PROVOKR PICK: TOLKIEN

BY: Elizabeth Hazard

Author J RR Tolkien was a mastermind, a creative genius the likes of none other. When he set out to write The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings, the English author wanted to write something that will givehis home country a sense of wonder and imagination. “I was from early days grieved by the poverty of my own beloved country,” the author said. “It had no stories of its own (bound up with its tongue and soil), not of the quality that I sought.” What he did was more than give a gift to his homeland, he wrote a legendary story that would sell over 150 million copies, would be translated into countless languages, was later adapted into record-making film success years later and would become known as one of the
greatest works of writing by an author to date.In the recently-released biopic Tolkien, film director Dome Karukoski sets out to tell the story of the man behind the mystical, fantasy writing. With Nicholas Hoult playing the lead role as Tolkien, we see the world of the author who sets out to change the world through his writing. We see the things that shaped Tolkien as an author, from his involvement in World War I, his deep love for Edith, who is played by Lily Collins, and his personal friendships.Tolkien created an imaginary world with secret languages, mythical lands and societal rules that formed the Middle Earth in his writing. The author’s passion and gift for creating worlds that transported us far
from reality is something to behold. The film captures those experiences that shaped the writer and formed his deep sense of imagination.