The Shadow Dancer

It would seem that you just can't please some people if the last review of this movie I read is deemed to be correct. As I was unable to find this movie on DVD locally I bought it from overseas.

I loved the story. OK, so it is a feel good movie, it doesn't contain violence, its not action packed and it won't give you the answers to life, the universe and everything, BUT it is a great movie for a rainy Sunday afternoon. It is filled with humour, wit and a touch of tenderness. It both puts a smile on your face and can bring a tear to the eye. The cinematography is beautiful, the actors are well cast, the dialogue snappy. Having watched this several times with friends and family, everyone has enjoyed it and its well worth the time.

It was very nice to see the brilliant but often vulgar Harvey Keitel in such a breath of fresh air in newer movies. The plot, while typically formulaic and cheerier than life, is very interesting and captivating. There are a few scenes which are of the PG-13 variety, and a few mandatory obscenities, but overall the movie is done with great down-to-earthiness and honesty, and makes you really want to watch the whole thing.

Claire Forlani and Joshua Jackson are both relatively little-known actors in my mind, but each gives a likable, cozy performance worthy of mention. In fact, I am looking at their respective movie histories here now in order to have a few more good picks in mind the next time I order my Blockbuster Online movies.

Overall a very heartwarming, mildly comical family movie that I hope propels its actors and other participants on to further glory. See it.

It is predictable, it has a lot of clichés, it doesn't aspire to be even nearer to what would be called a great film, or even a good one - or even a hit -, but its dialogues are fine and truthful, and reveal an experienced knowledge of a writer's craft and soul and suffering.

As the comment above put it, it's a film of real people with real problems, apparently common and minor problems to the viewer who expects to extract some titillation out of films - the characters here are not involved in intrigues, in hiding a murder or escape from it -, but problems hard enough for those involved. As we learn somewhere: there is no order of difficulty in problems, one is not "harder" or "bigger" than another. They are all the same.

The great psychologist Viktor Frankl, who spent four years in a concentration camp, tells in "Man's Search for Meaning", in an almost candid way, that his terrible sufferings there at the camp doesn't amount to anything bigger than anyone's. He makes a perfect analogy, and with the most frightening element an inmate of a concentration camp could think of: "A man's suffering is similar to the behaviour of gas. If a certain quantity of gas is pumped into an empty chamber, it will fill the chamber completely and evenly. Thus suffering completely fills the human soul and conscious mind, no matter whether the suffering is great or little. Therefore the 'size' of human suffering is absolutely relative".

Well, it seems a lot of thinking to draw from such an unpretentious film, but I think in that resides its merits. Keitel's outstanding performance adds a lot to it, it's on a level much higher than the whole production. It's amazing how great actors can have some of their great moments in lesser films, as Keitel here, or as Morgan Freeman unique, out-of-bounds performance in "Street Wise".

I also saw this movie at one of the advance screenings. This is my first time posting on this site, but after seeing this film I had to. I have always loved Italy, in particular, Tuscany. This movie captures the feel of small village life perfectly. Being a huge Joshua Jackson fan I was eager to see the film and I was not disappointed. Jackson and Keitel are wonderful together and the story of this young, reserved writer who is afraid to follow his heart and the older writer who is afraid he cannot be what he once was is magical.

We all live our lives with, hopes, dreams and desires and somehow through time they seem to fade away. This movie deals with the courage it takes to truly follow your heart and do the things you love most.

Of course it is more than that, because Jackson's character also falls in love with Keitels daughter... but will he find the strength and conviction to make it work?

The scenery is fantastic. Ah, Tuscany, the golden light, the stone buildings. Itr is almost as if the village they filmed in is another character in the movie. The lighting is wonderful, filled with shadows... but the key to the movie rests with the performances of Jackson, Keitel and Claire Forlani. Also the actors who play the priest and hotel owner are wonderful.

This is not a big movie... not a huge budget movie... it is a simple story about life... love... and finding it within yourself to reach out and take hold of the things that are most important.

A truly enjoyable movie

Romantic, thought provoking and encouraging film with Intelligence and good humour. This film for me delivered from every angle in every different way, the cast were terrific, the scenery was mind blowing and the chemistry between the characters was like no other of this genre. It would have been very easy for Joshua Jackson to feel intimidated by Harvey Keitel, but instead brought out of him his best performance to date. Claire Forlani also delivered an awesome performance with a great Italian accent, after seeing her in Meet Joe Black and The Shadow Dancer it's hard to believe she was born in the UK.

Truly Magnificent, not to be missed by anyone.