Michael Ostrander

Good story, well acted, and cleverly written. What more could you ask for.

Very close to perfect. Brilliant and authentic feeling story, stunningly set, subtle yet arresting cinematography. The acting is so strong here that it doesn’t feel like acting at all. When you watch the interactions of these characters you are living on their street, standing in their parlors, living their lives with them and through them. Watch this slowly, don’t let it end too soon.

Just finished watching and maybe not the best time for a review. May amend later but my first impression is that this is “little” movie construction at its best. Rarely in movie making do we get to see relatable people interacting on this level. No dramatic revelations, no plot twists or contrivances that distract from two people who have filled each other’s lives, not in spite of, but because of, the personality quirks that keep them separate from most of the people they know. In other words, people just like us and the people we love. Like most of us, they deal with love and loss awkwardly, unexpressed, and desparate for meaning. In the course of the story we see seemingly unbearable grief give way to respect and loyalty and finally resignation. I want to think about it for a while and that alone shows this film accomplished something very special.

Solid period drama. England’s entry into WWII told told through the lives of some of the ordinary people in Germany, Poland, France, Belgium, and the UK. Performances are up to the usual Standards one has come to expect from a major Masterpiece production. The multiple story lines are varied and interesting on their own but maybe just a bit much. There is a common thread connecting them but this is, in some cases, a bit tenuous at best. Less, done well, would have been more here I believe. Overall well worth your time and attention.

Very interesting story. Well written from a technical standpoint but I found the story a little over zealous and heavy handed in depicting the terrorizing and murder of young women by old men. This is a case where a little more subtly would have resulted in much more credulity. The acting by the principle characters is very good. Most notable being the actors portraying Hanna, the nurse, and the newspaperman. The men on the committee overseeing the task of verifying the supposed miracle are also quite believable. The Doctor stands out in his role as well as the lone dissenter. Hanna’s family comes off as a parody of a poor third world family allowing superstition to empower them to support the intensional harm being committed to their own daughter. The cinematography it really the star of this film. The landscapes, buildings, and interiors are set up and shot in such a way as to allow the viewer to become truly immersed in the world where the story takes place. High marks for the lighting and camera work. The score, I felt, was distracting at best, and simply wasted an opportunity to augment a pretty good film. The unnerving and almost constant dissonant percussion was simply annoying. Much of the score resembled 60’s B-movie canned “Scary Music”. Really could have done with a little sleds pretension here and a little less pretension. All in all the film was well worth the investment in time and attention.