Films and books

There’s an open summer cinema here on the island and there’s nothing better than watching a lovely film under the star lit sky surrounded by bouganvillias on a cool summer night. I had been hoping that The Bookshop directed by Isabel Coixet would reach my small corner of the world and it did.

Set in a sleepy late 1950s seaside port, book lover Florence Green (Emily Mortimer), a widow, wakes up one day after years of grief knowing what it is exactly that she wants to do with her life. She posseses integrity, courage and self-belief and her dream is to open a bookshop in a place that has never had a bookshop and most of the villagers don’t like books, except for Mr Brundish (Bill Nighy), who lives a seemingly isolated life. She finally opens her little shop in a run-down property despite fierce opposition. The story is about community politics and broader relational and societal power dynamics. Read more ..