45 Years feels like 45 years to me, not just 45 minutes doubled. It tells of a childless English couple approaching the grand celebration of their 45 years together as man and wife when a message tells the news of the husband's former girlfriend/fiancée/lover/want to be love ... who knows for sure .. certainly someone special in his life ... body being found encapsulated in an ice glacier 50 years prior.
The problem is that the hubby apparently didn't tell the now wife of 45 years of the true relationship between him and the love of his life girl, making the wife rather put out, angry, and unfathomable feelings. Unfathomable, because there are precious few words stated to describe either person's turmoil.
To state that the news is "shattering" and may disengage their relationship as suggested in the description is excessive. Now, if the hubby had been a Nazi in the past and didn't tell her, THAT's shattering. I just don't "get" why at the end of 45 years, it matters whether or not the wife knew of his true relationship with the now dead girl. Couldn't she have possibly guessed initially anyway when or if Katya was discussed in their early days?
I don't buy the storyline. I don't buy the "shattered" emotions. After a lifetime of childlessness and other bits, it seems small. But that's just me.
Now, I love independent films, I really do, but one of the more irritating aspects of many independent films is they cheat the viewers out of a concrete explanations, finale, or climax of any type. This is one of those. There is so much innuendo laid on thickly without very small amount of explanation or discussion or confrontation...or ANYTHING, it falls flat for me into a frustrating heap. Particularly, the ending when after a romantic dance, the wife stands there with a myriad of emotions crossing her face without any words to clarify them or foretell the future of this couple. Will she leave him? Will he leave her? Will he go to see the body? There are dozens of unfulfilled bits that leave me well, unfulfilled feeling. Or maybe THAT's the point. Alas, it's likely one will never know. I suppose we're not supposed to. One will likely never know. And I find that very unsatisfying emotionally as apparently this couple may be. Or not.
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