THE GODDESS & THE THIEF: MAGIC VS FREEDOM

The Goddess and the Thief by Essie Fox, photo Agnes Prygiel

"The Goddess and the Thief" by Essie Fox is a contemporary novel written in the style of old Victorian romances. Full of ghosts, mysterious elixirs, crystal balls and dark visions - the book takes us back into the era of proper old-fashioned dramas. Published by Orion Books in 2013 it has a beautifully designed cover. Powerful colors and tantalizing Hindu imagery makes you just want to grab the book from the shelf.

It is 1850. Alice is a British girl growing up in India. When both of her parents die she is brought up in Britain by her aunt Mercy - a fake spiritualist medium.

Carefully manufactured ghost sessions aunt Mercy drags Alice into attract regular clients - grieving Queen Victoria being one of them - and become a way of making money. But while aunt Mercy is just a spiritual wannabe, growing up Alice showings real supernatural abilities and becomes a threat for a controlling guardian. Soon the young girl will have to choose between her gift, love and freedom.

I'm A Cyborg, But That's OK

Comedy/Romance/Science-Fiction/Drama
Film
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"I'm A Cyborg, But That's OK" is a Korean film from 2006 about a girl who believes she is a machine. She speaks to electronic devices such as light bulbs, radios and coffee-makers and thinks they talk back and share their energy with her, so she doesn't have to eat. As a human being she doesn't understand the purpose of her life. All machines have a very simple purpose of existence. A light bulb gives light, an electric kettle boils water etc. So she starts to believe she is in fact a robot inside, a sort of a Terminator, whose purpose is to kill people.

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Of course by some point she find herself in a hospital for mentally ill people. She meets a very nice boy there who helps her, but in a special way - he lets her believe she is still a robot.

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It is a great and very funny movie by Chan-wook Park. He is an acclaimed filmmaker who in the past made serious documentaries. Here he makes a comedy which makes you laugh, but at the same time shows the complexity and sensivity of human psyche. It referes strongly to popculture and the fascination with technology. People's fantasies are not ridiculed even though they are amazingly grotesque. The hospital becomes a world in which everything is possible, a sort of a fairy-tale. The film has also got strong special effects which make it fun to watch.

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The film's message is that we are all a bit crazy, but it is not a crime to be crazy in a good way if it helps you move on in life. Sometimes we hide in the world of fantasies, because of our family's or environment's bad influence or pressure and the illusion is all we have left. And also it is fine. At the same time we are allowed to burry bad memories, get healed and start again.

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