2024: A Year in Film

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In a year when I was more often drawn to world cinema, there was at least one notable exception. Steve McQueen’s Blitz packs more action in two hours than some Hollywood blockbusters, and despite a more traditional style than expected from the auteur of Small Axe and Occupied City, it’s authentically a Londoner’s movie. Following a reluctant evacuee (Elliot Heffernan) and his conflicted mother (Saoirse Ronan), Blitz is hard-hitting and poignant, with a child’s view on war reminiscent of films like Hope and Glory, Au Revoir Les Enfants, and Empire of the Sun. Continue reading

2024: A Year in Books

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Marilyn Monroe reads Walt Whitman (Photo by John Florea)

For me, 2024 was a nebulous year when literary favourites returned but the best novels came from unexpected quarters. It was perhaps a stronger year for non-fiction, particularly when exploring the lives of creative women. Continue reading

Rosalina Neri: From ‘La Marilyn Italiana’ to Milanese Diva

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Rosalina Neri, the singer and actress known as ‘la Marilyn Italiana’ (or ‘Marilina’) has died aged 96 after a short illness. Continue reading