Attempting to understand Sylvie and Bruno...

(Image via google) 

With thanks to @phantomwise and @curiouserandcuriouser. 

Thanks to some good friends, I am now busily reading my way through Carroll's Sylvie and Bruno. We are taking this a chapter at a time, and have just done the short story which was later adapted as one of the chapters, and also chapter 1. 

It also helps that several of my friends have read Sylvie and Bruno before and have been fantastic with easing me (and several other friends) into what is often considered to be an extremely difficult piece of work.

I don't claim that reading these through properly for the first time will be easy, or even that I might enjoy half of it. At the moment, I'm just aiming to understand, even in part. 

I want to know what I've been missing as a carroll reader. 

English subtitles available for 1970 Jean averty!

(Image via Vimeo)
 
Due to lockdown film screening group Church of Film have been uploading their stock to vimeo. One of these is the 1970 jean averty adaptation of Alice's adventures in Wonderland, with long elusive English subtitles.

I don't know how long this will be up for, so please enjoy while you can.

NOTE: this version features strobe lighting, please be careful! 

List of resources

Small list just for anyone who wants Carrollian things to read through in this current climate. Enjoy!

LEWIS CARROLL'S WORKS AND BIOGRAPHY

• Read Lewis Carroll's works online (List by Still-she-haunts-me-phantomwise)
• Frequently asked Questions: Lenny's Alice in Wonderland site.
• Karoline Leach's biography site
• Lewis Carroll (essay by Jenny Woolf)
• Timeline to Alice's adventures in Wonderland's creation (timeline by Karoline Leach)
• Timeline to Through the Looking-Glass's creation (essay by Matthew Demakos)

ADAPTATIONS OF THE ALICE BOOKS

My list has 30 plus, but here's a few highlights:

1972: Alice's adventures in Wonderland 

many people's favourite adaptation of the first Alice book.

• Dailymotion (Phantomwise)

1998: Alice Through the Looking Glass

Channel 4's experimental yet faithful adaptation of the second Alice book.

• Youtube (Curiouser and Curiouser) 

1985: Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass

A 4 hour 2 part musical extravaganza, adapting all of both books. Occasionally goes off book but an ideal quarantine watch as fun! 

OTHER FILM/TV

The Down the Rabbit Hole IMDB list by me features an entire list of films deemed to be Carroll-esque by film festivals, scholars, museums and reviewers. 



VICTORIAN CHILDREN'S LITERATURE


Writing on Cautionary Tales

• British library Chapbooks: article on early moral writing for children
• The Drowning boy, or obstinacy punished (early moral chapbook)
• The Strawberry Gatherers (example of a moral tale from a Christian perspective)
• The Accidents of Youth

Victorian children's literature in general:

• George MacDonald's works for children.
• Christina Rossetti's moral parodies for children.
• Pinocchio by Carlo Callodi

For other recommended books, see my recommended list.

MINI DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE PROJECT: The Way Out (2020)

A NOTE: This week's short may only be available to watch in the UK. Carrollians in other places might have to use VPNs to watch. Sorry. 

In these odd times, I've decided to do a small recommendation blog. Each week I'll recommend a short carrollian -esque short film for you to watch online.

This week, the wonderfully weird (and brand new) BBC short "The Way Out" which will appeal to all of us currently missing theatre and performance...

Short can be watched (in the UK) on BBC Iplayer until next year.



(Image via Thereviewshub)

`Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?’ `That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,’ said the Cat. `I don’t much care where—’ said Alice. `Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,’ said the Cat.

Omid Djalili, playing a mysterious red coated character known only as "the guide", stops at a neon drenched wall. Beside him, a young woman in a black/blue jacket stares. He paraphrases Carroll's Cheshire cat, as on a record player "In Dreams" by Roy Orbison spins ominously. Its going to be a long long night...

Welcome to The Way Out, a world that a nameless young woman gets lost in, purely because she is seeking a place to shelter from the weather. Its a world of great creativity, as behind every door in this rambling old building is a performance piece/song/rap. Unfortunately for the young woman, its also a world which, as the guide insists, has no exits...

I feel honored to be reviewing something just as it debuts. Filmed in a single tracking shot, The Way Out is yet another example of Carroll inspiring a piece using brand new technology. Unlike a lot of other Alice inspired tech things that use new technology, it doesn't feel invasive here. Plot wise the short owes a lot to the book/film The Night is Short, Walk on Girl, so if you liked that, I highly recommend!



(Le Gateau Chocolat in the Way Out, Image via BBCIplayer)

There is not much of a story but honestly? Who cares. The performances by various artists all suit the mood the short is trying to convey and don't interfere too much. A particular stand out is "Anchor Song" originally by Bjork, here sung by Le Gateau Chocolat. Its a beautiful moment that is also nicely understated. 

The main plaudits of this short have to go to Omid Djalili's guide, who is a character written as if he is straight out of Carroll. Refusing to give the young woman a straight answer about where she is and just what she has stumbled into. Thankfully, though it may seem ominous to begin with, the journey does end to the young woman's benefit after all. 

Blaithin Mac Gabhann's young woman does not have any speaking lines, but conveys an Alice sense of wonderment (and occasionally confusion) brilliantly. 

Overall, a lovely little Carroll inspired short that will make you smile, and a pleasant surprise in these quarantined days.