Benedict Cumberbatch’s turn in The Courier is a particularly fascinating one, if not simply because of its effectiveness in showcasing a key depth in the star’s talent.
The education minister, Chris Hipkins, has announced that Latin will no longer be an NCEA subject by 2023. Hipkins cited poor student uptake as the main reason behind the change: only around 200 students from 10 schools around Aotearoa take NCEA Latin, and only about 25 at level 3. However, even if it s a language whose spoken applications have long since died off, Latin is still all around us – from the legal system, to medicine, zoology, botany, religious studies. Thousands of words we use in everyday conversation trace their roots back to Latin. So, is there still merit in offering a subject which might not land you a job, but might enhance your understanding of the world?
The Courier Movie Review
Grade: B
Release Date: March 18, 2021
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The Courier adapts the real story of a British businessman Greville Wynne (Benedict Cumberbatch) who was recruited into service at UK’s MI-6, while being “handled” by CIA operative Emily Donovan (Rachel Brosnahan) and Oleg Penkovsky (Merab Ninidze), a Soviet officer in high Russian circles who became an anti-government informant.
The plot is based on real events that took place during the October 1962
Cuban Missile Crisis, when Soviet ballistic missiles were being deployed in Cuba, JFK demanding their removal, and Khruschev refusing, thus driving both super-powers to begin preparations for a nuclear war while setting the world into a state of panic. The crisis itself plays a secondary role to the personal story of the British, American and Russian operatives.
Latin has been struck off the NCEA list, but its disappearance will be mourned by many who say it lives on in everyday English, and it's vital to some professions.