Wigs and Candles

What happens when you create a period drama with a young, North American audience in mind? And when you add on one of the most successful Black, female producers in television to helm the show? Bridgerton, that’s what you get! 

In this episode, we bring a very special guest, our sister Adriana, a mechanical engineer in the sunny Silicon Valley in California who also happens to be a huge TV series lover. 

With her help, we discuss the influence that Shonda Rhimes had on the production of Bridgerton, the implications of “colour blind” casting, and our impressions of the show’s much-talked-about sex scenes. 

 ***Spoiler alert! While reviewing this show we go through key scenes and may reveal the ending, so be warned of spoilers!***

Sources & further readings:

“A Double Hot Take On Bridgerton, Race & Romance” - Refinery29
With ‘Bridgerton,’ Scandal Comes to Regency England - The New York Times

How many times have you seen a dark-skinned woman wearing a high-society 18th-century dress in history books? How much do you know about the lives of people of colour in the 18th century in England? (at least those who were not enslaved)

And here’s one more: how often have you seen a Black woman starring in a period film?  

With these and a few other challenging questions, we invite you to listen to our conversation about the film “Belle”. Inspired by the real-life story of Dido Elizabeth Belle, the illegitimate mixed-race daughter of an English aristocrat, this movie introduced us to a historical character we knew nothing about and surprised us immensely by the conversation it opened. Not only did we discover a little jewel in recent cinema making, but also it made us aware of the many clichès and false perspectives, we, as women of colour, are ourselves plagued with. 

A passionate discussion about the story of a woman with a tough destiny, and how present the story still is nowadays. 

 ***Spoiler alert! While reviewing this film we go through key scenes and may reveal the ending, so be warned of spoilers!***

Sources & further links:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belle_(2013_film) 

“A Stitch in Time: Dido Belle” https://youtu.be/GSDDJrlJukM 

Did you ever wonder what it must have been like for Marie Antoinette when the riots of the French Revolution started to heat up the mood in the country? Did you ever wonder what it must have been like to be in the Versaille Palace and witness the uncertainty among the royals on the verge of free-fall? What happened behind those walls? How did those days pass for those living inside?

In the film  “Les Adieux a la Reine” or “Farewell, My Queen” you get a good glimpse at this fascinating chapter of history through the eyes of a servant, giving a full new perspective to the story.

And this is the topic of our new episode: we review the movie not only focusing on the cast, the main characters, and the stunning production around it but also on how much a film and a story can be modified by the personal touches of the director.

We go into a discussion about clichés, men directing female characters, the necessity of nudity, and rumours from the past. 

***Spoiler alert! While reviewing this film we go through key scenes and may reveal the ending, so be warned of spoilers!***

Additional music

Concerto for 2 Cellos in G minor, RV 531
The Modena Chamber Orchestra

Sources & further links

Marie Antoinette, by Antonia Fraser
https://www.amazon.de/Marie-Antoinette-Journey-Antonia-Fraser/dp/038548948X 

Berlinale Press conference
https://www.berlinale.de/de/archiv/jahresarchive/2012/02_programm_2012/02_filmdatenblatt_2012_20123500.html#tab=filmStills 

Take a Jane Austen classic, a Taiwanese director, a novice screenplay-writer and some of the best actors in England from the early 1990s and voilà! You get an unforgettable film adaptation of one of the most famous love stories in British literature. 

This award-winning version of Sense & Sensibility stole our hearts many years ago and still today it makes us fall in awe of its humour, its portrayal of female characters and the quality of the production. From the award winning script, to the casting, to some of our favourite scenes, join us as we deep-dive on this classic period film. 

***Spoiler alert! While reviewing this film we go through key scenes and may reveal the ending, so be warned of spoilers!***

Sources and other links:

Production notes on the DVD 

“A kiss is a secret which takes the lips for the ear.” Pure Poetry that is! And so is the next film we review on this new episode: Cyrano de Bergerac. 

The 1990 film adaptation of this classic of French literature is one of our all-time favorites, a fast-paced story with no redundancies. 

Starring Gerard Depardieu in what became his most pivotal performance, a very young and handsome Vincent Perez, and a passionate Anne Brochet—the movie truly honours this hero of romanticism. 

While reviewing the film, we discovered one stunning performance of one invisible but yet omnipresent star, something that also played a big role in our own lives: la langue française.

To discover why, press play, relax and listen while we take you on this trip to France of the late 17th century. 

And remember: “A great nose may be an index of a great soul” :-)

***Spoiler alert! While reviewing this film we go through key scenes and may reveal the ending, so be warned of spoilers!***

Sources and other links: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrano_de_Bergerac_(1990_film)

https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/2327623-cyrano-de-bergerac

Production notes from the DVD edition

Cyrano - Movie theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgFcEWBUK_U

Additional music:
Le Bourgeois gentilhomme, by Jean-Baptiste Lully, 1670

It’s 1908. Europe is at peace. The upper-middle class is living carefree. 
Now, picture Italy, its warmth, its sunlight-bathed landscapes. 
Picture Florence and a young handsome couple. 
Picture England’s countryside with green pastures and people playing feather ball. 

You’re now immersed in the setting of a beautiful story about love, romance, society expectations, heart’s desires, and intrigues. 

You’re watching: “A room with a view”! A timeless movie with a message that still speaks to us and to our hearts, a movie that marked our identity as young girls living in a completely contrasting world yet feeling the same constraints as the characters in the story.

Join us on our first deep-dive review of this wonderful film, an absolute classic in the genre, as we go through the cast, the story, why we love it, and what we love in it. 

***Spoiler alert! While reviewing this film we go through key scenes and may reveal the ending, so be warned of spoilers!***

Why would two Latin American sisters do a podcast about period films, a genre dominated by European films? This is the departing question for this first episode as Gabriela (calling from Germany) and Andreina (connecting from Canada) explore the origins of their obsession. Join us as we reminisce about growing in Maracaibo, Venezuela—the hottest city in the country—and dreaming about far away places both in distance and time.