User Reviews

But it was still enjoyable. The past was underdeveloped so this viewer lacked sympathy for the now adult characters - a key element in establishing a rapport and story arc.

Susan Sarandon was marvellous as always in the lead, welcoming Max Von Syndow who 'rescued' her as a child from the concentration camps, along with Gabriel Byrne who was a childhood companion in the camp with her.

Christopher Plummer's performance as the husband who keeps it all together is excellent, he rarely puts a foot wrong on stage or screen, a consummate actor.

Gabriel Byrne projects haunted like no actor can and his scene with Max touched me emotionally like none of the other which appeared more 'contrived'.

Roy Dupuis, who played the part of the son, is a little underused here, the effects on him of his disconnected mother not fully explored - this could have been tied in with his oddly absentee wife? The scenery, pardon the pun, just about steals every scene here - magnificent - and the autumn colours underline the autumn years of the cast, beautifully done.

6 out of 10. I felt there was more to this than was shown.

This is a little gem of a film with superior acting and breathtaking visuals. It does not appeal to a wide audience and never got wide distribution. I'm not even sure it was ever shown commercially in the United States. It is the type of film that causes fans of good acting and production to be grateful for DVD's.

The story and the characters may be a bit exaggerated, but that can be forgiven because the viewer is offered insight into some extremely interesting personalities.

In 1942, Melanie Lansing was the pubescent daughter of American Jews living in France. It is not fully explained in the film, but Melanie has been separated from her parents and sent to Drancy. Drancy (Link) was a transit camp not far from Paris where those unwelcome in the Nazi world were prepared from shipment to concentration camps. At Drancy, Melanie meets Christopher Lewis who is an Irish lad about her same age. Christopher introduces Melanie to Jakob Bronski who is a young Jewish scholar in his twenties. Jakob is able to bribe the officials so that Melanie and Christopher are not sent to concentration camps in Germany. Just as Jakob is being packed off to a concentration camp, he gives Melanie a book with the obligation to record all who pass through Drancy. These events exist as Melanie's memories in the film that takes place in 1985.

Melanie Lansing Winters lives on a small farm in an idyllic setting in Eastern Canada with her husband David who is a semi-retired college professor. Also at the farm for a momentous event in Melanie's life are her son and grandson. It seems that Melanie has spent her life in support of oppressed groups of people and she has tracked down Jakob who was first sent to a German concentration camp and then to a Russian camp. In both he suffered unspeakable tortures both physical and psychological. Melanie has invited Jakob to her home offering him a place to stay for the rest of his life. It is clear from the beginning that her husband is not as enthusiastic about this plan as Melanie for reasons that will be exposed as the story continues.

Jakob arrives at the airport with a somewhat unsettling surprise for Melanie. He has brought Christopher with whom Melanie had lost contact. Christopher has nurtured his love for Melanie for over forty years and hopes that she returns his feelings.

The action in this tale takes place during one weekend and at a welcoming dinner for Jakob that Melanie has arranged. During that time we gain insight into Melanie, her husband, David, their son Benjamin, Christopher, and Jakob. The story revolving around this forty-three year old encounter is a bit weak, but the characters are solid as concrete as their emotions can be applied to anyone, anywhere, at any time.

A powerhouse of actors bring these characters to life.

Christopher Plummer is husband, David who appears first as an unfeeling lunk but emerges as a complex man whose life has been shaped by his love for an obsessive woman.

Roy Dupuis is solid as a son who has had to endure a life dominated by two opposite poles of overwhelming parents.

Dakota Goyo is beautiful as the grandson who is able to touch the innocence still contained in all of the wounded adults around him.

Gabriel Byrne is perfect as Christopher, a successful man still gripped by a love that began almost a half century ago.

Max von Sydow gives a hypnotic performance of a man who has suffered unimaginable tortures and has survived to live the last of his life in a peace created by his own mind.

The unstable and fanatical Melanie is played by Susan Sarandon. Has she ever given a bad performance? In this film, she gives us a woman who is basically unlikable, but her considerable acting talent forces us to care and emphasize with the emotionally damaged Melanie.

From the description, you may think that this is a tragic tale about a group of lost souls, but the DVD title is a spoiler to the conclusion of the film. This is a beautiful story of lost souls found, and it is solid, solid entertainment.

I watched this film last night and its been with me on and off all day. First off, don't expect Entertainment in the purest form of the word here, this is a very adult, cerebral and slow-burning experience. Ultimately, its about pain and the memory of it and how that can affect life and relationships afterwards. To say the acting in this film is good is a serious under-statement, but Susan Sarandon is absolutely sublime, it honestly cant get much better than this.

The relationship between her and Christopher Plummer is at best dubious, and when Gabriel Byrne is introduced, we are left guessing as to whats the story here.Through some very subtle changes of tone, as the story progresses, you do wonder if Von Sydow and Byrnes presence, are finally filling some need in Plummer, through jealousy or a sense of competition , which, it has to be said, he feels he's losing desperately.

There's one scene in particular which shows just how sad memories can be when not shared with others and its only when it rains and the words are washed from the diary that you feel Sarandon has finally let go of the past as is symbolised by the rain making clean for the future.

Von Sydow realises he's been at fault by making her suffer through remembrance and declares 'She should have lived'. Great writing, direction and SUPERB acting, all add up to a very worth-while and deeply poignant movie.

...because it was too disjointed and it seemed it was building up some steam and then suddenly it stopped again or more exactly dragged to a stop. Not a lot happened and what did happen had limited explanations explanations. What were American and Irish children doing in Paris in the Second World War? Would the Nazi's have really gone out of their way to get two orphans? What's with Max Van Sydow and the gun in the barn? Why is the grandson's mother mentioned once and never again?

Gabriel Brynes' accent kept appearing and then disappearing. The actor who played him as a boy had no Irish accent at all.

Having said that I hasten to add the actors gave life and some consistently to an otherwise jerky story line. The scenery was amazing as well. They are the reason I watched it to the end and gave the movie a 10.