Author Archives: patrickbreslin
Blowin’ in the Wind
In 1962, Bob Dylan, a Minnesota boy, wrote “Blowin’ in the Wind,” a song asking “. . . how many deaths will it take till he knows, that too many people have died?” After 58 years, on Memorial Day, 2020, in Minneapolis, the death of George Floyd under a white policeman’s knee gave the answer. […]
Styling Women
If you want to see how American women have moved center stage this year, check out today’s Washington Post Style section (March 2, 2018). With the exception of a National Symphony Orchestra Mahler concert review by Anne Midgette, all the articles deal with women and their accomplishments. Three cover film: Ann Hornaday’s interview of Jennifer […]
Bikini Moon
Milcho Manchevski has done it again. His 1994 film, Before the Rain, is a masterpiece of storytelling still analyzed in university film and cultural studies programs around the world. It spins a circular, three-part narrative out of the hatred and violence of the Balkan wars. The focus is on a young monk and a burned-out […]
The Original Trump
Donald Trump is no original in democratic politics. Crass, ignorant, but clever blowhards have done well throughout history. But I had no idea how far back until I took Thomas Cahill’s “Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Matter” on a recent vacation trip to Cyprus, just as the final presidential primaries were taking place […]