The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2018) is intriguing and does not reveal the essence, thus attracting the attention of the viewer. The film tells about wartime, namely about two of its directions: the years of the Second World War and the first years after. The events of the picture begin in post-war London, smoothly moving into the cozy outback to the island of Guernsey.
The writer Juliet lost her parents during the war. She finds her vocation in books, to which she can speak and trust everything. She is talented, smart and very modest, lives in a rented apartment, not understanding how it is possible to live in luxurious houses when so many people were left homeless after the war.
The publisher demands a new book from Juliet, but she can’t seem to find inspiration until one occasion, the very occasion when she receives a letter from an unknown Dawsey Adams. He is a member of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. This club is a symbol of the secret meetings of the inhabitants of the island of Guernsey. Juliet is so inspired by this story that she decides to go to the island herself, interview the inhabitants of the island and write a publication about them.
Before embarking on this extraordinary journey, Juliet’s fiancé proposes to her, she agrees, but does not cancel her trip. By the way, Juliet was going to go to the island of Guernsey for only a few days, but she is so fascinated by the stories of the inhabitants that she does not notice how she spends more and more time there.
When Juliet arrives in Guernsey, she meets a group of people who are members of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Where does the name of the club come from, you ask? One of the members of this community, Will Thisby, liked to meet people only if there was some kind of refreshment at the meetings. Without refreshments, he did not see the point in gathering secretly and so dangerously in wartime. He invented the recipe for that same pie, no eggs, no flour, just potatoes and potato peels. By the way, the pie was to the taste of all the visitors of the club.
The club was organized during the German occupation, was a cover for meetings of the inhabitants of the island, but after the war the meetings did not stop, because they already felt like a family. For the heroes of the film, meetings in this club were a real salvation, they forgot about the horrors that were happening around, enjoyed freedom and positive emotions, and stopped being afraid of the war and German soldiers at least for a while. They read books with wild hope and greed, imbued with the history of the characters, knew the authors and quoted the characters quite often. Books are their life, they are freedom, freedom to think and feel, freedom to love.
The images of the heroes of this club are completely different, everyone has their own secrets, experiences and dreams. We can watch how they trust Juliet step by step with their stories full of hard events, losses and grief, but none of them lost hope. They are sensitive, kind and strong in spirit, which inspires Juliet so much.
The film first of all tells about love, about strong and strong-willed people, military actions are not shown at all and do not focus on this.
This beautiful and bright film tells us that it is never too late to open your heart to something new, to make someone a little happier and to become happier yourself. And although dreams do not always immediately lead us exactly where we really want to be, but this long journey makes us stronger and more tolerant and helps to appreciate the happiness we gain even more.
Books are the epitome of freedom. Books allow you to listen to yourself more often, study yourself, compare, dream. They develop and preserve something within themselves that we have long lost, some elusive part of ourselves. Perhaps even your own time to be with yourself. When we read, we read to ourselves, we are with thoughts, with our feelings, empathy, and in the moment, in the present, where there is only me.
The meaning of this story is revealed in the incredible strength of ordinary people who are able to survive the war and get along with its consequences. In irresistible curiosity and the meaning of words. In sudden love that generates exciting inspiration, intensifying the desire to live and explore the unknown.
