I find even the title of this movie intriguing. It just kept popping up and I kept telling myself that I would eventually watch it. It got some notoriety but not enough for me to find where I could see it and commit to a “now” viewing.
Then the Oscars came in sight. The more I saw, the more I realized that as usual, I wasn’t missing much, and might I add, most of the viewing audience agrees with me. Oscar Night came and went and I decided to at least watch the one that won the most awards. Big Mistake!! Of course, that’s one woman’s opinion. Nomadland left me depressed and wondering why. It took me a while to process Nomadland and after processing, I still didn’t like it. Enough said. You may have liked it, I certainly did not.
Moving on. I waited a couple of days and started wondering, once again about News of the World. I jumped into the deep end of the pool. I not only rented it, I purchased it. What could go wrong with a Western starring Tom Hanks: The man who picks some unusual films (topics) and always delivers! Hanks “picker” is either better than mine or he has enough pure talent to light up any screen.
Looking at the storyline, I settled in for an uneventful evening, snacks at the ready! At the very least I would be treated to an extraordinary performance. I was not only not disappointed, I loved every minute of News of the World! The pacing of the film was perfection, the acting impeccable, the story line intriguing. The musical score by James Newton Howard was just the icing on the cake!
I’m a bit of an American History buff. News of the World is an American Western drama film co-written and directed by Paul Greengrass, and based on the 2016 novel written by Paulette Jiles. In 1870, Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd, a former Confederate soldier who served in the 3rd Texas Infantry, makes a living traveling town to town reading newspapers to local residents for ten cents per person. Following an evening of news reading, Kidd packs up and heads to his next location. He comes across an overturned wagon on the road. Looking closer, he finds the body of a hanged black freedman and a very much alive young white girl named Johanna dressed in Native American Indian dress and speaking Kiowa. He returns to his journey, Johanna in tow, and down the road they run into a Union Army patrol. He’s told to take her with the Bureau of Indian Affairs paperwork he had found, to the next settlement so she can be returned to what’s left of her family, an Aunt and Uncle. Kidd decides to deliver her.
At the outpost, Kidd is informed that the outpost’s Bureau of Indian Affairs representative won’t be back for another three months and is told that he should take her to her family.
The journey begins and because I hate to spoil the movie, you will have to watch the movie yourself to know what happens. Just know it will be worth it!
I am a true movie geek. I actually have hundreds of real DVD’s, even my own children think that’s a little weird. What I love about watching a DVD is the Bonus section after the credits run. I seem to always have a million questions about the cast, the crew, and where it was filmed. This film’s bonus clips were pure pay dirt.
Tom Hanks, is not a spring chicken anymore and that’s really okay. He has just gotten better with every film and every gray hair. What I found in the Bonus section is that Hanks did almost all the riding, climbing and other physical parts of this film himself. He and Johanna (Helena Zengal) were a real team tackling the reality of a trek across Texas. The Director said that Helena, whom he found in Berlin, Germany was the absolute best child actor he had ever known. She actually learned to speak Kiowan as well as English. She also used her native German in the film. Many of the local Indians from the Kiowa tribe were brought in to teach the cast and crew what they needed to learn and they said they had never seen someone who was not Kiowan learn the language. Many of the tribe were used in the film as well.
If you’re now saying, “what was the name of that movie?” It’s News of the World. It didn’t sweep the Oscars but it got two pages of nominations of every kind. Do yourself a favor and check it out! Let me know what you thought at carolyn@carolynhastings.com
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