MARCH'18 FAVOURITES

Doug Jones as Amphibian Man and Sally Hawkins as Elisa Esposito in 'The Shape Of Water'.  Twentieth Century Fox

'The Shape Of Water' directed by Guillermo del Toro- 'Best Picture' winner, a very well acted modern fairy tale about the unusual love between 'the princess without the voice' and a 'fish'. Sounds crazy, sounds lame, but trust me- this is a great movie!
Set in the early 1960s in the USA, the story begins when Elisa, a mute cleaner of a secret government laboratory discovers an extraordinary creature kept in one of the rooms of the building and decides to make friends with him.

This film is gorgeous, the costumes, scenography, cinematography and postproduction are fantastic.
The creators of 'The Shape Of Water' found that perfect harmony between reality and a fairy tale. It could have been a tacky romance, but it is a beautiful and melancholic (sometimes too predictable) story of an exceptional love,  isolation and The Cold War.

Frances McDormand as Mildred in' Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri'.  Twentieth Century Fox

'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri' directed by Martin McDonagh- Mildred is the mother of a girl, Angela, who has been raped and murdered. The killer remains unkown, and Mildred feels that the police just aren't doing enough to find him. She rents three unused billboards just outside of her hometown, Ebbing, and with the messages on them, she provokes the local police department into action. I like how rich and powerful this movie is. We have a determined middle-aged woman, desperately seeking justice in the foreground, and then there is so much going on in the background, too. 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri' talks about family relations, abuse, addictions, illness, racism and social exclusion.

The film is wonderfully acted, with Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson and Sam Rockwell in leading roles and fantastic supporting cast. I need to mention John Hawkes as Charlie, Mildred's ex-husband, whose acting I liked'Three Billboards...' as much as I did in 'Martha Marcy May Marlene'.

I enjoy the specific humour in it, and I love that the movie isn't predictable. The only thing that bothers me is that it seems slightly theatrical at times.

Sufjan Stevens, photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tibet House US

Sufjan Stevens-I don't know if there is a more beautifully sensitive guy walking on this planet. Thanks to 'Call Me By Your Name' I fall back in love with Sufjan, a guy I used to listen to in my (very) early 20s. His voice is both velvety soft and masculine. Powerful and delicate. And there is some magic to it, too. His songs are out of this world. So is he. He is an anti-celebrity, so different from today's plastic 'reality'.
If you want to cry your eyes out while listening to some awesome music, check out his website:
https://sufjan.com/

You need to check it out.

''Parsley' album photo cover

Julia Pietrucha is a Polish actress and singer. She  released 'Parsley' in 2016. This album is emotional, so fresh, so unbelievably light that you just can not stop listening to it. 
She talks about serious stuff with a lyrical delicacy. Her soft voice and the sound of a vibrant ukulele will take you to a different world. 
All of her songs are available to listen for free on her official YouTube channel 'Julia Pietrucha'. I suggest you start off with 'We Care So Much' and "Living On The Island'. Pure magic! 

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If you are a parent, you probably had some days when all you wanted was to survive. March was an extremely difficult month for me. I had to take some time away from blogging just to deal with reality. Hence not many favourites to tell you about. Thank you, guys, for sticking by, reading my blog and checking in on me. It means the world to me! x