Peegee-3

A film that at last has some substance...the story of an aging writer, trying to come to terms with his work, as well as his relationship with his 40 year old daughter...and his own waning sexuality. I would give very high praise to the four main actors (I was amazed that Frank Langella wasn't nominated for an Oscar), but it is also the pacing,cinematography and over-all direction by Andrew Wagner that deserves special commendation.

Too few films today have the courage to bring this kind of profound movie-making to the screen. Here is a movie that deals with real people, in very real life situations and yet done with imagination and originality. I await with enthusiasm Wagner's next creation.

I found this film to be visually beautiful and totally satisfying on that level. The story (already well documented here) is a bit more melodramatic than I had hoped...considering that Kieslowski (whose film I treasure) was the originator of the concept.

The saturated color throughout the film...the subtle, wordless way in which Danis Tanovic uses images to say far more than words can...is as haunting as anything I've seen in movies for many a year....probably not since Kieslowski's own work.

It seems a crime that this movie has not been released in theaters in the U.S. A real deprivation. I would urge lovers of film as art to buy the available DVD. You'll find it rewarding.

This incredible adaptation of Joseph Conrad's story,"The Return" has been haunting me for days. The visual beauty of its cinematography in contrast to the devastating psychological and emotional pain of its characters, brilliantly portrayed by Isabelle Huppert and Pascal Gregory. has rarely been achieved in film. No need here to repeat the details of the story...I do however want to point out what I have not read in any reviews or comments...that this is basically, as I see it, an evocation of the power and control struggle in a marriage...that moves between husband and wife in the most fascinating and brilliant way. My most grateful appreciation and admiration to Patrice Chereau for giving us this remarkable film. In a time of blockbuster, action movies, what a joy to experience a work of art that provides intense emotion, intelligent food for thought and visual nurturance.