Ethel & Ernest

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stato un fumetto che ho amato fin dall’inizio. Sono stata catapultata in un’altra vita, un’altra epoca, e percepivo il cambiamento a ogni decennio. Ho provato molte emozioni diverse: mi sono divertita, mi sono affezionata a questa dolce e simpatica coppia, ho avuto paura con loro e per loro, e mi sono sentita terribilmente triste, quasi svuotata, quando tutto è finito. And Ethel and Ernest was already a very enjoyable movie to begin with. Sadly this photo doesn’t do the screening room justice! This was such a short and sweet book and I enjoyed every aspect of it from the storyline, the illustrations and how grateful we are as human beings when parents try and make the life of their children better than what they went through. Their son became a famous illustrator and author and never had to live below poverty level or be a working class. It was sad how they both died and I am glad that Raymond chose to honor them in his book.

Social differences are also explored, as Ethel’s conservative viewpoints and aspirational ambitions are contrasted with Ernest’s dyed-in-the-wool socialist beliefs throughout. That said, even amongst the technological progress, there’s still the feeling that nothing has really changed. When Ernest’s step-mother comes to visit, she sends the couple into fits of laughter over her concerns that she herself can be heard on a national scale through the wireless radio. Such exchanges continue to this day, only with different gizmos and gadgets at their centre.He was born in Wimbledon, south-west London, to Ethel (nee Bowyer) and Ernest Briggs. Their first meeting is beautifully described in the wordless opening sequence of the book devoted to their story. Ethel, a young parlour maid in a Belgravia house, had been innocently shaking out her duster from an upper window as Ernest passed by on his bicycle and confidently returned what he took to be a friendly wave. From the socially stratified 1920s to the moon landing of 1969, the film depicts, through Ethel and Ernest's eyes, the most defining moments of the 20th century - the darkness of the Great Depression, the build-up to World War II, the trials of the war years, the euphoria of VE Day and the emergence of a generation from postwar austerity to the cultural enlightenment of the 1960s. On the other hand, I loved Ernest - he was a passionate man who liked to rub his wife up the wrong way at times, just to see her reaction. He always knew where he came from and in this respect, he was a completely grounded character who warmed my heart.

Equally the film resonated hugely with our audience of older viewers, with the vast majority of scenes touching upon many of their real life experiences. The stunning animation of famous objects such as the Morrison Shelters or Ernest’s electric milk float also plays a large role here. Ethel and Ernest is a beautifully animated film.

Clips

I cannot give a proper review for this book and I will leave the plot empty because if I write anymore I will spoiled this short book for you. I find it interesting how different each decade appears in this book and how easily our opinions changes during our life. For Example, when Hitler first came into power, Raymond parents didn't find him horrible and liked him. But immediately when he started invading Europe and sending Jews to death camps, they realize that he needs to be stopped or he can conquer and destroy England. We also get to see Ethel and Ernest's reaction to the invention of the television and how it feels like being inside a movie theater in your own home. A film that is both heart-warming and heart-wrenching, Ethel and Ernest follows the lives of Raymond Briggs’ own parents from their first chance meeting in 1928, through the birth of their son in 1934, to their deaths, within months of each other, in 1971. I adore this fictionalized true story. Briggs shows us scenes from his imagination of his parents’ lives: how they met, raised a family during a destructive world war, and lived through the cultural roller-coaster ride of the 20th century. Briggs’s illustrations are full of humor, marvelous detail, and obvious love for the people who inspired the title characters. Ethel e Ernest è un fumetto che sa di casa in ogni pagina; si possono sentire le risate, le discussioni, i rumori dei lavori, il profumo del cibo, l’acqua che scorre, le risate di un bambino.

Yet amongst the portrayals of technology and social standing is one central theme: ageing. Ethel and Ernest displays the process of growing older with a level of tact and honesty that few films match. It bares a certain similarity to the poignant first ten minutes of last month’s selection Up, only drawn out over the course of ninety minutes.

The story takes place in London, England from the 1920s through 1971. We meet Ethel who is a maid who one day she sees a man from the window who is riding a bike. He waves at her and she blushes that a man is paying attention to her. He tells her that his name is Ernest and then asks her out to go watch a movie. After that encounter they become a couple and soon enough they get married. She quits her job and becomes a house wife while Ernest works as a milkman. We enter the 1930s and the times are rough during these period because of high unemployment, recuperating from WWI, and economic depression. The characteristic that the journalist John Walsh described in a 2012 interview as a very English “strenuous curmudgeonliness” had become in later years a stereotype that Briggs embraced, exemplified by his column in the Oldie, Notes from the Sofa, collected in book form in 2015, where he would rail against sundry incomprehensible aspects of modern life. Liz died in 2015. He is survived by her children, Clare and Tom, and grandchildren, Connie, Tilly and Miles. Bij het einde pinkte ik (opnieuw) een traan. Zo'n leven lang samen en alles wat daarbij aan liefde, leed en geschiedenis passeert maakt het verhaal ook wat melancholisch, maar op een fijne manier. Met subtiele humor en oh zo liefdevol getekend.