EL SEGUNDO HERALD February 28, 2019 Page 5
Reviewed by Kim Harris, Library
Assistant, El Segundo Middle School
Five Feet Apart is a YA novel geared
towards teens who are fans of John Green’s
The Fault in Our Stars. The movie for this
book is coming out in March 2019. The book
was a screenplay before becoming a book,
and has three co-authors. It is a bittersweet
love story about two cystic fibrosis patients
who meet in the hospital. Five Feet Apart
is written in alternating chapters from both
Stella and Will’s points of view. Stella Grant
is a high school senior who spends her spring
break in the hospital instead of Cabo San
Lucas because she has cystic fibrosis and
her lungs aren’t working at their capacity.
She is very smart and plays by the rules.
While in the hospital, Stella meets Will
Newman, who also has cystic fibrosis. Will
is a cartoon artist and rebels whenever he is
given the opportunity. The two are complete
opposites: Stella is obsessed with taking her
meds at the right time and prolonging her
life, and Will just wants to end his clinical
trial and see the world with the time that he
has left. The big question that the book asks
is can two people fall in love if they are not
allowed to touch?
When they first meet, Stella doesn’t like Will
because of his attitude towards their disease.
The one rule that all cystic fibrosis patients
have is that they have to stay six feet apart
from one another at all times so they don’t
infect each other. As Stella and Will get to
know each other, they find the distance hard
to maneuver because they want to touch. It
must be hard living in a world where you
can’t touch the person you care about, hold
hands or give a hug. As Stella and Will
start to fall in love, they realize that their
romance is doomed from the start because
those with cystic fibrosis aren’t allowed to
be together. Their lungs are susceptible to
infections and they might kill each other. I
like how the two solve their problem: they
use a pool cue to stay five feet apart so they
can be together yet still not harm each other.
The book includes their parents and friends,
and lets the reader know what it is like to
live with cystic fibrosis.
I liked this book because it was hopeful.
Even though both of the main characters had
a terminal illness, they each had a plan for
their future and a spark to live and enjoy
the world. I liked learning more about cystic
fibrosis and really enjoyed reading the book.
I hope all of you enjoy reading it too! •
By Ryan Rojas for cinemacy.com
If you regularly follow Cinemacy’s weekly
film contributions (and we hope that you do!),
you’ll know that Morgan and I both strive
to share with you what we feel are among
the most exciting and special films that don’t
always find themselves being discussed in
conversation. So with that in mind, instead
of using this week’s submission to talk
about the films that you might have already
seen and which won at this year’s Academy
Awards (the big winners being Green Book,
Bohemian Rhapsody and Black Panther), we
wanted to share with you some of the lesser
known films of 2018 that were honored at a
different awards event --one that Cinemacy
covered on the red carpet (check out our
site for our video coverage) as well as in
the press room.
Taking place the day before the Oscars
every year, the Film Independent Spirit
Awards celebrate the best of films that are
independently produced and made outside
of the rigid – and often political – studio
system. Despite their countries of origin,
budgets and the talent attached, all of the
films recognized at the Spirit Awards have one
thing in common: they all embody diversity,
innovation, and uniqueness of vision.
While the Oscars awarded Best Picture
to Green Book, the Indie Spirit Awards
gave Best Feature to If Beale Street Could
Talk, the big screen adaptation of James
Baldwin’s literary classic directed by Barry
Jenkins (who was also awarded for Best
Director, as well as honored last year for
the incredible Moonlight). If you’ve yet
to see it, Beale Street was truly one of the
most beautiful movies made last year. Its
level of artistry and emotive resonance will
surely leave an imprint on those who seek
it out.
Best Male Lead went to Ethan Hawke
in First Reformed – and while Hawke unfortunately
couldn’t attend the event, his
performance in the film was committed
and definitely one to celebrate. Best Female
Lead went to Glenn Close in The Wife, who
– while sharing her thanks on the podium
and in the press room – brought her dog,
Pip, onto the stage, stealing the show. Best
Supporting Male went to Richard E. Grant
in Can You Ever Forgive Me? and Best Supporting
Female went to Regina King in If
Beale Street Could Talk.
Other notable awards went to Can You
Ever Forgive Me?’s Nicole Holofcener for
Best Screenplay, Eighth Grade’s Bo Burnham
for Best First Screenplay, and Sorry
to Bother You’s Boots Riley for Best First
Feature. The Robert Altman Award, which
is given to an ensemble cast, director and
casting director of a film considered to be
a “maverick” of the year, went to Suspiria,
and the John Cassavetes Award went to En
El Séptimo Día.
While the landscape of movies has evolved
so much over the past few years, leaving unique
films to compete with the latest binge-worthy
television show on any number of streaming
services, Cinemacy aims to share with you,
our readers, interesting films of little-known
awareness but are among the top artistic
achievements of the year. And with the Film
Independent Spirit Awards (and Oscars) now
concluded, we set our sights ahead to 2019
and what will no doubt be another exciting
year in film. •
Check It Out
Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott with Mikki Daughtry and
Tobias Iaconis
Kim Harris
Entertainment
Film Review
Barry Jenkins, winning the award for Best Director at the 34th annual Independent Spirit Awards. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Five Feet Apart by Rachael
Lippincott with Mikki Daughtry
and Tobias Iaconis
Spirit Awards Honor
If Beale Street Could Talk
and the Best of Indie Film
Ryan Rojas.
“Awards are like applause, and
every actor likes to hear applause.”
– Ralph Fiennes