Jane Eyre

The bureau chief has decided that from now on he will watch any film that Cary Fukunaga decides to make. His first film, "Sin Nombre", takes place in the dangerous and violent world of criminal gangs and illegal immigrants in contemporary Mexico. It's an excellent movie. For his second film, he decided to make something different, if you consider Jane Eyre different from Mara Salvatrucha.

It's also an excellent film. A quick glance at the IMDB indicates that the first version of Jane Eyre was made in 1910 and they've been been making versions steadily, in film and on TV, ever since. Fukunaga gets to cap off the first 100 years. Mia Wasikovska plays Jane and Michael Fassbender plays Rochester. They are very good as is the solid supporting cast of English actors. Fukunaga successfully evokes the intense passion between the leads, but also portrays the unfair treatment and cruelty of Jane's upbringing. Jane's anger at injustice and her strength are present from childhood on. Fukunaga doesn't ignore the Romantic and Gothic elements in the book or its critique of religious hypocrisy. I hadn't remembered the latter elements and started rereading the novel.

They're all in there. I last read it five or so decades ago and didn't remember it very well. One of the advantages of getting older is that you get a lot more out of works of art although you can't gobble them up at the rate you did when you were young. I accept the tradeoff. But I digress, it's a really good film so watch it on DVD or stream it and keep an eye on Cary Fukunaga.