planktonrules

I'll cut to the chase. The film stars Jeanne Crain, a cute auburn-haired actress in the lead...a woman that looks nothing like Queen Nefertiti, as Nefertiti was an Egyptian. In fact, MOST of the main stars of the film are Americans and Brits...and don't look the least bit Egyptian. What gives?!

Well, first I should point out that I am not Mr. Political Correctness...but having the whitest actors playing Egyptians is less offensive and more just stupid...and sloppy. So why did they cast these folks in this Italian dubbed movie? Well, prevailing attitudes in many European studios was that by having some famous and semi-famous American actors in the leads, it would result in a greater ability to market the films internationally. A great example are the Italian films, the so-called 'Spaghetti Westerns' as well as the Samson/Hercules/Maciste muscle-epics. Heck, even the great Fellini used this same practice in several films. And, such casting also happened, less often, but DID happen in the UK and Germany. So, reality is unimportant...cast Americans whether they are appropriate to the film or not!

The reason "Queen of the Nile" annoyed me so much was that the topic of the picture is VERY important to ancient Egyptian history. For the first time, Pharoah Amenhotep insisted that his people become monotheists...worshipping the sun god Ahmen instead of the traditional pantheon of gods. His wife was Nefertiti and this monotheism was considered blasphemous by many Egyptians...and after Tutankhamen's early death, the heresy was wiped out and the country returned to the worship of many gods.

So why did I dislike the story so much? Well, apart from the bad casting which I talk about above, the film is very grand and big...and sterile and dull. The dialog is stilted and the film really is pretty silly because of this.

By the way, there were several other films of the era that showed very white folks playing Egyptians, such as in "Land of the Pharaohs" and "The Ten Commanments". While "Cleopatra" with Liz Taylor is not a great film, casting Elizabeth Taylor as the Egyptian queen isn't so nutty, as Cleopatra was actually Greek...and I could accept her as a Greek much quicker than an Egyptian.

So far, I have been feeling a bit put off by the humor and silliness in the "Sister Boniface Mysteries"...as if that is more important than the mysteries themselves. Fortunately, this one is far less quirky and silly than the previous episodes.

A government Minister's secretary is found dead at the bottom of a staircase. Sister Boniface is able to determine she was already dead when she went down the stairs. Additionally, some sort of secret weapon was used to kill her...meaning the secret isn't so secret anymore and enemy agents might be afoot.

The story is interesting, the mystery good and the quirkiness is reigned in...making it well worth seeing and more like "Father Brown".

Although "Sister Boniface Mysteries" is a spin-off from "Father Brown", I have noticed a BIG difference between them in that "Sister Boniface Mysteries" tries to be quirky, cute and funny...something you'll either love or dislike. Much of "My Brother's Keeper" seems to be played for laughs.

A performance artist is found dead in a museum...with his head bashed in by a statue. Additionally, one of the works of art has been stolen...and at least initially, the evidence points to Alfie, the brother of one of the nuns. And, to hide from the authorities, Alfie spends much of the show disguised as a nun!

By my score of 5, it can safely be said I didn't love the humorous aspects of the story...mostly because Alfie hiding out meant that a couple of the nuns had to be terrible liars and that just felt wrong. A quirky episode with a decent ending...but one that feels more like "SIster Act 4" than anything else.