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| | | One Tree Hill at 20: the noughties teen drama that is actually worth revisiting | | by Zoya Patel Jan 3, 2023 | | While the characters in The OC hung out on yachts and went clubbing, One Tree Hill told the stories of believable teens and their small-town lives When I was a teenager, my strict parents vetoed virtually every teen drama that was on television. Gilmore Girls? Loose morals. The OC? Those kids were out of control. Sabrina the Teenage Witch? Blasphemy. Somehow, One Tree Hill slipped through the cracks. I think maybe the set-up of two brothers vying for their demanding father’s attention by striving for excellence (albeit in sports and not academics) appealed to my folks’ mindset. More likely it was on at a time that they weren’t home. Either way, I became an addict, and eventually owned the first five seasons – the only good ones – on DVD. Times move on; I eventually sold the DVDs and largely forgot about Tree Hill High (though I cherished the memories of Chad Michael Murray’s abs). Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Continue reading... | | | | | Fanny and Alexander: revisiting the haunting (and very, very long) Scandinavian classic | | by Rosalind Moran Jan 3, 2023 | | This immensely personal and artistic Oscar-winning epic by Ingmar Bergman continues to surprise, challenge, and delight. Here’s why you should watch it The Swedish period drama Fanny and Alexander opens with a shot of a puppet theatre on which are inscribed the words Ei blot til lyst – “not solely for pleasure”. This motto sets the tone for the unconventional and often unnerving tale that follows: despite the 1982 film revolving substantially around Christmas festivities, it is no Hallmark holiday bauble. Rather, from that first meticulous frame to its last, director Ingmar Bergman seeks to convey a complex and often confronting story about grief, autonomy, and navigating the acts of one’s life. Originally conceived as its director’s swan song, Fanny and Alexander tells of the large and loving Ekdahl family whose world is thrown off kilter when the father of the titular children dies, and their mother remarries. Much of the ensuing story is told through the eyes of Alexander (Bertil Guve), who struggles against his new stepfather – a pious and controlling bishop, played by Jan Malmsjö – and with his own terrors and visions. The real and the fantastic blur, the film combining the magic and the horror of classic fairytales as Alexander confronts his ghosts, while his mother Emilie (Ewa Fröling) attempts to free herself from a tyrannical husband. Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Continue reading... | | | | | |
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