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Posts Tagged ‘Woolfian films’

Aug. 31 Woolf Salon discusses Night and Day, novel & film

Posted in events, Night and Day, tagged , , on Thursday 30 July 2026| 2 Comments »

The film Night and Day based on Virginia Woolf’s 1919 novel, is out in the UK, but not in the US. In anticipation of its release, the Woolf Salon invites you to three salons running from July through September that will feature the novel. The first, Woolf Salon #34, is tomorrow, Friday, August. 31.

Despite being described by Leonard Woolf as “very melancholy” and panned by Katherine Mansfield, Night and Day is a hilarious, emotionally intense, and philosophically rich novel that rewards attention.

I never thought of Night and Day as a comedy until I saw the film at the 35th Annual International Conference on Virginia Woolf: Woolf and Sound, held in June in Istanbul, Turkey. Now I am re-reading it, and I find myself noting the humor to which I had been blind before.

Whether you are new to the delights of Night and Day, haven’t revisited it for many years, or are as currently obsessed with it as some conspirators, the Woolf Salon invites you to join the group for an energetic conversation about the ups and downs of Katharine Hilbery and her friends.

The Night and Day Salon series

  • Woolf Salon No. 34
    When: Friday, July 31
    What to read: Night and Day chapters 1-11
  • Woolf Salon No. 35
    When: Friday, Sept. 11
    What to read: Night and Day chapters 12-23
  • Woolf Salon No. 36
    When: Friday, Oct. 16
    What to read: Night and Day chapters 24-34

Times for all three

All three of these Salon events will run for two hours, starting at 2 p.m. EDT (New York) / 11 a.m. PDT (Los Angeles) / 3 p.m. (Brasilia) / 7 p.m. BST (London) / 8 p.m. CEST (Paris) / 9 p.m. (Istanbul) / 3 a.m. JST Sat (Tokyo) / 4 a.m. Sat AEST (Sydney).

How to participate

Anyone can join the group. Just contact woolfsalonproject@gmail.com to sign up for the email list and receive the Zoom link.

Background on the Salon

The Salon Conspirators — Ben Hagen, Shilo McGiff, Amy Smith, and Drew Shannon — began the Woolf Salon Project in July 2020 to provide opportunities for conversation and conviviality among Woolf-interested scholars, students, and common readers during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Cast announced for Vita and Virginia film

Posted in films, Virginia Woolf, Vita and Virginia, Vita Sackville-West, tagged , , , , , on Thursday 9 February 2017| 6 Comments »

Actors have been chosen for the roles of Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West for the upcoming film Vita and Virginia, according to The Guardian.

The part of Woolf will be played by French actress, Eva Green, and the role of Seckville-West will be played by English actress, Gemma Arterton.

Both Green and Arterton have appeared in several major motion pictures, and both have experience playing “Bond Girls” in James Bond films.

Actress Eva Green will play Woolf (image via Pinterest).

Eva Green has appeared in many films including Dark Shadows, 300, and recently, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.

Actress Gemma Arterton will play Sackville-West (image via BBC).

Gemma Arterton has also appeared in many films including Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Byzantium, and Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters.

Harper’s Bazaar has created side-by-side images of the actresses and of their subjects for a visual analysis:

Green and Woolf (image via Harper’s Bazaar).

Arterton and Sackville-West (image via Harper’s Bazaar).

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Tree of Life: Sublime? Cheesy? Woolfian? All of the above?

Posted in films, tagged , on Monday 11 July 2011| Leave a Comment »

how many moments like this are buds on the tree of life. Flowers of darkness they are, she thought.   – Mrs. Dalloway 29

Word on the street — or should I say, word on the list — is that The Tree of Life is a must-see for Virginia Woolf fans.

Common readers Mark Scott and Melanie White recently saw the film, which was written and directed by Terrence Malick. Afterward, White emailed the VW Listserv with this advice: “see it, if you’re in the mood for a long, slow, beautiful film.”

She said she and Scott both thought the film was very “`Woolfian’ in that it’s storytelling focused on feelings, told in a series of vignettes of small moments — moments of being.”

White — and critics — praise the film for its gorgeous imagery, its lack of traditional, linear narrative structure and its fluid use of time, Woolfian traits to be sure. But in general, the reviews are mixed.

The Guardian reviewer said it took him more than one viewing to understand particular sections of the film, and he complained that the film was both sublime and “shockingly cheesy.”

NPR described the film as “astonishing in some spots, almost incoherent in others” with “the throb of poetry in every frame.”

And Joanna Connors, wrote in Sunday’s Plain Dealer that one must translate the eloquent words used by film reviewers in order to understand why a large percentage of average moviegoers hate this film and why a substantial portion of the audience booed it at the screening.

For example, what NPR means by calling the film poetic is: “I don’t have a clue what the movie is trying to say, so please don’t email me to ask. It’s poetry, OK? It’s supposed to confuse you,” according to Connors.

Of course the film won the most prestigious prize at the Cannes Film Festival in May, and Brad Pitt, as the male lead, is universally praised for his work in the role.

If I can find Tree of Life playing at a theater near me, I will take White’s advice and see it. If you already have, post your thoughts in the comments section below. Meanwhile, watch the trailer.

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