1678 – The Accountant of Auschwitz (2018 documentary)

The Accountant of Auschwitz is a Canadian documentary film, produced by Ricki Gurwitz and Ric Esther Bienstock and directed by Matthew Shoychet. The film centres on lawyer Thomas Walther‘s prosecution in the 2010s of former Schutzstaffel agent Oskar Gröning, focusing in part on the ethical debate around whether there’s any useful purpose to be served in prosecuting an elderly man for crimes he committed 60 years earlier. (wiki)

Gröning decided to make his activities at Auschwitz public after learning about Holocaust denial. He openly criticised those who denied the events that he had witnessed and the ideology to which he had subscribed. Gröning was notable as a German willing to make public statements about his experience as an SS soldier, which were self-incriminating and which exposed his life to public scrutiny.

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1677 – The Reader (2008)

timespace coordinates: Berlin, 1995 >> Neustadt West Germany, 1958

The Reader is a 2008 romantic drama film directed by Stephen Daldry and written by David Hare, based on the 1995 German (partly autobiographical) novel of the same name by Bernhard Schlink. It stars Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes, and David Kross. It was the last film for producers Anthony Minghella and Sydney Pollack, both of whom died prior to its release.

The film tells the story of Michael Berg, a German lawyer who, as a 15-year-old in 1958, has an affair with an older woman, Hanna Schmitz. She disappears only to resurface years later as one of the defendants in a war crimes trial stemming from her actions as a guard at a Nazi concentration camp.  (wiki)

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1670 – The Last of Us Part II (2020 video game)

timespace coordinates: 2030’s  Jackson, Wyoming, Seattle, Washington, Santa Barbara, California

The Last of Us Part II is a 2020 action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 4. Set five years after The Last of Us (2013), the player controls two characters in a post-apocalyptic United States whose lives intertwine: Ellie, who sets out for revenge after suffering a tragedy, and Abby, a soldier who becomes involved in a conflict with a cult. The game is played from the third-person perspective. The player can use firearms, improvised weapons, and stealth to fight human enemies and cannibalistic creatures.

Neil Druckmann returned as creative director, co-writing the story with Halley Gross. The game’s themes of revenge and retribution were inspired by Druckmann’s experiences growing up in Israel. Ashley Johnson reprises her role as Ellie, while Laura Bailey was cast as Abby. Their performances included the simultaneous recording of motion and voice. (wiki)

THE LAST OF US 2 Walkthrough

THE LAST OF US 2 No Commentary 

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Wyoming Museum of Science and History

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Seattle Aquarium

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1648 – The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)

timespace coordinates: 1899, alternate Victorian Age world

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is a 2003 dieselpunk superhero film loosely based on the first volume of the comic book series of the same name by Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill, directed by Stephen Norrington. It was the final live-action acting role for Connery before his retirement in 2006 and death in 2020.

As with the comic book source material, the film features prominent pastiche and crossover themes set in the late 19th century. It features an assortment of fictional literary characters appropriate to the period who act as Victorian era superheroes. (wiki)

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1637 – Jack the Giant Slayer (2013)

timespace coordinates: South West England in the Middle Ages

Jack the Giant Slayer is a 2013 American fantasy adventure film directed and co-produced by Bryan Singer. The film, based on the British fairy tales “Jack the Giant Killer” and “Jack and the Beanstalk“, stars Nicholas Hoult, Eleanor Tomlinson, Stanley Tucci, Ian McShane, Bill Nighy, and Ewan McGregor.  (wiki)

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1623 – Raised by Wolves (TV Series 2020-)

timespace coordinates: 22nd century. two androids — Father and Mother — are tasked with raising human children on Kepler-22b after the Earth was destroyed by a great war.

Raised by Wolves is an American science fiction drama television series created by Aaron Guzikowski that premiered on HBO Max on September 3, 2020. The first two episodes were directed by Ridley Scott, who also serves as an executive producer for the show. In September 2020, the series was renewed for a second season. (wiki)

Scott responded to a question about the link between Alien and Raised By Wolves during a Reddit Ask Me Anything: “Interesting question but, no, the first Alien story feels like it may be some time before Raised By Wolves, in that the Nostromo was probably financed by an organized global economy. Wolves is about post-global war chaos.” (newsweek)

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1600 – Alone in Berlin (2016)

timespace coordinates:  World War II-era Berlin (September 1940 – April 1943)

Alone in Berlin is a 2016 war drama film directed by Vincent Pérez, based on the 1947 non-fiction book Every Man Dies Alone by Hans Fallada. The novel’s characters Otto and Anna Quangel are based on Otto and Elise Hampel.

When their son dies in France, the couple start writing postcards to urge people to protest against Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime. The film stars Emma Thompson, Brendan Gleeson, Daniel Brühl, and Mikael Persbrandt.

 The Irish Times wrote: “the film offers a fascinating and timely blueprint for political dissent, a methodology that connects with pamphleteering, graffiti, and memes.” (wiki)

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