DVD Review: Station Eleven (based on the novel by Emily St. John Mandel)

Station Eleven
TV mini-series based on the novel by Emily St. John Mandel (DVD Station)

One of my daughter’s favorite books is Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, a book about what happens when the swine flu Pandemic kills off most of the population. Mind you, this book was published in 2014, years before COVID. Because of the focus on trying to keep culture alive, specifically theater, music and literature, I decided to give the new mini-series a try. The mini-series, Station Eleven, is based on the internationally acclaimed novel but with many changes in characters and plot. Even so, the series holds the same basic idea: survivors of the Pandemic must attempt to rebuild their world while keeping hold of the best of their culture: Shakespeare plays, music performance, and literature. A group of survivors bands together, calling themselves the Traveling Symphony, performing plays on their established route around Lake Michigan. Small groups of survivors who have formed new communities such as the one at the Severn Airport in Michigan invite the players to come perform for them. This happens 20 years after the Pandemic, bringing together all of the storylines and resolving them in one climactic performance. Much of the series revolves around a graphic novel that was created by one of the characters. Referred to as “the prophecy,” all of the main characters have some tie to this novel — only a few copies exist, but the impact of the story affects many people over the course of these twenty years.

 

I have to say that I really enjoyed the post-Pandemic story and how connected all of these characters were to the mission to save the best of humanity. However, the DVD set had no rating. I would view this with caution due to Language; Graphic Violence; Adult Situations; and Themes.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try The Road by Cormac McCarthy, and the film adaptation of that, The Road starring Viggo Mortensen.)

 

(Also available in traditional print format.)

 

( Internet Movie Database entry for this 10-episode mini-series )

 

Recommended by Kim J.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you watched (or read) this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

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