Armchair Escapism 9

FILMS

COME SEPTEMBER
Robert, the dashing American millionaire, spends every September at his coastal Italian villa but as he rolls up this time around, he is met with a nasty surprise. The  greedy caretaker has transformed Robert’s private home into a hotel. What begins as a mission to kick out the flurry of teenage girls parading through his luxury home turns into the mogul action as their chaperon. In the background, his feisty Italian love interest, Lisa Fellini, causes Robert more heartache amidst the dreamy Mediterranean riviera.

LA CHIMERA
Melancholic archaeologist Arthur, newly released from prison decides to leave England for Italy to join a group of tomb raiders. He aids his new comrades in uncovering long lost ancient burial sites to excavate the artefacts and sell them on the black market. As he begins this new dark life, Arthur reflects on his previous chapters and in particular his love that got away. La Chimera is set in 1980s Italy against a backdrop of buzzing daily life and the haunting stillness of the ancient world. It’s a vivid masterpiece starring Josh O’Connor in a role quite unlike anything he’s done before.

A WOMAN OF PARIS
Poor Marie is down on her luck, abandoned by her fiancée and penniless on the night she moves to Paris from her small town. But the city at the turn of the century brings her good fortune, good parties and good lovers. This is not a film to put on the background or half watch whilst scrolling through your phone. Charlie Chaplin’s directorial debut is an iconic silent film showcasing the talent of the early film stars and how they pull the viewer in without any dialogue at all. 

BOOKS

The Enchanted April, Elizabeth von Armin
Four separate women, living through the harsh realities of post-war England, respond to an advertisement that invites them to rent a castle in Italy for a month in April. They escape their daily drear for southern climates, beginning as strangers and soon forming a unique bond. As they uncover the beauties of the Italian Riviera and its foreign soils, the women use their current circumstances and newfound friendships to heal old wounds.

All my mothers, Joanna Glen
Eva grows up in 1980s London never quite feeling as though she belongs in her family. As a young woman, her parents’ relationship is on the brink of collapse and Eva flees to Spain in search of her true origins. She reaches Córdoba and falls immediately in love with the culture, the people and the spirit that poses such a strong contrast to her London life. During her time in her new environment, Eva connects with different women who embrace her and fulfil maternal roles that she has been so missing previously. The novel explores identity and love in all its glorious forms with the heat and passion of Córdoba bolstering these running themes.

The Life Impossible, Matt Haig
After the death of her husband and son, Grace surprisingly inherits a crumbling ruin of a house in Ibiza from an old friend. Throwing caution to the wind, she decides to move to the island where she begins to unravel the mysteries around her friend’s (Christina) premature passing. Grace learns that Christina was involved in a campaign to save Ibiza’s natural beauty from a real estate tycoon looking to capitalise on the cheap land and empty plots. Christina’s efforts came with darker forces that are revealed to Grace who must assume responsibility for her late friend’s mission and protect the island and its inhabitants from external threats.