movies

720 – Into the Forest (2015)

timespace coordinates:  the near future, British Columbia – remotely located home in an old-growth forest during a massive, continent-wide power outage that appears to be part of an overall technological collapse.

36fafb0b4ddd72d6eb6af19962d9ed78Into the Forest is a 2015 Canadian drama/ end-of-the-world thriller written and directed by Patricia Rozema starring Ellen Page and Evan Rachel Wood. The film is based on the book written by Jean Hegland published in 1996.  *scored by Max Richter.

imdb

movies

0719 – A Prayer Before Dawn (2017)

timespace coordinates:  late 2000’s Chiang Mai Prison, Klong Prem Central Prison aka “Bangkok Hilton,” Thailand.

A-Prayer-Before-Dawn-Teaser-Poster

A Prayer Before Dawn is a 2017 internationally co-produced prison-/boxing-/survival-drama film directed by Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire, from a screenplay written by Jonathan Hirschbein and Nick Saltrese, starring Joe Cole. It is based on the book A Prayer Before Dawn: My Nightmare in Thailand’s Prisons by Billy Moore.

unepriereavantlaubeaffiche

The true story of an English boxer incarcerated in one of Thailand’s most notorious prisons as he fights in Muay Thai tournaments to earn his freedom.

The inmates in the film are all played by real ex-inmates who have served time in Thai prisons.

imdb

movies

0710 – Son of a Gun (2014)

timespace coordinates: 2010’s Australia

son-of-a-gun-poster-4

Son of a Gun is a 2014 Australian crime thriller film written and directed by Julius Avery. It stars Brenton ThwaitesEwan McGregorAlicia Vikander and Jacek Koman.

son_of_a_gun_poster

When JR (Brenton Thwaites) is sent to prison for a minor crime, he becomes the apprentice to Brendan Lynch (Ewan McGregor), Australia’s public enemy number one. When JR helps Brendan break out, they go on the run and form a complex co-dependent relationship. JR quickly learns in the criminal world, life is like a game of chess. To gain control, you have to stay a few moves ahead of your opponent. Lose that control, and you risk becoming a pawn in their very dangerous game. (rottentomatoes)

34ca1679af607d3e6de2c43dccb40b7dson_of_a_gun_poster_goldposter_com_9

imdb

movies

707 – You Were Never Really Here (2017)

timespace coordinates: 2010’s New York City

You Were Never Really Here is a 2017 British-French thriller film written and directed by Lynne Ramsay, and based on the book of the same name by Jonathan Ames. The film stars Joaquin PhoenixEkaterina Samsonov, Alex Manette, John Doman, and Judith Roberts.

imdb

series

706 – Sacred Games (TV Series 2018– )

timespace coordinates: 70’s – 80’s – 90’s – 2010’s Mumbai

netflix-sacred-games-poster_1525417102640

Sacred Games is an Indian web television series by Netflix based on Vikram Chandra‘s 2006 thriller novel of the same name. The series was produced in partnership with Phantom Films. The novel was adapted by Varun Grover, Smita Singh and Vasant Nath, and all eight, hour-long episodes were directed by Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane. All eight episodes were made available for streaming on 6 July 2018.

Sacred-Games

Sacred Games tells the story of Sartaj Singh (Saif Ali Khan), a jaded police inspector living under the shadow of his deceased father and seeking validation from a police force he nevertheless loathes for its corruption. When Singh receives an anonymous tip-off regarding the whereabouts of Ganesh Gaitonde (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), a notorious crime lord who has been missing for 16 years, it initiates a chain of events that burrows deep into India’s dark underworld.

Screenshot_20190730-100041_cropped

जन्नत तोह मैं हो


The episode titles are inspired by Hindu mythology. The first episode titled “Aswatthama”, was based on the namesake character from the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata. He was cursed with immortality by Krishna after the Kurukshetra war. In the series, Gaitonde calls himself immortal like Ashwatthama, but later commits suicide. “Halahala”, another episode, was named after a poison of the same name, which was retrieved from Samudra manthan. Aatapi and Vatapi were two demons who used to trick travellers with hospitality and kill them. Brahmahatya means killing of a Brahmin, which is a crime in Hinduism. In the episode, the Hindu Gaitonde agrees to try to attract Muslim votes for Hindu politician Bhosale. Sarama is referred to as a dog. Pretakalpa learns the rites of a Hindu to perform the cremations. In this episode, Katekar is killed and Sartaj cremates him. Rudra is the angered version of Shiva. Gaitonde’s wife Subhadra is killed in this episode; he takes revenge by murdering her killers. Yayati was king cursed with premature old age.

imdb

movies

0704 – The Last Legion (2007)

timespace coordinates: ancient Rome AD 475

7b94634a51c9596650b02526683cc0e1

The Last Legion is a 2007 Anglo-Italian action adventure film directed by Doug Lefler. Produced by Dino De Laurentiis and others, it is based on a 2002 Italian novel of the same name written by Valerio Massimo Manfredi. It stars Colin Firth along with Sir Ben Kingsley and Aishwarya Rai, and premiered in Abu Dhabi on 6 April 2007.

The_Last_Legion_Custom-[cdcovers_cc]-front [1600x1200]

The film is loosely inspired by the events of 5th-century European history, notably the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. This is coupled with other facts and legends from the history of Britain and fantastic elements from the legend of King Arthur to provide a basis for the Arthurian legend.

MV5BYjQ0YmQ2OTktNGYxMi00NGM5LTk5ODQtNDg0YzAxMzk4YzQ2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjUyNDk2ODc@._V1_

historical notes

connections to Arthurian legend   imdb