Liebe, Schmerz und das ganze verdammte Zeug

This is a great low key film. Maggie Smith is wonderful in this off beat drama/comedy. She did this I believe after " The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie " but her performance is clearly up to that standard. It really is a very sweet love story with the ups and downs of a relationship between Maggie and Timothy Bottoms. His performance is also very good and kept very low key much like the film in general. I don't know why it is not available on DVD or VHS? I happen to have recorded it off of a Canadian Broadcast years ago. I have also tried searching a number of rental house to no avail. If Mr. Pakula reads this please find away to make this little gem of a film available to everyone. Thank You.

I saw this film when I was 22, with my best friend. The protagonist, played by Timothy Bottoms, was so easy to root for, and Maggie Smith's "older woman" is a thing of beauty, comedic and touching, of course you love her, but, let's be real, what chance is there for THIS relationship... a film that was innovative for it's time, I thought. It's rather hard to find at video stores, so I think I'll try to buy it.

Boo hoo- I can't imagine why this movie is not available..!! It truly lives up to the title-- covering love, pain and 'the whole damned thing' much in the way depth comedies like Harold and Maude or A Thousand Clowns (Jason Robards) did. I still remember certain humorous 'Maggie' scenes after 30+ years since my first viewing -- and had no idea I'd have any trouble finding the film to add to my comedy classics collection!! With Maggie in full bloom these days - even with the younger set (via Harry Potter), there is no excuse not to have one of her funniest available!! (The toilet paper stuck-on-her scene was great!) Timothy did VERY well,too-- just right, in fact and I remember this film and The White Dawn as two of his best films. Besides comedy and pathos and great scenery (eg Spain) there was a touch of Harold and Maude in this film. Maggie was cast as the endearingly disbelieving love object of Timothy Bottoms deepening devotion, and in certain scenes wherein his father tries to talk him out of the preposterousness of being in love with an older (and dying) woman, there are echoes of similar scenes between Bud Cort and those trying to dissuade Harold from the (supposed) foolhardiness/repulsion factor of loving Maude!)

I saw this film for the first time when it was coupled with "the main film"...The Dove. Fortunately this film came on first and afterwards, during the preview of The Dove, most of the audience left. They clearly had come to see Maggie Smith. This is an absolutely perfect film and I would love to share it with other people.

Yes, it's too romantic. Yes, it's a fairy tale. But it's so lovely. Timothy Bottoms is a loser on a bus trip through Spain where he meets his female counterpart, Maggie Smith. Of course, she's older than he is, but they soon find out they're kindred spirits. This movie is a dream. I, of course, am a romantic, so I loved it from the moment I first saw it, when I was just a kid. If you're a romantic, you'll love it too.