Saturday Review - The Farewell, Quichotte, Antony Gormley, Reasons to Stay Alive, Nomad: In The Footsteps of Bruce Chatwin
Lulu Wang's personal film The Farewell stars rapper Awkwafina in its lead role as a granddaughter not sure whether she should collude with a lie about her grandmother's health. Shot mostly in Mandarin Chinese, it's been a huge success at the US box office.
Quichotte is Salman Rushdie's latest, Booker-shortlisted novel, a satire on contemporary life and politics. Does its Don Quixote-style plot take the reader with it on its wild ride?
Antony Gormley's solo exhibition at the Royal Academy has involved flooding a room in the gallery and filling another with his trademark cast iron figures hanging in different directions from the ceiling, walls and floors.
Reasons to Stay Alive at the Sheffield Crucible Studio is based on Matt Haig's enormously successful book of the same name and explores the nature and impact of depression on those who have it and those around them, using choreography and creative staging.
Nomad: In The Footsteps of Bruce Chatwin is a new film by Werner Herzog. His friend, the traveller and writer Bruce Chatwin, died in 1989 but left him his backpack. Taking it with him he travels the world and considers his relationship with Chatwin.
This week's reviewers are Meg Rosoff, Bidisha and Patrick Gale. Presented by Tom Sutcliffe.
Podcast extra recommendations:
Meg suggests wandering elsewhere at the Royal Academy to see the Félix Vallotton and Helene Schjerfbeck exhibitions: https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibitions-and-events and Wilding by Isabella Tree Bidisha: Awkwafina on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqDpVfc2_sYFrdGZ8yhRk4Q Patrick: Better Than Us on Netflix Tom: Undone on Amazon Prime
Published on Saturday, 21st September 2019.
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