Zoya

Melissa Gilbert is a so-so actress. She really doesn't vary a lot in the roles she plays so she can hide that fact fairly well. Who ever told her that she could play a Russian countess though needs to have their head examined. Her accent is hideous, and it makes her sound like a foghorn.

Diana Rigg and David Warner must have been having a slow year that they would take a job in this turkey, and young Samuel West is wasted in his few moments of air time as the countess' soldier brother.

The performances of the actors playing her children are mediocre as is the plot line involving the daughter. The girl makes it clear that her angst has to do with feeling ignored by her mother. In fact, during the scene where Zoya announces that she is going to have a child with her second husband she practically screams it. They could have resolved the relationship a lot sooner.

The one good thing that I can say about this is show is that at least the costumes, makeup, and hair look great. Everyone looks great even when they are supposed to have been traveling for days without benefit of a visit to the Imperial Hairdresser.

I saw this movie just yesterday on "Liftetime", and immediately I wanted to know where I could buy it. I was attracted to it at first because of Melissa Gilbert, as she is my favorite actress, but the uniqueness and romance of the film is what kept me interested. I enjoy love stories, and this was a wonderful one. It gave me a new understanding of what effect war has on family and friends of those who fight in it. I truly enjoyed this movie, I recommend it very highly.

I admit that I usually despise Danielle Steele miniseries, but this is one that I feel amazingly tolerant towards.

Believable? No. Historically accurate? Not even close. Still, it's a fairly innocuous way to pass an afternoon should you chance upon in on Lifetime (where it used to appear with some frequency).

I will happily admit that I started watching it because Bruce Boxleitner was my first television crush (this was way back in his Scarecrow and Mrs. King days), but once I got into the story, I realized that it was like an entire soap opera compressed into four hours. If you are wanting to watch something and admire the acting and the riveting dialogue, look elsewhere. If you want a few hours of mindless but still entertaining popcorn fun, this might be for you.

PS--It's interesting to note that the daughter in the movie is played by a very pre-Alias Jennifer Garner.

I have always liked Melissa Gilbert and have watched every movie she is in, whenever possible. I especially liked this movie as Melissa was starring with her husband Bruce Boxleitner. This is a feel good movie of triumph over adversity. Melissa is great with her accent as a Russian Countess and actually losing her accent as the years roll by. If you want to curl up to a chick flick with no violence or swearing, then this is the movie for you. Sometimes us women don't want death and blood and gore in a movie, we just want a simple love story about a woman who is strong enough to live in a man's world. I loved this movie and hope that Melissa makes more of this calibre. Thank you Melissa Gilbert for your hard work.

For someone who has read the book, I find this movie version such a mis-representation of the characters. The film's Zoya is so different from the dignified Countess Zoya of the book; in the film, she is a talkative chatterbox much like the Russian bride stereotype of nowadays. The storyline is also very different from the book - as can be expected. However the central plot remains the same, overcoming tragedy and learning to appreciate the good things of live - especially family and the people we love. All in all, I would recommend the film to anyone, if only for the history learnt from the different generations that are spanned in the movie.