Bride Flight

Bride Flight is an absolutely beautiful movie that serves as a window into the lives of 4 people, and the connections between them after they met and bonded on a plane to a new start in New Zealand. Its a romantic drama that takes it beyond just the romance shared between two of the characters and makes it about the relationships these four people have with each other throughout their lives. It goes beyond a love story and makes it a story about life, the relationships we have with the people around us, the choices we make, and the regrets and satisfactions that come from those choices after we've lived out our lives and reached old age. I'm not really into chick flick love stories, but the fact that it is more about life in general and the outcomes from our choices made the movie a lot more relevant to me. The four principle characters are absolutely fantastic! Their acting is superb and each one of them makes you fall in love with them in their own unique way. The ending is emotionally touching as the three women look back at the man that changed all their lives in a way they never thought possible, and ride away together reminiscing on the lives they've lived, and their relationships together. It's absolutely touching and beautiful!

On paper the story of Bride Flight might be told in 5 sentences but it's all executed in a convincing fashion with a keen and convincing eye for locale and historic atmosphere. The movie is about three women that fly to find their future in New Zealand in the fifties. On the plane is a man that will influence and tie their lives together in an unforeseen manner. The strength of the movie lies in the characters and the convincing way they are portrayed. Waldemar Torenstra is very convincing as the charismatic and Deanesque Frank that makes the other male characters (but not their performers) pale in comparison. Karina Smulders is delicious with her big naive gazing eyes. In fact the whole cast turns in solid performances and the young and old versions of the characters are very much in line with each other. All in all it's not an epic movie like "de Tweeling", director Ben Sombogaard previous movie, but it increasingly takes you by the throat as the story unwinds and relationships become clearer. A pity we did not see more of Rutger Hauer though.

This is a fantastic film. The trailer for this film tells of a passionate love affair between two people who can't be together. OK, the film is about these two people, but it is about so much more! The bond between these four people who met on a plane in 1953. The secrets some of them kept for 55 years. The expectations of starting a new life in a new country. And the scenery is amazing. I love New Zealand, and I thoroughly enjoyed the background in the film. I recommend this film to anyone. Although, fair to say, I guess it's more of a girl's film. It's an epic drama; there are no car chases or high tech gadgets. This is what a film is supposed to be. And the 130 minutes fly by! Also pay attention to the beautiful song at the end.

Normally I'm not a big fan of Dutch films, but when a friend of mine convinced me to see it and I actually saw the film, I was just blown away! Nothing like the usual Dutch films I was used too, it was way better! to start with the cast, in one word fantastic!! It was so refreshing to see other actors and actresses than we see in so many Dutch films. Waldemar Torenstra, Anna Drijver, Karina Smulders (and of course the other actors/actresses) were really at their best!

When I read the plot outline I was expecting some sort of chick-flick, but it turned out to be a story with much more depth than I was expecting. the way the story unfolds itself is very clever and Ben Sombogaart deserves a big compliment for this. Then the setting, New Zealand, is perfect for this story. The laid-back people in contrast to the strict catholic dutchies was very interesting to witness. and of course, New Zealand is a beautiful country which leads to great shots!

This all makes me very happy that I came over my prejudices and went to see the film! I wouldn't have wanted to miss it and I can recommend it to everyone!

My wife lured me to this movie, she had the evening off and we wanted to do something together. In the theater I was the only male, the rest of the viewers were all women. But I did enjoy the movie. Great acting, the director took the time needed to build the atmosphere for each scene. I must say that sometimes the camera was too close. Very intimate. And also the twist at the end could have been somewhat more dramatic (although I cannot exactly say in which way). But it was enough to make me think about the story (stories!) the whole next day. I even decided to write this review. I agree fully with an other review, that the trailer does not reflect the movie: the latter is much more intense! and Ada, what a great actress Karina Smulders is, the stars came off the screen! The casting (two actresses for the young and old main characters) was also very good. I can recommend this movie to everyone!