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Book and Movie Reviews

Learning from Art: Expat Books and Movies

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I've been posting reviews of books and movies with an expat theme every month for the past six months or so, and I really enjoy this feature of the Future Expats Forum. It forces me to think about books and films in a new way, and to exercise all those writing skills I learned as an English Lit major back in the dark ages when I attended college. I intend to offer one book and one movie review monthly throughout 2010 as well. I still have some favorites to discuss, and I've been making a list …

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The Holiday: Expat Movie Review

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Well, it’s not exactly an expat movie, although various characters do travel to and stay in other countries. But it’s a sweet Christmas-time romantic comedy, so I thought it worthy of a review at this sentimental time of year. It also features an unusual character – the Home Exchange website, a great place to arrange for low-cost living arrangements in another country. The film was written and Directed by Nancy Meyers, and stars Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jack Black and Jude Law. It's about …

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Death In The Andamans: Expat Book Review

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Death in the Andamans by MM Kaye takes place over Christmas in the late 1930s. Copper Randal’s school chum Valerie has invited Copper (christened Caroline Olivia Phoebe Elizabeth) to stay with her in the tropics. Valerie’s stepfather, Sir Lionel Masson, is the Chief Commissioner of the Andaman Islands, a group of islands governed by the British in the Bay of Bengal. Copper has spent the previous two years working in drab London: “… at about the time that Valerie was setting sail for the …

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Expat Films: Across the Universe

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At its most basic, Across the Universe (2007) is a coming-of-age love story. Young man from Liverpool, England, takes a job on a trans-Atlantic ship, then disappears into the US on arrival. Boy meets girl, they fall in love, find obstacles in their path, are temporarily separated and ultimately reunited. All set to music of the Beatles. I have to admit up-front that I am an avid Beatles fan. I was in the 6th grade when the Fab Four made their first American tour, so I spent some of my most …

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A Town Like Alice: Expat Book Review

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A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute is multi-layered expat novel, which was made into a TV mini-series in 1981. It has been one of my favorites for a long time, not only because of the expat themes, but because it also features a strong female protagonist who overcomes some truly daunting obstacles. Author Nevil Shute is interesting in his own right. A prolific author, with over 20 novels to his credit, Nevil Shute Norway was by profession an aeronautic engineer and pilot. Shute became an expat …

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Expat Films: Victor Victoria

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Victor Victoria, starring Julie Andrews, Robert Preston and James Garner, was released in 1982. It's hard to believe this film is nearly 30 years old. All the main characters are expats in Paris during the difficult years following the great stock market crash of 1929 in the US. Victoria Grant (Julie Andrews) is an out-of-work English soprano in Paris in 1934. Abandoned by her husband, left jobless when the director of the Bath Touring Light Opera Company absconded with the company's funds, she …

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