films – Page 26 – Ripple Effects

Canadian Content at the Oscars

Ellen Page

Sarah Polley

Update Feb. 25: Diablo Cody won the Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars last night. To read my Oscar Results post, click here.

Update Feb. 23: Juno just won the Best Feature trophy at the Independent Spirit Awards in Santa Monica today. Ellen Page won the Best Actress Award and Diablo Cody won the Best First Screenplay Award. To read my Independent Spirit Awards post, click here.

I’m glad to see some significant Canadian representation in this year’s Oscars Nominations:

Toronto’s Sarah Polley, the now 29 year-old director of Away From Her, getting the nod for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Ellen Page, the 20 year-old Juno star from Halifax, Nova Scotia, for Best Actress.
Jason Reitman, Montreal-born director of Juno for Best Director.
The film Juno, directed by a Canadian, starring two young Canadians Ellen Page and Michael Cera, and filmed in B.C. getting a Best Motion Picture nomination. (Even though it isn’t classified as a Canadian film due to its American producer Fox Searchlight)
Of course, others like directors David Cronenberg (Eastern Promises) and Paul Haggis (In The Valley of Elah) both have Canadian roots.

To read my review of Juno and Away From Her, just click on the movie title. (Update: To read my review on Ellen Page’s new movie Smart People ( 2008 ), click on the title.)

Also, while some call 2007 “Oscar’s Year of the Man”, it is all the more exhilarating to see the two young Canadian females Ellen Page and Sarah Polley acknowledged in a very male-dominated industry in the U.S.

Who cares what country they’re from, you may ask. Well, I do, because I once had to correct someone who strongly believed that Michael Ondaatje, the writer of The English Patient (1996), was an American author. And for that matter, just for clarification, Sarah Polley’s screenplay of Away from Her is adapted from Canadian writer Alice Munro’s short story “The Bear Came Over The Mountain”. And, watch for another Canadian literary icon Margaret Laurence’s novel now being turned into film, The Stone Angel (2007), also with Ellen Page.

Just a little clarification, Canada is more than just Margaret Atwood.

Andrew Davies Interview

Thanks to a Jane Austen and film fan, I just received a link to an interview with Andrew Davis on CNN dot com. Davis’ recent adaptation of Northanger Abbey (2007) will be shown as the second installment of Masterpiece Theatre’s “The Complete Jane Austen“, to be aired on PBS this Sunday, Feb. 20.

Master of screenplay adaptations of literary classics and especially Jane Austen’s works, Davis has some interesting views to share in this AP article entitled: Sex, Class, and Exposing the Heart of Jane Austen. Here’s the link:

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/TV/01/18/apontv.andrew.davies.ap/index.html

Enjoy!

Congratulations Julie Christie!

Julie Christie

Update Jan. 28: Julie Christie has just won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress for her role in Away From Her last night in L.A. Congratulations again!

Update Jan. 22: Julie Christie has just been nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for her role in Away From Her, and Sarah Polley for Best Adapted Screenplay. Sarah: Dreams do come true! For a full list of Oscar Nominees, click here.

A glamourless Globe for Best Actress (Drama) went to Julie Christie, how fitting! A no-nonsense recognition for some no-nonsense acting for her role as Alzheimer sufferer Fiona in Sarah Polley’s Away From Her.

Once described by Al Pacino as “the most poetic of all actresses” Julie Christie’s movies have been cinematic icons of an era: Darling (1965), Doctor Zhivago (1966), Fahrenheit 451 (1966), Far from the Madding Crowd (1967), The Go-Between (1970)…Yet, at 66, she has downplayed her achievement and shunned the attraction of fame and celebrity.

Christie has long avoided the glitz and glamour of stardom, appearing in only a selectively few films, evading the limelight that could have been hers. In an interview with the New York Times last year at the release of Away From Her, she was asked about her name as a legend. Christie responded: “I have no connection with that person at all…that person has gone.”

The British actress could have it all, if she had embraced such a life, but she chose to devote her time and passion to social activism and political causes. Living almost reclusively away from the public eye for the past decades, Julie Christie just might not show up at the Golden Globe ceremony even if there were one.

…but then, she probably would though, for her young Canadian friend Sarah Polley. Christie wouldn’t want to miss the chance of bringing honor to Polley’s directorial debut, having met her while filming No Such Thing (2000) together.

Polley wrote the screenplay Away From Her, based on Alice Munro’s short story “The Bear Came Over the Mountain”. As she was writing, she had in mind Julie Christie and Canadian veteran actor Gordon Pinsent playing Fiona and Grant. At first, expectedly, Christie turned her down. But finally, Polley’s persistence over the years paid off. At 28, Polley was inspired enough to pull together two veterans in their 60’s and 70’s to make a film about old age, love, loss, and Alzheimer.

Sarah Polley

Sarah Polley once said about Away From Her in an interview:

“I don’t’ think that there’s any chance that I would get nominated. I mean I really hope that the actors have a shot at it …it would be such a dream come true if they were acknowledged…”

In a recent interview with The Toronto Globe and Mail, Polley felt ‘strange’ and ‘surreal’ about the recognition the $4.5 million production has received.

Of course she was delighted with Christie’s win, she also added:

“If there’s any note of reluctance on my part – of not enjoying all of this fully – is that Gordon’s performance is also stunning … and I just don’t want his work in the film to be undervalued.”

Ooh…it’s satisfying seeing the humble exalted…To both Julie Christie and Sarah Polley, Congratulations! I hope to see more nominations and awards coming your way at the Oscars.

The Kite Runner: Book Into Film

The Book

I read The Kite Runner last summer, and it has remained one of my favorite books. It might as well be called Atonement, because that’s exactly what it’s about. But this time, the character, Amir, has to deal with the sin of omission. Just the same, failure to act can lead to devastating consequences, and Amir, just like Briony in Ian McEwan’s Atonement, has to live with his guilt throughout his life. Unlike Briony, Amir has a chance to redeem himself. As Amir’s mentor Rahim Khan says: ‘There’s a way to be good again’, despite the tragedies that have already taken place.

Highly acclaimed as the first Afghan novel written in English, The Kite Runner became an international bestseller, publishing in 40 countries. Author Khaled Hosseini was born in Kabul, son of a diplomat. His family sought and received political asylum in the United States as the Soviet invaded Afghanistan, settling in California in 1980 when he was 15. Hosseini later studied medicine and became an internist practicing until 2004, when he began to devote his time fully to writing.

The book is neatly divided into three sections, the first narrates the childhood of the socially privileged Amir growing up in Kabul. His best friend is Hassan, the son of their servant Ali. The two boys grow up together, freely roaming the streets of Kabul almost as brothers. Hassan is totally dedicated to Amir. He has been Amir’s kite runner, retrieving downed rival kites, and defended him from bullies. During one horrific incident, Amir betrays Hassan. Deeply troubled by guilt, Amir devises a plan to ultimately rid himself of the source of his torments, indirectly driving Ali and Hassan out of their household.

Upon the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, Amir flees to America with his father. The second part of the book chronicles Amir as an adult, his once fragile relationship with his father is forged stronger as the two strive for their new life in a distant land. Before his father’s death from illness, Amir gets married and realizes his dream as a writer. The third part of the book depicts Amir’s journey back to the now Taliban controlled Afghanistan to fulfill a mission that would ultimately lead to his personal redemption.

I was moved as I read the author’s poignant first-person narratives. This is the power of words in the hand of a sensitive and talented writer, articulating the deepest feelings otherwise hidden beyond reach. I enjoyed the first part the most. Through vivid description and deceptively simple language Hosseini depicts poignantly the friendship of Amir and Hassan, the loyalty of Hassan and the betrayal by Amir, and ultimately the separation of the two childhood friends.

The political upheavals are used as a backdrop, adding texture to the story. The book is not about the Soviets or the Taliban. It’s about a father-son relationship, family, friendship, love, and loss. Above all, it chronicles the life-long haunting consequences of one’s action or inaction, the atonement of wrong done, and the necessary journey in search of redemption.

And for the kite soaring high in the sky, it may well be a metaphor for freedom and victory, not just politically, but internally, being set free from burden, from guilt. Despite a relatively weaker second section, overall The Kite Runner is beautifully written, an engrossing and satisfying read.

~ ~ ~ Ripples

The Movie

Update Jan. 22: The Kite Runner has just been nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Score.

First off, I must state that I’m evaluating the film according to its own genre, as a film. And to be fair, the movie follows the story quite closely, almost dividing the script into three sections like the book, and telling the story adequately. Ironically, such direct transfer does not fare well with the film medium. The transition of scenes are sometimes quite abrupt and choppy. The same dialogues are there, but the mood is missing. The eagerness of storytelling seems to have overshadowed the artistry of movie making. As a result, the film lacks the power to engage.

I must say though, there are merits that I should acknowledge. Kudos to Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada for portraying young Hassan so movingly. He’s probably the most affable and natural actor in the whole movie. His presence is the appeal of the film, and he well deserves the Critics Choice Award nomination for Best Young Actor. Unfortunately his role only appears in the first part.

Transferring the story to screen, director Marc Forster (Stranger Than Fiction, 2006) has taken advantage of the visual element, bringing to life the excitement of the sport of kite combat. To North American audiences, such scenes may well be a spectacular eye-opener. The original score by Alberto Iglesias (Volver, 2006, Constant Gardener, 2005) plays an essential part in the movie, imparting the intended effects where other film elements may be lacking. His composition earns him a nod from the Golden Globes for a Best Original Score nomination.

The movie attempts to present the cultural sights and sounds of Afghan life, albeit on a very small scale. My main disappointment though was to find out, as the end credits rolled, that the Afghan scenes were all shot in Xinjiang and Beijing, China. Was I too naive to think that a movie about Afghanistan should be shot in Afghanistan?

As I was watching the movie I felt something was missing, but couldn’t pinpoint what. I felt the acting by the main character, the adult Amir, played by Khalid Abdalla (United 93, 2006) and his wife Soraya (Atossa Leoni), to be distant and detached. Maybe due to their lack of acting experience, their performance seem to be less intense and expressive than what the story demands.

Now that I’ve given it some thoughts, I think the lack of the intimacy which the book so successfully delivers can be compensated on screen by a narrative voice-over. The personal narrative of the book is what makes the story poignant and moving. The film could benefit from a first person narrative to draw viewers closer and to convey more effectively the hidden turmoils that can’t be expressed cinematically, or technically. A well written narrative voice-over could impact the audience in a more haunting way as the book has achieved.

Overall, the movie is an adequate adaptation of the book, but it only offers a glimpse of what the book entails. As a nominee for the Best Foreign Language Film category at the Golden Globes this year, hopefully, it can draw viewers’ interest to dig deeper into the profound story by reading the source material first hand.

~ ~ 1/2 Ripples

Globe Without Glamour

So the Hollywood Foreign Press Association has officially cancelled the 65th annual Golden Globe Award ceremony on January 13. Instead, there will be a press conference at the same time (6 pm pst) to announce the winners of the 2008 Golden Globes. Click here for the official announcement from HFPA.

To maintain solidarity with striking Hollywood writers, the Screen Actors Guild indicated earlier that all the 72 nominees would not show up for the 65th Golden Globe Award. Click here for more details.

For a change, good movies and TV shows are announced without all the glitz and glamour, no fashion statements, no red carpet photo ops… just no-nonsense recognition of some no-nonsense movie making and TV production.

With all due respect to the writers, and the HFPA’s financial loss in the cancellation, and all the nominees who deserve recognition, I say…a nice change.

Atonement: Book Into Film

The Book

Imagine my surprise as I finished Austen’s Northanger Abbey and opened up Ian McEwan’s Atonement to find this epigraph in the beginning of the book:

“Dear Miss Morland, consider the dreadful nature of the suspicions you have entertained. What have you been judging from? Remember the country and the age in which we live. Remember that we are English: that we are Christians. Consult your own understanding, you own sense of the probable, your own observation of what is passing around you. Does our education prepare us for such atrocities? Do our laws connive at them? Could they be perpetrated without being known in a country like this, where social and literary intercourse is on such a footing, where every man is surrounded by a neighbourhood of voluntary spies, and where roads, and newspapers lay everything open? Dearest Miss Morland, what ideas have you been admitting?”

They had reached the end of the gallery; and with tears of shame she ran off to her own room.

Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey

Henry Tilney’s somber words to Catherine Morland in Northanger Abbey sets the stage for the story in Atonement. Not only that, these words prove to be the most tragic irony as the plot unfolds, turning Austen’s satirical parody into heart wrenching reality.

The story starts off in the 1930’s, on a hot summer day in the idyllic country estate of the upper-class Tallis family. The misinterpretation of a couple of incidents by imaginative 13 year-old Briony sets off the events that ultimately rip the whole family apart. Later in the evening, Briony witnesses a crime but falsely accuses the wrong man, who happens to be her older sister Cecilia’s secret lover Robbie, the housekeeper’s son. Is it merely the misunderstanding of a young girl that drives her to bear false witness? Or is it jealousy…or even revenge? Maybe even Briony herself, as she recollects at 77, is baffled by her own motive. The heart is indeed an unsearchable deep to fathom.

Regardless of the cause, it is the consequences of her misdeed that has tormented her all her life: the breakdown of family relationships, the innocent sent to jail, and later to a horrific war zone, and a pair of lovers torn apart. As she cannot undo the past, Briony re-creates in the sanctuary of her own novel writing an alternative ending to a tragic story. Fantasy or realism? As she reaches old age and dementia sets in, the line between the two has also blurred, and yet her inner torments stay as sharp as ever.

Through Briony’s story, McEwan has poignantly shown that remaining unforgiven is probably the harshest punishment of sin. No matter how hard one works to be redeemed, the act of forgiveness lies with the one who has been wronged. In the latter part of the story, we see Briony’s painful strive for peace and atonement, and her realization that redemption comes only when sin is pardoned. Without the forgiveness of sin, there is no end to guilt.

But the story is not only about Briony’s desparate attempt to come to terms with her past, it is also a love epic. It is the heart-wrenching chronicle of the perseverance and loyalty between two lovers, Cecilia and Robbie, who, sustained by love, are able to withstand the searing pain of separation and atrocities. It is about the absurdity of war, that in the chaos of a war zone, everyone is guilty, and yet, everyone is a victim. It is also about the essence of a family and the fragility of relationships. The multi-layered structure of the plot and characterization give rise to the complexity and depth of the story.

Booker Prize winner Ian McEwan has written 11 novels and won numerous literary awards. The novel Atonement has garnered four since its publication in 2001. McEwan has shown himself to be a master of descriptive and incisive writing. His story is riveting. At times I have to read slowly, going back to re-read a passage several times, in order to capture all the details and savour the intricacies of the description and characterization. At times I read it quickly to capture the flow of the plot, eager to find out where it would lead me. The author has my emotions in his grasp. I have to admit, this is one of the rare occasions that I highlight as I read a novel. Overall, a very engrossing and satisfying read.

~ ~ ~ Ripples

The Film

Atonement the movie

Update February 11: Atonement just won Best Picture and Best Production Design at the BAFTA (British Academy for Film and Television Arts) Awards in London yesterday.

Update January 22: Atonement is nominated for 7 Oscars at the 2008 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, and Best Original Score.

Update on January 14: Atonement won the 2008 Golden Globe Best Picture (Drama) and Best Original Score Awards announced at the HFPA News Conference last night.

With such a masterpiece in their hands, the screenwriter, director, actors …the whole lot, have a tall order to fill in turning the book into film. I must say they have done an extraordinary job in this adaptation. The film is nominated for 7 Golden Globe, including Best Picture (Drama), Best Actress and Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Original Score.

Unlike many movies based on literary work, this is one of the rare ones that truly depicts the essence of the book and keeps the integrity of its plot. Screenwriter Christopher Hampton (Oscar winner for his screenplay of Dangerous Liaison, 1988 ) has gleaned the pivotal episodes and remained loyal to the work, keeping the epic span intact; although the war section can be dealt with more details and depth as the novel has rendered.

Thanks to the great work in film editing, the audience can readily capture the flow of the story and benefit also from the seamless flashbacks to see the same event from another point of view, hence, understanding Briony’s misinterpretation. I’m sure even for those who haven’t read the novel, the storytelling is still clear and equally intense.

Director Joe Wright (Pride and Prejudice, 2005) uses the elements of film powerfully to bring to life an excellent script. The music and sound effects (who would imagine the typing sound on an old Corona can be used so effectively in a musical score), the cinematography and the visual flashbacks, the costumes and set all work together to create a masterpiece of cinema artistry worthy of McEwan’s work. Kudos to Dario Marianelli (The Brave One, 2007; Pride and Prejudice, 2005), who has composed a most riveting score heightening the intensity and poignancy of the film. I must also stress that, while the music is a powerful element in the movie, the silent moments are equally engrossing.

Young Briony, 13 year-old Irish actress Saoirse Ronan (I’ve read different versions of how her first name should be pronounced so I’m not including any suggestion here) well deserves the Golden Globe nod for a Best Supporting Actress nomination. Veteran actress and Oscar winner Vanessa Redgrave is brilliant and her poignant summing up at the end is both needed and satisfying. I’m afraid to say the weak link is Briony at 18, played by Romola Garai (Amazing Grace, 2006), where she could be more intense and affective.

And for the lovers, Keira Knightley (Pirates of the Caribbean, 2007, 2006; Pride and Prejudice, 2005) and James McAvoy (Becoming Jane, 2007; The Last King of Scotland, 2006) as Cecilia and Robbie, may well go down in movie history as a memorable pair of star-crossed lovers. Their acting is superb and their chemistry, charismatic. The passionate scene in the library just confirms that it doesn’t need nudity to convey love, desire, or sensuality. I had in mind the movie Lust Caution (Ang Lee, 2007) as I was watching this scene.

Knightley and McAvoy are nominated for a Best Actress and Best Actor award at the Golden Globes. For their very moving performance in Atonement, I’d like to see them continue the ride all the way to the Oscars, and I wish them well.

Overall, an excellent adaptation of an enthralling novel. Don’t wait to read the book, go see the movie. But I’m sure after that, you’ll want to get hold of the novel right away. This is one of the rare examples of both book and film are worthy of complementing each other.

~ ~ ~ Ripples

Juno (2007)

Update Feb. 23: Juno just won the Best Feature at the Independent Spirit Awards in Santa Monica today. Ellen Page won Best Actress and Diablo Cody the Best First Screenplay.

Update Feb.11: Diablo Cody just won the Best Original Screenplay for Juno at the BAFTA (British Academy for Film and Television Arts) Awards last night in London.

Update Jan. 22: Juno has just been nominated for 4 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Original Screenplay.

Just 13 days into the New Year and we’ll have the 65th Golden Globe Awards…so little time for so many movies to watch before then. But, I’m glad I got a glimpse of a few of the nominees and I’ve to say, so far, my time well spent.

By now, Juno is no surprise. This little indie film has been nominated for Best Picture (Comedy or Musical) by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for a Golden Globe. Not bad for the young cast led by Canadian actress Ellen Page from Halifax and Michael Cera of Arrested Development fame, to be up against Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts of Charlie Wilson’s War, or for first time screenwriter Diablo Cody getting the Best Screenplay nod. That she has already won 6 awards for Juno could well lead her way into the Oscars.

The pleasant surprise about Juno is not just the stylish motion graphics in the opening title sequence, the hip music and witty dialogues, the affable characters, or the teenage culture it depicts, but the implicit message this film is getting across. Director Jason Reitman (Thank You For Smoking, 2005) has again created another social commentary, but this time, making a more powerful and affective statement.

Juno is a 16 year-old high school girl, very forthcoming, very lively, very self-assuring, and…very pregnant. What she intends to do about her predicament and how her Dad and stepmom react form the backbone of the story. And…what a fresh and welcoming perspective the plot brings to the screen in this day and age. I’d say, a very brave movie indeed. In the story, the young characters may not have their act together, at least they have the fundamental element to deal with their situation, their genuine humanity, and their respect for life.

In contrast, the character that Jason Reitman (Arrested Development, The Kingdom, 2007) plays shows that adults may still need to grow up, or, that the road to maturity is a life-long journey. Let’s not judge so quickly…

A heart-warming and pleasant movie for the new year. No, it’s not promoting teenage pregnancy, but a viable alternative and a very humane solution to the problem. In an imperfect world, a close to perfect scenario.

~ ~ ~ Ripples

Lacock Village: Popular Film Location

From Bath, I took a 4-hour afternoon excursion out to the Stonehenge and Lacock Village on a Mad Max Tour. Stonehenge, I’ve always wanted to see, but Lacock is a serendipity. I joined a small group of 9 other visitors in a mini-bus parked across the Bath Abbey. As soon as he stepped into the bus, our guide and driver Charles clarified that he wasn’t Mad Max. The Bath family-run tour company was named after owner Maddy and her dog Max. On top of this piece of crucial local tidbit, Charles was most helpful in furnishing us with all sorts of information we ever wanted to know and ask about the Cotswold area and our destinations.

I’m debating whether I should post pictures up here because any picture of the Stonehenge would seem like a visual cliche, for it’s probably one of the most recognizable stone arrangements in the world. However, mine are different, I thought, not for artistic value, but mainly because they are taken by me personally, and not from any postcards, or downloads from the Internet. So here they are, Arti’s contribution to the photo world, two more pictures of the Stonehenge.

The ride out to the Stonehenge from Bath was about 60 minutes. The day was December 2, 2007. It was very, very windy and cold that day out in the open field where the Stonehenge was situated. Fortunately the rain let up a bit as we stepped out the mini-bus, giving me the chance to walk around the mysterious arrangements, in time to take about 20 pictures as I circumvented the site a couple of times. The audio guide was most helpful, but as I was confronted by the very sight, the sound seemed to fade into the background. I was busy taking my pictures, fighting against the fierce gale and the imminent threat of pouring rain. The what, the how, and the why of the Stonehenge remain a mystery to this day.

After an hour’s stay at the site, we hopped back onto the bus for our next destination: Lacock Village. Before the tour, I had not heard of this place. It was a serendipitous find…and a pleasant surprise indeed.

From Charles, we learned that Lacock, a National Trust medieval village preserved for its historical elements, is a popular spot for film productions. But before I give away all the films that has been made here, and actually, only a particualr one that I was most interested in, first here are a few shots of the Village. As we arrived, it was around 4 pm, but dusk had already set in. In the rain and cold wind, I was only able to take a few shots as I grabbed my umbrella under my arm. Looking at them now, they correspond closely to the time of day where the actual scene appears in the film. To enhance their visibility, I’ve lightened them a bit here.

Recognize these buildings? Imagine there were no cars and the road was not paved…

Yes, they were shots of Meryton in the BBC (1995) made for TV miniseries Pride And Prejudice…the ‘wet shirt’ version with Colin Firth, as Charles expertly informed us. Yes I know the version, I told him, my favorite. The Red Lion in the third picture was used as the exterior shot of the assembly room where the Meryton Ball took place in the beginning of the movie. That was when Darcy, Bingley, his sisters and Mr. Hurst got off the carriage to attend the country Ball in the evening, eyeing haughtily at their surroundings (except Bingley of course).

Other than Pride And Prejudice, Lacock was also the film location for Emma (BBC 1996), the Harry Potter movies, and most recently the new Harry Potter production (2008 ) by Warner Bros. on another street. But the Village of Lacock probably won’t be easily recogized in that movie because the facade of the buildings there had been changed for the filming. The 1995 BBC Pride And Prejudice production used the authentic buildings as they appear in the above photos. I recognized them as soon as I turned into the street that late afternoon,…adding a serendipitous Austen touch to my Mad Max excursion.

If you see them and/or any parts of the texts in a site other than Ripple Effects, then you know they have been copied without permission. I thank my readers for alerting me in the past, and I continue to appreciate their watchful eyes in the future.

Petra: Indiana Jones On Location

I’m still travelling in far off places, but just a few pictures to whet the appetite of those who have been so eagerly waiting. Thanks for your patience. I’ve been longing to share with you all my experience, the sights and sounds of distant lands, obscure to North Americans but definitely very popular places to explore for those in other parts of the world. I feel like a wanderer in the Tower of Babel, hearing a myriad of unknown languages, not only from the natives of those lands, but from the crowds of visitors around me.

The most amazing sight so far I must say is Petra, the city carved out of rocks, right in the red mountains of southern Jordan, about 3 hour’s drive southwest of the capital city Amman. Petra was the land of the Edomites, descendants of Esau, twin brother of Jacob in the Old Testament of the Bible. The ancient city was first constructed by the Nabataeans, and later came under Roman rule. Earthquake and flooding had destroyed much of the city and it remained obscure for centuries until rediscovered by a Swiss explorer in 1812.

The ancient ruins of Petra was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985, and named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007. Excavation has been an international effort towards which Brown University’s archaelogy and anthropology departments have contributed substantially. Follow this link to their fabulous website http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Anthropology/Petra/

Petra was the location for parts of the film Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade (1989). You might recognize the famous facade of the ancient temple (The Treasury) which is the entrance to this amazing city in the rocks.

(First a word about COPYRIGHT: I’ve travelled far, walked great distances and ridden on a donkey to take the following pictures, PLEASE DO NOT COPY.)

Entering the red mountain region:

A glimpse through the crack:

Beholding the real wonder:

The City carved out of rocks:

Again, photos taken by Arti of www.rippleeffects.wordpress.com

More to come in future posts. Thanks for waiting.