Movie Review

 

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is a historical romantic drama based on a book about an author's bond with the occupied city residents who decides to write a novel about the events of the war. The movie is directed by Mike Newell and stars Lily James as Juliet Ashton, a well-known writer who has lost her home and thirsts for a new adventure and Michel Huisman, as Dawsey Adams, a member of  The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is set in 1946. The plot follows a London-based writer who exchanges letters with a resident on the island of Guernsey, which had been under German occupation during World War II. The main Characters are Juliet Ashton and Dawsey Adams. Juliet, a free-spirited writer, is in preparation for her new book.  One day, she receives a letter from Dawsey, a member of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Pie Association, founded by a group of people living on the Nazi-occupied island Guernsey during World War II. Juliet is very impressed by what's written in the letter and begins to wonder about the club and its members. Thinking the club and the public's experiences could be a great subject for her new book, the young writer decides to go to the island. Juliet first meets Dawsey, the farmer who wrote the letter to her, and other eccentric members of the book club. The life of Juliet, who establishes a strong bond with the club members and the residents of the city, will change forever.

There are nice lines in the movie. For example, “Perhaps there is some secret sort of homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers. How delightful if that were true” and  “Reading good books ruins you for enjoying bad books.” These lines really express that people find something from themselves while reading a book, and that situation drives people to read more. In reviews I read about this film,  some people say, “ The movie works slowly.” I do not think so. If the movie was fast, I think it might not be a movie to watch and we might not enjoy it. I think that because the writing is so good,  it will keep the audience's interest dynamic. 

I don't know if you can believe that books will change people's lives with a unifying power but the movie shows us how this is possible. The plot shows that during the war, in a struggle to survive without losing their humanity, the events begin when a small group of people who do not know each other, who have come together to live the luxury, establish a book club.  And years later, a book and a letter on the island of Guernsey, where war wounds have not yet healed. The life of everyone in the group will change completely, with the events that unfold, with the mysteries solved, and the unifying power of the books in a sincere and naive way. I think this is a very sincere and impressive story because people can find something of themselves, and even if they at least have faith in love, there can be reason enough to watch it. The story creates a magnificent film that draws the audience.  

On a scale from zero to five, I give this film a 4.8 because it is A film that everyone will love - from book lovers to writers who take a pen in their hands.