against time and authority. Taki discovers both sisters' names on the list of deceased for the future comet strike. And at the end, we discover that we were watching a romance all along.

Mobile phones are an integral part of the plot. As the two main protagonists adjust to their random body transfers, they leave each other notes on their respective mobiles. They 'interfere' in each others' lives. Taki helps Mitsuha at school; Mitsuha sets Taki up with a date with his crush. Much of the film's humour is conveyed by the mobile phones. Laughter rippled around the cinema in waves. There was a time-delay between those who understood the Japanese and those who were reading the subtitles. I sometimes looked in the wrong place for the mobile translations and missed some elements. I would very much like to see the English version of the film to fully appreciate all the humour.

The animation is so outstanding that you forget that you are watching an animated film. It is as if a cameraman is at work with different angles. The animation of Tokyo, the country landscape, natural disaster, the light and the changing sky are breathtaking in their detail. Your Name is undoubtedly the work of a master craftsman.

After watching the film I became more aware of the international response. Your Name became the highest-grossing Japanese film in China in December 2016. Given the long-standing tensions between Japan and China, any art form that brings the young people of different nations to a closer understanding deserves international recognition as well as box office success. In our own household, it is not often that both mother and son give a film the same equally high rating.

The Three Musketeers

Un pour tous, tous pour un ! One for all and all for one!

Dome of the Palais des Sports, Paris

The refrain from Les Trois Mousquetaires or The Three Musketeers is as familiar in English as in French. The historical adventure story by Alexandre Dumas remains popular to this day. It has seen countless film productions. 

I welcomed the opportunity to see the latest musical production in French at the Palais des Sports in Paris.

The role of D’Artagnan was played by the decidedly dishy French-Canadian Olivier Dion. However, as befits the famous togetherness motto, he was not the only star in the show. All the leading roles showed star quality. The show plays to the strengths of each cast member. The songs are catchy. Voices are strong. The staging is stunning. The choreography and dancing are superb.

The young, hot-headed D’Artagnan heads for Paris to seek his fortune. His long journey is portrayed in an unsophisticated way. It provides an amusing contrast of his regional origins with the capital ahead and the otherwise highly modern production. Barely has D’Artagnan arrived than he finds himself called to duels by all 3 of the famed musketeers. We know the story in advance. Yet, the pace and acting still deliver the humour as if totally fresh to the audience.

The '4' Musketeers poster on the roof of the Palais des Sports

The production provides each star with a chance to shine. It is difficult to select all my favourite moments without spoiling all the surprises. Nonetheless, some moments stand out in my memory weeks later. The production of the evil Milady’s main scene is outstanding. The technology and fire combine to convey a very hot, menacing scene. Her cunning pursuit of the musketeers is as portrayed with simplicity and pace.

Although we know the story in advance, the actors keep us guessing until the last minute. Will the diamond necklace be returned from England in time? We still half expect another twist in the plot, as Richelieu waits ready to pounce on a hapless queen. Victoria enters the stage. She owns the stage as the triumphant, dazzling Queen of France. Her dress shimmers, her crown catches the light and the troublesome diamonds sparkle victory at her throat.

As the story is so familiar, it might even be possible to enjoy the production even if you don’t speak French. Les 3 Mousquetaires is a must-see spectacle. The whole cast received a lengthy and well-deserved standing ovation.

Les 3 Mousquetaires remains in Paris until 8th January 2017. It will then go on tour around France in 2017 – starting in Rouen in early February and currently finishing in Nice in July. I’m sorely tempted to see it again. 

This spectacle impresses and uplifts. A treat to celebrate a special occasion. With the right backing and a professional English translation for the script and lyrics, I believe that this musicial theatre production has potential for a successful international transfer. West End and Broadway next stops?

Showcase video:

Karen Andrews is a freelance French to English translator/transcreator, content writer and editor. She has a strong background in marketing and project management.

Email Karen for further information via karenanglicityen@gmail.com in French, German or English

From Art to Muck

There was a big pile of something in the middle of the path on arrival. My week began on a high with art at the Royal Academy. Now, it was back to basics with muck. Not that Panamanian stuff in the news, but real, honest-to-goodness muck. Every gardener knows that you have to deal with the muck first. A good mulch keeps nasty weeds from taking over. You will regret any early season shortcuts. They come back to haunt you like Miss Willmott's Ghost. 

Where was I? I was at the Chelsea Physic Garden for the first in its new season of Thursday Supper Talks. No room for delicacy here... it was about excrement, manure, dung, poo, sh**. So I went from the wow factor of Monet's painted water lilies to The eXcrement Factor inside a week. 

Dr George McGavin's opening slide 

Dr George McGavin's talk was one of the most entertaining and informative that I have ever attended. This Scottish naturalist and broadcaster captivated the audience with his presentation on dung and its history. At first sight, this is hardly the most appealing subject. (See pile above in opening slide). "Birds do it, bees do it, even educated fleas do it". Dr McGavin managed to entertain and get serious ecological points across without being gross about his subject matter.

What was his recipe? I find myself not wishing to give away all his secrets. This is simply a presentation that you must see and hear for yourself. I shall just share a few snippets.

Facts and Figures
Scientists like facts and figures. Dr McGavin gave us a flurry of fascinating facts and figures. Real scientists aren't happy with someone else's figures. They like to prove the accuracy of the figures for themselves. If the daily human output is said to be 250 grams, then a real scientist will prove it for himself. He will take two weeks working out a figure of 249.999..... The "untested" vegan figure is 300 grams apparently. The figures for all the dung in the world are staggering. And the human population is growing...

Bazalgette who?
Londoners owe Sir Joseph Bazalgette a massive debt. Most of today's London residents have probably never even heard of him. The Great Stink hit the Houses of Parliament in 1858. Bazalgette was the English civil engineer responsible for London's sewer network. He designed it for a population of 2 million. London's population is over 8 million today. The current situation sounds unsustainable and long overdue a revisit. 

What's important?
The world's ecology is now in such a state that we cannot possibly prevent all its species from dying out. We must choose. The cuddliest or best-looking animals are not necessarily the most important to the world. The Ancient Egyptians revered the scarab beetle. We need to revere bacteria first and earthworms second. Our over-reliance on antibiotics kills good bacteria in the gut. We are storing up enormous health problems for ourselves in the future. We heard about the benefits of FMT (Faecal Microbiota Transplant) for the unhealthy gut.

Dr McGavin doubted that the world would ever reach a predicted population figure of 20 billion. They will be too many wars over food, land and water. Homes and toilets need to be redesigned to use grey water not drinking water. Toilet humour can't hide the fact that urgent action is needed.

I'm now looking forward to future talks on this year's theme of captivating scents at the Chelsea Physic Garden. The beds looked well-mulched for a sweet-smelling summer. 
  

Magnolia flowers against a well-mulched flower bed

Healthy green lawn at the Chelsea Physic Garden

Karen Andrews runs
Anglicity Ltd. She is a 

French to English
translator and 
transcreator.  She is

also an English 
copywriter and

multilingual digital 
marketer.

She loves gardening

and visiting gardens.

For further information see
Anglicity's website

A Taste of Frisian

Friesland's flag with its lily pad symbols

The humour continued in the Dutch Embassy’s language and culture taster class. Dutch was followed by Frisian. It is the second official language of the Netherlands. It is spoken in Friesland in the northern part of the country. Old Frisian is the closest language to Old English.

Duco

Dr Doekele van Oostrum introduced the Europe House audience to his native tongue. Frisian is a language that he only generally gets to speak with his family. This presentation was the first that he had ever carried out bearing his birth name of Doekele. In order to survive in the Dutch-speaking world, his parents had advised a switch to “Duco”. Little did they realise that the Dutch have a tendency to call their dogs “Duco”.

Duco is not a language teacher. Instead he teaches American English literature at the University of Sheffield. He relished the chance to explain his native culture to us. He interspersed his tales with snippets of the Frisian language.

Culture and Flag

Frisian is not just another of the Dutch dialects. Friesland has a strong cultural history. It has its own flag (above). Its seven symbols, commonly mistaken for hearts, represent lily pads.

History and Legend

There is no getting away from the fact that Duco’s ancestors were a violent, bloodthirsty people. The Frisian Pagans fought ferociously to keep their independence from both government and religion.

Today’s Frisians are fiercely proud of defeating the Romans in AD28. They scared the Romans off for good. They never came back. Everyone knows their Tacitus.

The Frisians brutally killed anyone who got too close to them. St Boniface was killed by the Frisians. Even dragons daren’t venture near Friesland according to legend.

The most important figure in Frisian history is Grutte Pier (Big Peter). He was a pirate by the name of Piers Gerlof Donia (1480-1520). His long sword can be found in the Frisian cultural museum.

Status and PR

Duco attributed the official status of the Frisian language to good PR. Friesland boasts the oldest Dutch University dating back to 1581. The language is taught in primary school. It can even be found in Google Translate – although as a linguist it is hard to know whether to congratulate or commiserate with the Frisians on this point.

Twitter shot of Duco presenting Frisian Cultural Heritage

Language and Heritage

Friesland has its own radio and TV stations. There are dual language signs in Frisian cities. 

Ûs Mem

When the British think of Frisians, we think of Frisian cows first of all. It was therefore a surprise that the second most famous figure was a statue of a cow. Frisians traditionally refer to her as “Our Mother” (Ûs Mem).

Sport and Singing

Sport is an important part of Frisian culture. A gruelling 220km ice skating race is a revered tradition - though a rare event. It depends on the icy conditions. There was a massive gap between 1963 and 1985. In one famous race out of 1600 starters only 100 finished. Duco likened the Dutch ability to watch such skating races endlessly to the British ability to watch cricket.

Other Famous Frisians

Many renowned Frisians were skaters – including one world champion, a housewife and mother, who defeated a field of much younger women.

We all knew at least one Frisian – the famous spy Mata Hari from Leeuwarden.

We also heard about hand tennis matches and boat races with low keels. Heerenveen football matches are great occasions at which to speak and sing only in Frisian. Duco played us some Frisian songs. He pointed out how much easier it would be for us to speak than Dutch.

Frisian Sayings and Song

Duco likened the character of the Frisians to Brits from Yorkshire. They are pragmatists and prone to understatement. We learnt some great Frisian sayings including:

Foar de kofje net eamelje – don’t whine before coffee

Duco ended by playing a song to illustrate the beauty of his native language. Hallelujah is sung by Nynke Laverman: