Other Favourite Stories of 2018

Reading is my favourite pastime, but it’s not the only one. I love a good story irrespective of it being told through the written word or on a screen. If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you know that I usually mention the TV series and films that I enjoyed greatly on my monthly favourites. From the ones that I watched for the first time in 2018, I selected those which I liked the most.

 

The Shape of Water

Directed by Guillermo del Toro, this film tells the story of Elisa, a mute cleaning lady who fell in love with an amphibian creature that was being kept in a government’s laboratory in the 60’s. Sally Hawkins is fantastic in it. She completely convinced me that it was possible to fall in love with such a peculiar (and somewhat attractive) being. I was thrilled when it won the Oscar for best picture.

 

Dark – Season 1

I believe this was the first German TV series that I’ve ever watched. It is set in a fictional town where a nuclear plant is located. After the disappearance of two children, we are shown how the past and the present of four families are connected. It’s highly addictive and puzzling. I can’t wait for the next season!

Monthly Favourites – September 2018

I definitely won’t miss September, seeing that it personally was a horrendous month. As a result, I didn’t read much, having only finished two (not too big) books. I resorted to Netflix to pass the time instead and ended up watching more TV shows than usual.

My favourite book was A Amiga Genial (My Brilliant Friend) by Elena Ferrante. Elena Greco recounts her friendship with Raffaella Cerullo, who she has always called Lila. It is set in Naples and we are introduced to the harshness of the life there when they were young. I became so immersed in the characters’ lives that it felt that I was getting to know them intimately with each shared memory. It also features noteworthy reflections on class, social mobility and the importance of education.

Of the three TV series that I’ve watched in full last month, my favourite was La Casa de Papel (entitled Money Heist in English). It is a Spanish crime drama that was divided into two parts for Netflix. In total there are 22 episodes. A man, named the Professor, recruits eight people with apparently nothing to lose to carry out the biggest heist in history. Their aim is to enter the Royal Mint of Spain and print a huge amount of money for themselves. There is a huge focus on the characters. Throughout the episodes, we get to know more about their pasts and what they did during the planning of the heist. I hugely recommend this series, which both made me laugh and cry. Some of the scenes became even more hilarious because of the music chosen to accompany them. It also made me want to properly learn Spanish. I understand quite a lot of it, seeing that it is similar to Portuguese, but I can’t write it or accurately speak it.