Page 65 - Sonoma County Gazette July 2018

Hostiles
SONOMA COUNTY BOOKMOBILE
freebookmobile.org NEWS on Facebook 707.520.4536 Donations welcome, Glen Weaver, Director
Every country at the beginnings of its nationalistic stirrings creates a myth and a hero
that embodies concepts of shared identity, of ethnic cohesiveness, of common values.
Jul 4 Jul 7 Jul 7 Jul 7 Jul 14 Jul 22 Jul 22 Jul 22
Jul 22 Jul 22 Jul 28 Jul 28 Jul 28 Jul 28 Jul 31
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Kenwood, Hometown Parade and BBQ, Kenwood Plaza Park, 9:30-1:30p Larkfield-SR Farmers Market, Luther Burbank Center, 10-1p Cotati-Olivers Market, 2-3:30p
Roseland-Dollar Tree, Sebastopol Rd., 4-6p
The Italians have Dante’s Divine Comedy, the Spanish, El Cid, the French , The Song of Roland.
As Americans, we have The Western and our hero is the cowboy.
C C o o t t a a t t i i - - C C o o t t a a t t i i K K i i d d s s D D a a y y , , L L a a P P l l a a z z a a P P a a r r k k , , 1 10 0 - - 2
p y
3
2
p
Ever since the art of film making developed we have had versions of the Western genre from Tom Mix and Hopalong Cassidy through
Freestone, 9-10a
Valley Ford, 10:30-11:30a
B B o o d d e e g g a a B B a a y y - - F F a a r r m m e e r r ’ ’s s M M a a r r k k e e t t , , C C o o m m m m u u n n i i t t y
Center (Hwy 1), 12-2p
Jenner, 2:30-3:45p
Monte Rio-Beach Parking Lot, 4:15-5:30p Kenwood-Kenwood Market, 9:30-10:30a
Glen Ellen-Post Office, 11-12p
Boyes Hot Springs-Fiesta Center, 12:30-2:3
Santa Rosa-SR Marketplace, Kawana Springs Rd., 3:30-5:30p Geyserville, 5-6:30p
John Wayne to the myriad Stetson wearers who have filled in along the way and still exist today. The latest incarnation
of the hero figure is Christian Bale in
the film, Hostiles. He is a captain in the
U. S. Army and is given an assignment he initially refuses until he is threatened with a court martial. His task is to
take a terminally ill Indian chief and
0 0
p p
his family from New Mexico to his ancestral homeland in Montana so that he may die in peace. At their first stop they pick up Rosamund Pike whose husband and three children have been slaughtered by Comanches. Rosamund is near mad with grief. Bale, a life long Indian fighter and hater, begrudgingly unchains his captives in order for them to help resist the marauders. White
fur traders rape the women. This is
a road movie and the road is brutal. Adventurous encounters abound
as they tread through some very photogenic but treacherous territory.
The “revisionist” aspect comes into
play early on. In the olden days there were clear cut divisions between good and evil. In this, there is moral ambiguity. Not all Native Americans are bad, not all white men are good and vice-versa. As the journey progresses and mutual respect develops between Bale and his fellow travelers, he is regains part of his humanity by recognizing their right to dignity.
Jul 7 ~ Crafting Takes You Everywhere Use the treehouse and travel to each library station to collect special items or clues. FREE, 11-12p, Guerneville Regional Library, 14107 Armstrong Woods Rd., 707-869-9004, sonomacounty.libcal.com/event/4021834
Jul 7, Aug 4 ~ Learn about growing food - FREE, 11-12p, Sebastopol Regional Library, 7140 Bodega Ave. 707-823-7691
Jul 9 ~ Jelly Jam Time - Fairy tale puppet show beneath the waves. FREE, 11- 12p, Sebastopol Regional Library, 7140 Bodega Ave., Sebastopol, 707-823-7691, sonomalibrary.org
Jul 12, Aug 9 ~ Book Discussion group - Discuss literature and life with other lovers of books. FREE; 12:30-1:30p, Guerneville Regional Library, 14107 Armstrong Woods Rd., Guerneville, 707-869-9004
Jul 16 ~ Henna Art for Teens - grades 7-12 - Learn about the natural, ancient art form of henna. FREE, 2p-3:30p, Guerneville Regional Library, 14107 Armstrong Woods Rd., 707-869-9004, sonomacounty.libcal.com/event/4178083
Jul 18 ~ ARCs and Recreation Book Club - Read new books before they are released to the public. FREE; 6-8p, Sebastopol Regional Library, 7140 Bodega Ave., Forum Room, Sebastopol, 707-823-7691
Jul 28 ~ Latin Guitar Trio Featuring David Correa - Latin guitar and Rumba Flamenco fused with Middle Eastern melodies. FREE, 2p - 3p, Guerneville Regional Library, 14107 Armstrong Woods Rd., 707-869-9004, sonomacounty.libcal.com
Jul 24 ~ Tween Read Along Book Club - Take turns reading aloud from a short story. FREE, 4-5p, Central Santa Rosa Library, 211 E St., Santa Rosa, 707-545-0831
Ongoing ~ Discovery Packs ~ Backpacks with Sonoma County Park parking passes, maps and guides for check-out. Sonoma County Libraries, FREE, sonomalibrary. org/discoverypack
Bale (Batman) is an actor adept at portraying world-weariness. Pike (Gone Girl) does well as a strong, resilient heroine different from the damsel in distress of another era.
The irony is that these two actors playing quintessentially American characters are both England-born. The indigenous actors are not fleshed out very well which is unfortunate because I suspect they had some interesting tales to tell.
People are kind and empathetic when they are allowed to interact and demonstrate those qualities. Hostiles is epical in that it uses the well-worn tropes and conventions of the American Western and with a more truthful and accurate lens elevates that genre to a higher standard, a loftier stance.
PHOTO: Lorey Sebastian, Yellow Hawk, Inc.
7/18 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 65