'Mare of Easttown,' yet another easy win for HBO
The Hindu
Mare of Easttown remains faithful to what has proven to be a winning template for 21st century television, namely, ‘a troubled sleuth investigates a small town’
“Doing something great is overrated. Because then people expect that from you all the time. What they don’t realize is you’re just as screwed up as they are.” These lines are spoken by Kate Winslet’s titular character Mare Sheehan in the recent HBO miniseries Mare of Easttown (streaming on Hotstar in India). A detective drama set in a small town in Pennsylvania, Mare of Easttown is yet another easy win for HBO. The story follows Mare Sheehan (Winslet), an Easttown police detective going through several personal crises, as she investigates the murder of a local teenager. Winslet is in career-best form and the rest of the cast are every bit as good — especially Julianne Nicholson and Jean Smart, who play Mare’s best friend Lori and her mother Helen, respectively. .
A vacuum cleaner haunted by a ghost is the kind of one-liner which can draw in a festival audience looking for a little light-hearted fun to fill the time slots available between the “heavier” films which require much closer attention. A useful ghost, the debut feature of Thai filmmaker Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke being screened in the world cinema category at the 30th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK), even appears so in the initial hour. Until, the film becomes something more, with strong undercurrents of Thailand’s contemporary political history.

Sustainability is not an add-on, but stamped firmly into the process: every piece is biodegradable, waste-free and unembellished, free from glitter or beads. “Products should be sustainable and biodegradable so that our planet is not harmed,” says Anu Elizabeth Alexander, a student of Sishya, Adyar. At a recent exhibition, the stars she made sold the fastest, followed by the small diamonds. “I would like people to know about the process, how it is created, and that it is sustainable,” says Anu. Infanta Leon from Kotturpuram developed an interest in crochet as a teenager. It was a hobbyhorse that evolved into a steed that would help her embark on a journey of identity-shaping creative engagement. She started making Christmas-themed decor two years ago, spurred by a desire to craft safe, eco-friendly toys for children. “With a toddler at home, and my elder child sensitive to synthetic materials, I wanted to create items that were gentle, durable and tactile,” she explains. Her earliest creations were small amigurumi toys which gradually evolved into ornaments that could adorn Christmas trees with warmth and charm.











