Harvest Moon - Vollmond im September

almost creepy. not the best option for Eric Mabius as John Flemming. one of many sweet stories about the young prince and not very young princess. it is only a comfortable story in Hallmark style. nothing new, nothing complicated, nothing interesting. only he and she and the people around theme. so, not good or bad. only another occasion for Jacqueline Bisset to act old role who defines her. only strange fact is the status of son of first boyfriend of Maggie Webber for the young Flemming. it is strange and unrealistic. and, sure, far to be real moral. but it could be only an insignificant detail. a film for the fans of genre. and that is all.

I was so excited when I saw that the book "Dancing at the Harvest Moon" was being made for tv. When I first read the book I immediately loved it. Unfortunately, I was extremely disappointed with the tv version. The people who made it just couldn't capture the greatness of the book. If you even remotely liked the tv movie...Read the book it's a million times better.

I knew I wouldn't like the film as much as the novel, which was so intelligently written. But other than the fact that the casting was somewhat off (in the book, the age difference is not so very noticeable and the relationship is much more believable) I have to say I was glued to the screen. I admit there were some lame lines of dialogue that the author of the novel wouldn't have written, but it was just so good to see a smart and intelligent film (my God, they quoted Yeats!) on TV that I loved it. And Jacqueline Bisset just gets more beautiful and talented as time goes on. We need more roles like this one for actresses over forty.

Unimpressive, dull and sometimes pretensious TV movie about a middle aged woman (Bisset) who discovered that his old time husband (Mancuso) is betraying her with a young secretary; after the discovery, the poor wife goes back to the city where she lives when she was a teenager justo to reopen an old and decayed ballroom. This movie could be a good chance to discuss with more sharpness the anguish, troubles and fantasies of a feminine soul - especially after a marriage breakup - but unfortunately misses the point and is just a routine and unconvincing love story, narrated like a classic and old-fashioned soap opera. I give this a 4 (four).

Jacqui Bisset even at 58 still projects a vixen quality that belies her obvious maturity, here she has the opportunity to showcase her age as her asset and integral to the storyline, but ultimately, the plot is thin, the characters and situations clichéd and un-involving. She plays a woman scorned by philandering husband (Mancuso) and elects to take a trip back through memory lane to a place in which she worked briefly some thirty years earlier, and where she had a brief but torrid liaison with a man named Patrick. Patrick has since both married and died, but his son (Mabius) is a tangible reminder of her brief encounter with Patrick (but not her progeny - it's not that kind of movie) and serves to vicariously rekindle the flame she shared with his late father.

It's a little disconcerting watching the two engage in the lovey-dovey dialogue and passionate embraces, the kisses looking anything but intimate. There's this whole 'Danielle Steele' quality to the movie that holds it back from the mature, poignant tale it aims to be, although Bisset at least gives an apparently sincere performance in a complex characterisation that exhibits conflicted emotions and motivations. Despite the fact her character is criticised, ostracised and made to feel 'trashy' by townsfolk concerned for Mabius' character's welfare, Bisset never becomes a tragic figure, retaining dignity even despite the lame dialogue and clichéd situations.

TV movie of mediocre quality, elevated marginally by the star presence of Bisset ought to appeal to those looking for the TV cousin (and predecessor) of "Under the Tuscan Sun", or just those who remain enamoured by the evergreen Bisset.