Reviews

Star-crossed lovers from the beginning, Eun-a is from a wealthy family in North Korea, and Jang Il-gu is the son of her family's servant. They play together as children, but her mother eventually disapproves of their closeness. Still, they continue to meet in secret, and just before they are about to be separated by forces greater than either of them as Jang Il-gu is conscripted into the Japanese army, Eun-a gives herself to him and pledges her eternal love before fleeing to the South. A child results from their one-time union. Meanwhile, the years go by until Korea is liberated from Japan, and Jan Il-gu waits for and finally finds the opportunity to defect to the South to find his family. He promises to deliver crucial military information to the South Korean regarding an impending strike from the North if his captors will help him find them. He shows them a photo and, in an ironic twist of fate, his interrogator, Captain Lee, recognises her as his current wife who is now expecting their first child. He knew about her previous relationship and had promised Eun-a that he would let her go if Jang Il-gu should ever come looking for her, which was the only way that she would consent to marry him. With that promise weighing on him, as well as everything that is at stake with the information that Jang Il-gu can provide to the army, he gives the order to send for her. How can three noble people, all trying to do the right thing, possibly confront such an impossible situation?

Overall, I found this a highly sensitive and absorbing film. I was most particularly struck by the sensitivity that the rest of the soldiers and officers displayed regarding this tragic love story that suddenly presented itself to them so close to the front. They seemed to give as much consideration to the human story that was unfolding, and how every step they took might affect each character, as they did to their battle strategy. Very different from what you would expect to see in a Hollywood film of similar ilk. In general, the acting was fine, and the script well-written, but toward the end, the acting of the three main characters was a bit melodramatic. And there was one scene involving an American soldier who was portrayed by a Korean actor with a heavy Korean accent (which I have noticed in many other Korean films). I suppose that's not any worse than some of the older Hollywood films that have foreigners played by Americans with horrible accents (the worst that springs to mind is Spencer Tracy slaughtering a Mexican accent in John Steinbeck's Tortilla Flat). But aside from those minor flaws, I would really recommend this film. It really brings home the human side of war, particularly civil war.

I really enjoyed watching this film. The chemistry between the actors is good, the story is light, and the black and white cinematography give it just the right ambiance for watching on a rainy afternoon. I think what I enjoyed most about this movie were the theatrical scenes with the puppet-like performances given by the actors hands and arms. That was sheer genius, and I would like to see more like that... it was like a contemporary modern dance performance, but just with hands, arms and props. Also, the scenery around Gdansk was nice. And it was fun to see a few shots of a very young Roman Polanski. If you are looking for a complicated plot, or something very deep, then this is not the film for you. But, if you are looking for some light, artsy entertainment on a rainy afternoon, it's perfect. I think the overall message is to enjoy life while it's happening and not worry about making things stay the same way always. This is a theme that comes up in the girls conversation repeatedly as the boy is always talking about marriage, and she says, if we say it's forever, it will become boring. Well, I have a soft spot for old black and white Polish movies, so I'm giving it a 7.

The story is simple, a man' love... for his horse, and for a girl. The horse was an orphan just like him, and he raised it from a colt. When he fell in love with a beautiful girl, it was the horse who carried him to distant cities, helping him earn the bride price, but a long waiting time, a series of misunderstandings and circumstances keep the lovers apart for longer than they expect. Meanwhile, the girl's aunt wants to marry her off to a rich man. But the real beauty of this film is seeing the human side of the great changes that were going on in Tajikistan at the time. The old ways were starting to fade, but there was a lot of resistance from all sides. Some eagerly greeted the building of a new railroad and the advent of the horseless carriage as paving the way to a brighter future, but Hasan is loyal to his horse and cart. They are his companions for life. The communist regime is also coming in, making everyone equal. This is a change that Hasan welcomes and he even turns into a sort of Robin Hood when he runs into some profiteering flour merchants. It is interesting to hear all the different perspectives on the changes coming about. Perhaps the most tragic story of all is that of the brave schoolteacher who dared to bare her head in public and run a women's reading circle, for which she is taunted, beaten and chased, and eventually killed. One of the most poignant moments in the film for me is at her funeral, when all the women take off their scarves and throw them in the fire. How will Hasan fare with the two great loves of his life? You will have to watch the movie to find out. I would have given it a higher score, but dramatically, it didn't have quite enough depth, maybe because the events of several years were being told so quickly, and I also didn't get the sense of passing time, although it was evident that at least 4 years or more passed from the beginning to the end, it felt like everything happened within a few weeks. Still, a very worthwhile watch.

This film offers an interesting twist on the "villains out to stop Christmas" theme that seems to be so prevalent these days. Here, the villains are a group of seedy corporate executive types posing as the Commission on Christmas in Juland, where they have banned all the real Santas from working with elves, angels or reindeer and from granting children's Christmas wishes. Their motivation? To make sure that all the Christmas presents have to be bought by parents from commercial enterprises. In other words, the villain is the commercialization of Christmas. Unfortunately, where the film falls short is that it doesn't really bring in anything about the real spirit of Christmas... I'm not talking about religious themes, but about the spirit of giving or about closeness with family and loved ones, kindness to strangers, all that heartwarming stuff that really makes a Christmas movie Christmassy (IMO). On the bright side, it was visually very Christmassy. Lots of beautiful, snowy mountain scenery, and it was great to see the quaint German village all decked out for Christmas, cobblestone streets and all. And I really loved Santa's little wooden gypsy caravan and his variety of Santa outfits. The very realistic reindeer poop from the invisible reindeer was a bit unnecessary. All in all, it was a fun romp with themes of triumph over bullying on several levels. A little too action-oriented for my tastes, but I think kids will really enjoy it. And I enjoyed it enough to see it again sometime, but not too soon. The acting ability of the dubbers was not great. I would have preferred to have seen it with the original soundtrack and subtitles, but since it's geared toward kids, I can understand why they didn't do that. Definitely a fun Christmas romp for the kids and anyone who likes snow and all the trappings that go with Chistmas.

I enjoyed this movie very much, but there was a lot less about Christmas than I would have expected. There's just a narrated storybook bit about one Christmas at the beginning, and then the whole film is focused on the search for the Christmas star, but it's not really tied into Christmas in any meaningful way. Still, if you don't look at so much as a Christmas story but more of a fairytale, then it's very satisfying. The dubbing was decent (although I would have preferred the Norwegian soundtrack with subtitles), and I'm so glad they used British dubbing voices, because the accents fit in so much better with the medieval European setting than American voices would have (I'm American myself, so this is not a manifestation of xenophobia, but I really hate when fairy tales which obviously take place in medieval Europe are acted or dubbed by American actors who use modern vocal expression without any attempt at authenticity. It can throw a whole movie for me). But, I digress. What I really loved about this movie were the breathtaking scenery, all the snow (yes, any decent Christmas movie has to have snow!), the scenes in the old Norwegian town, costumes, etc. The visual aesthetic was like a cross between the Golden Compass and The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, but the story was much less sophisticated... as I said, more like a Grimm's fairytale. The villains were typical unidimensional villains. It would have been a better movie if their characters had been better rounded out. And, of course, if we were supposed to be surprised by who Sonia turned out to be, then it wasn't much of a surprise. Pretty predictable. Maybe it would take kids longer to figure it out, but I have my doubts. The animatronic bear was a bit lame, but that scene didn't last long, and the ride on the North Wind was well done as far as special effects. I did like the little foray into the gnome's home in the tree stump. That was really cute. All in all, a cute movie that will keep your attention, and enough snow to put you in the Christmas mood, but in order to get more stars, it would have to have more Christmas themes and decorations in it.

I loved this book when I was growing up in the sixties, and I was thrilled when I found out that they made a movie out of it, but didn't get around to seeing it until last night. At first, I thought it was going to be one of those disappointing, modernized versions, mostly because of the distracting musical score, but despite the truly annoying score, the movie remained true to the book except for a few minor details. Even the toys depicted were from the era that the book was written in. I think that's so important when making a movie out of a children's book. The story is brilliant, about a little girl who wants to be a writer, so she gets her practice by keeping a notebook in which she writes down all her thoughts and observations about the people in her world, and even goes to the extreme of spying on people to get her material. When the notebook falls into the wrong hands, her world is turned upside down. I think the film does a very good job of portraying the children in a realistic light, and I could identify with Harriet's feelings as well as those of her friends and classmates. The adults in the movie, as well as Harriet's nemesis, seemed a bit like caricatures, but Harriet's character and those of her best friends were quite well developed. Definitely worth seeing if you are a fan of this book.

There are many things I liked about this film... the main thing being that everything that happens in the film is entirely plausible. To me, that is an essential ingredient for a good suspense film (I would not classify this as a horror film, which to me, implies a lot of slash and gore... although the film does open up with such a scene, it is incongruous with the rest of the story). Another thing that I really liked was the way that we never see the faces of the adults, and in fact, rarely see their heads. Most shots of the adults are of their feet and legs, sometimes their torsos. In this way, it's a bit reminiscent of watching a Charlie Brown cartoon. This technique allows us to focus on the children, and shows the adults as being peripheral to everything that is going on in the little girls' room. I think the main theme is bullying, and it shows how easily a relationship like this can be established, not just among children. I never had the idea that Flavia actually liked Veronica, but once she was convinced of Veroncia's powers (and again, this happened in a very convincing and plausible way), she was terrified of her and also felt beholden to her. I love the way that the offhand remarks that the adults make in response to the children's questions about witches, the devil, etc. form a part of the girls' psychological landscape, influencing their future actions. It is just such a chance conversation with her father that moves Flavia to take her final decisive action when she is threatened with separation from her beloved pet. A very atmospheric piece, with a lot of the action happening in broad daylight in very beautiful settings. My husband wandered into the room several times while I was watching it without ever suspecting that I was watching a "horror" film.

To say that this film is based on, or has any relevance to Alice in Wonderland is really misleading. The only connection I can see is that the killer has taken on the name Jabberwocky, and one of the victims was named Alice. Beyond that, it's just a simple serial killer mystery with some paranormal stuff thrown in without much thought for making that part of it seem terribly believable (anyone who has real life experience with psychometry will know what I mean). Regardless of these criticisms, it still could have been a fair movie, but the dialog was so poorly written that it was actually painful to listen to. I gave this film a 2 instead of a 1, because it did hold my interest enough to keep me seeing it through to the end (although just barely), but all in all, it's one for the rubbish heap. With so many good films out there, why waste your time with one that is so sub-standard?

This film should make you think. As children (and even as adults), we are constantly being told to love our fellow man, that the least among us is the greatest in God's eye, that faith without acts is worthless, etc. But try to put these principles into practice, and you will be considered eccentric at best, and a lunatic at worst. When you try to live according to the values that everyone else around you is paying lip service to, you will find out what their real values are. How can your duty to your fellow man, your sense of wanting to ease the suffering of the sick, wounded or lonely, ever compete with your social obligations or your spouse's selfish needs for your company and perhaps even your servitude, even if he is perfectly capable of taking care of himself and would do well to join you in your efforts to help those less fortunate than yourself? Perhaps you can get support from your local clergyman? Don't count on it. He will be the first to sign the papers committing you to an insane asylum. You're better off living the high life and just quietly making a weekly contribution to his collection box! One of the most provocative movies of the 20th century.

This beautiful and touching film is about duality on so many levels. First, there is the dilemma faced by a family that has one son in the army, and another in the guerrilla movement... pitting brother against brother. I see this as analogy for the country as a whole, the Kurds and Turks being brothers who are fighting each other. A third son has lost his leg as a result of the violence that their village is subject to on a daily basis. Even those who don't take sides end up suffering. Then, there is the contrast between the father with five daughters for whom nothing is more important than having a son... and his wife and young daughters being very aware of his wishes which expresses with little tact or sensitivity... with the neighbor or relative who is more accepting of what life has given him, and would welcome a daughter. When the villagers are forced to evacuate, we see the juxtaposition of the family who goes to Norway with the one that goes to Istanbul. The émigré family endures some hardships at the hands of the traffickers, but ultimately makes their destination, and finds asylum and hope for a comfortable (who is to say what is "better?") life. The family in Istanbul experiences culture shock in a much more tragic way.. I won't reveal it here. Finally, there is the issue of the transvestite son. I disagree with the person who said that it detracted from the film. It is, in fact, a major issue of the film, and inspired the title. Although this does not become apparent until later in the film, the seeds are planted early on. We see how this son had to keep his true character under wraps in the village, and how, even though still not accepted by his family, he finds acceptance elsewhere, ultimately learning to accept himself. Unfortunately, this self-acceptance cannot survive his family's attitude.