It’s somewhat surprising that, of my nebulous top ten-ish favourite films, there are two that both came out in 2016, are both decidedly off-kilter and odd in their own ways, and are both ‘cult’ films to an extent – beloved by their fans, but little-known beyond those circles. We’ve discussed The Nice Guys on this site before, and today it’s time to turn to what is (in the Blog of Mazarbul’s household) its improbable companion piece – certainly, these two movies have been rewatched more than any other by my wife and I! So, today, I figured I’d write up…
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Niggle was a painter. Not a very successful one… Of all Tolkien’s works, arguably none of them lend themselves so readily to analysis as Leaf by Niggle. The allegory by the man who claimed to hate allegory. A touchingly close examination of a character who may be as close as Tolkien ever came to writing a self-insert. Even, arguably, Tolkien’s most religious and theological work (of his fictional tales, that is…On Fairy Stories is, of course, Tolkien’s theological triumph). As such, Leaf by Niggle is probably the Lesser Tale in least need of yet another analysis, especially one by a…
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Of Aulë and Yavanna: Tolkien’s Odd Couple ‘Nonetheless they will have need of wood.’ With that brilliantly offhand one-liner, Aulë and Yavanna cemented their status in the minds of many Tolkien lovers as being Eä’s first and best odd couple. He, a rash craftsman, master of forge and hammer, lover of stone and gem and that which is imperishable and unchanging. She, a lover of beasts and plants, the bringer of growth and giver of sustenance, who cherishes all that sprouts and blooms and flowers, all that lives. Given Tolkien’s interest in the themes of nature and industry, it might…
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Picture the Elf. Tall, serene, wise, beautiful. More graceful, more artistic, possessed of knowledge beyond our ken and in communion with nature and the world..
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I was chatting to a friend of mine yesterday, when she asked me a disarmingly childlike, simple question. A question that desired no philosophical or detailed…
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