The idiot box sometimes lets loose good movies. For a change it was an adaptation of a Pulitzer Prize winning novel by E. Annie Proulx. (Which I did not know until Google mother said so). “The shipping news” was published in 1993 and the movie subsequently released in 2001. Though I have not read the novel yet, the movie itself was very touching. A firm believer that movies do not do justice to books, I shall post a review on the book sometime in the future.

Starring Kevin Spacey as Quoyle who works as an ink-setter in a newspaper company. Living a very mediocre and quiet life, everything changes the second he meets Petal (Cate Blanchette). After a steamy session at Quoyle’s house, He falls in love with Petal and gets married to her. A few scenes later it is obvious that Petal is a maliciously cruel and selfish woman who married Quoyle for the sex. After giving birth to Bunny, she neglects her husband & daughter and does the routine get-laid-by-unknown guy.

One fine day, Quoyle receives news about his parent’s demise and attends their funeral. In between, Petal packs her bag, takes bunny along and leaves with her lover-guy. A devastated Quoyle is visited by his aunt Agnis (Judi Dench). Later on he finds out that Petal sold their daughter to a ‘black market adoption agency’ and drowned when her car went over the railing on the bridge. Merciful killing.

The rest of the movie is all about how Quoyle, Bunny and his aunt return to Newfoundland, his ancestor’s place. The new life as a reporter, his fear of water, grief over Petal, new love life with Wavey (Julian Moore), and his darkest ancestral secrets pave the way for his new meaning to life.

This is a warm movie, which has much to show. I am sure the novel will reveal more to the bookworm. Next stop, Crosswords…

This picture was envisaged in a moment of spontenaity in Warsaw whilst Dorota was sleeping, I percieved a skaven waving its petulant banner over a burning castle, unfortunately the rest of the image was crap and I never got round to doing it.