I can't understand how so many reviewers feel this movie is about "true love" when it is about the exact opposite: hypocrisy and selfishness masquerading under the self- righteous banner of love.
The story begins with a woman who has an affair and dumps her husband 5 days before Christmas (all in the name of love, of course). The man in the affair, a world renowned composer, similarly breaks up his own marriage and family to be with the woman. The two live in wedded bliss with the woman repeatedly making the man promise that he'll never abandon her. But an incurable illness drives a wedge between the two--an illness for which the woman repeatedly and irritatingly blames the man (as "abandonment") while she melodramatically plays the martyred caregiver.
There is a scene midway where, at her end of her patience, she cruelly crushes his illusion of comfort by blurting out the harsh reality he needn't know. Then she justifies it by saying they swore to always be honest with each other, in the name of "love". That scene made me want to track down the writer and say "By the way, yes, that dress DOES make you look fat!" *facepalm*
Let me say that the illness is one that I have firsthand experience with. The portrayal is quite accurate, and for most of the movie I was impressed with the acting in that regard. But what I found utterly disgusting is the woman's way of handling the illness. Sure, dealing with any sudden illness is tough on loved ones, but this movie came across as simply a pity party for the woman and a justification for her atrocious handling of the situation culminating in an utterly sickening, hypocritical choice even though apparently other reviewers think it's "beautiful". I won't say what it is, but rather I'll let you be the judge if you decide to waste your 2 hours watching this. I'll just say it will undoubtedly offend anyone, like me, who has actually dealt with the hardships of caring for a loved one unconditionally.
Though evidently some have interpreted this to be a feel good love story, I found it to be a sickening glorification of selfishness. It reminded me of similarly disturbing Woody Allen flicks which glorify Woody's sexual obsession of old men and young girls which audiences applaud, perhaps not knowing or caring to know about Woody's real life history of sexual abuse toward his daughter, Dylan. I can bet you that the creator of this film has a similar agenda of glorifying his or her own selfish behavior, passing it off as the spoils of love.
If you want to see a great movie that illustrates true, unselfish love in the face of a debilitating disease, check out "Away from Her" starring the great Julie Christie.
As much as I hate "Song for Martin" I actually recommend that you watch this movie to the end so that some of you can see how NOT to behave in a serious illness situation. This movie took hospice care back 100 years. Two stars out of ten, simply because I reserve 1-star ratings for snuff films like "Cannibal Holocaust" and "Electrocuting an Elephant".
The story begins with a woman who has an affair and dumps her husband 5 days before Christmas (all in the name of love, of course). The man in the affair, a world renowned composer, similarly breaks up his own marriage and family to be with the woman. The two live in wedded bliss with the woman repeatedly making the man promise that he'll never abandon her. But an incurable illness drives a wedge between the two--an illness for which the woman repeatedly and irritatingly blames the man (as "abandonment") while she melodramatically plays the martyred caregiver.
There is a scene midway where, at her end of her patience, she cruelly crushes his illusion of comfort by blurting out the harsh reality he needn't know. Then she justifies it by saying they swore to always be honest with each other, in the name of "love". That scene made me want to track down the writer and say "By the way, yes, that dress DOES make you look fat!" *facepalm*
Let me say that the illness is one that I have firsthand experience with. The portrayal is quite accurate, and for most of the movie I was impressed with the acting in that regard. But what I found utterly disgusting is the woman's way of handling the illness. Sure, dealing with any sudden illness is tough on loved ones, but this movie came across as simply a pity party for the woman and a justification for her atrocious handling of the situation culminating in an utterly sickening, hypocritical choice even though apparently other reviewers think it's "beautiful". I won't say what it is, but rather I'll let you be the judge if you decide to waste your 2 hours watching this. I'll just say it will undoubtedly offend anyone, like me, who has actually dealt with the hardships of caring for a loved one unconditionally.
Though evidently some have interpreted this to be a feel good love story, I found it to be a sickening glorification of selfishness. It reminded me of similarly disturbing Woody Allen flicks which glorify Woody's sexual obsession of old men and young girls which audiences applaud, perhaps not knowing or caring to know about Woody's real life history of sexual abuse toward his daughter, Dylan. I can bet you that the creator of this film has a similar agenda of glorifying his or her own selfish behavior, passing it off as the spoils of love.
If you want to see a great movie that illustrates true, unselfish love in the face of a debilitating disease, check out "Away from Her" starring the great Julie Christie.
As much as I hate "Song for Martin" I actually recommend that you watch this movie to the end so that some of you can see how NOT to behave in a serious illness situation. This movie took hospice care back 100 years. Two stars out of ten, simply because I reserve 1-star ratings for snuff films like "Cannibal Holocaust" and "Electrocuting an Elephant".