May It Be
A discussion on cinematic remakes, first swim of the year, and what I didn't have time to do this month.
The monthly recap is a short diary of the memorable things gone by. It includes my favourites, a particular piece of media I’ve consumed, a thought-inducing topic, and whatever struck my mind as I was busy going through life. Enjoy!
I hope you can hear Enya harmonising in the distance and sense that the easy life is coming. May is over, and, wow, it has brought feelings of every genre.
Sure, there have been a party or two, but the calming effect of May confirms that it might just be my favourite month of the year. I’ve slept with the window cracked open, letting in the sedating noise of the ventilation system from the restaurant in the back alley. And the sun is setting so late now in the living room that we’re all fighting for the spot on the sofa where the light won’t blind you. It’s pure spring bliss.
At the same time, I can sense a fearful urge to cling tightly to the past, because what do you mean that it’s already June 2025?!
Some days felt long and busy, mainly at work, where several incidents (everyone’s fine now, dw) meant that I saw myself giving a little extra so that things would run seamlessly. I am not one to complain, but admittedly, it has taken the wind out of me several times.
Going to bed early out of sheer emotional and physical exhaustion feels like a defeat to me. Rest is important, but compromising my free time off work by resting so that I may be able to work again tomorrow feels like creative neglect. What about all the things I want to make, fix, write, and read? I will always look for the silver lining, so what if this is the first sign that I am on the right path to a creatively-led life? Is knowing what you don’t want to do the way to know what you do want?
On that note, I have prioritised reading and creating this month, which means my literary output was shortened (aka, only this one post in May). It’s a wonder to me that I still seem like a novice on earth when I fuck around and find out time and time again that I can’t always do and have everything. Past me’s experiences? I hardly know her.
It’s the quarterly roundup for my Indyx journey! Three months of documenting outfits: some good, some comfy, some that tickle a fashion-girlie’s neurons just right.
It has amounted to 68 different outfit combinations, with five new items added and one removed. I’d eventually like to do a more statistics-related analysis like
’s Outfit Repeater.As of now, I have a visual indication of what I already knew: I love a white top, and I adore gingham!
The Scandinavians are known for their high living standards, accompanied by hygge, and starkly contrasted by the very popular crime genre known as Nordic noir.
Now, this is not about how the Scandis excel in this very particular literary and cinematic genre. A new adaptation of Jussi Adler-Olsen’s Afdeling Q book series has recently been adapted once again, but this time for the English-speaking/global audience.
I had a very heated discussion with my brother on whether an Anglofied adaptation would hold any merit in the world of remakes. Because now that the already filmatised series is on Netflix as Department Q in nine new episodes set in Edinburgh, will it overshadow the original Danish-speaking movies simply because the gloomy Carl Mørck (Carl Morck) is played by Matthew Goode instead of Nikolaj Lie Kaas?
Naturally, the argument extended beyond just this adaptation. There are countless examples of well-liked and popular foreign films and series that have been adapted into a form more digestible to a global audience. The French Intouchables remade into The Upside was my brother’s prime example. Druk, another Danish movie from 2021, won the Oscar for best international feature film and is currently being remade with Leonardo DiCaprio taking over for Mads Mikkelsen.
Sometimes the remakes are great, but oftentimes nothing can beat the original, no matter the language. I do think that there are grounds for re-creating and adapting cinema to reach a bigger or different audience. The formula of the Norwegian teenage drama Skam was so popular that there exist versions of it in Spain, France, Italy, the US and more, adapted to the respective youth culture in that country.
I am going to watch the Scottish version of Afdeling Q, not just because Scotland holds a special place in my heart, and any Scottish TV is bound to be good, but because 1) even Danish viewers and critics seem to like the adaptation (which is a good starting point), and 2) I do think this adaptation has merit (of which I can’t get into detail now).
But do yourself the favour and read up on (or watch) the originals so that the Danes’ pride in Nordic noir is not overlooked. Sincerely, Julie’s brother.