Tea at Trianon: All the Light We Cannot See (2023)

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Saturday, November 11, 2023

All the Light We Cannot See (2023)

I thought the film was wonderful and even if not identical to the book, certainly captured the essence. It is for general audiences except for very small children due to the violence of the war. I disagree with the bad reviews and am glad I watched it for myself before reading them. From Jocelyn Soriano:

I can’t help but relate to the movie when it comes to the time we’re living in. War may not exist yet where we are, but it doesn’t seem so far away. And we’re already living at a time of great spiritual struggle where there is a fierce battle between good and evil. Amidst all such darkness, let us not lose hope. The light we see around us may be growing dim, but that doesn’t mean it cannot be found.

“…the light you get from a piece of coal is actually sunlight. The point is… light lasts forever. For a billion years inside a piece of coal. But darkness… Darkness lasts not even for one second when you turn on the light.” – Marie, All the Light We Cannot See (Read more.)

For differences between the book and film, HERE.