Always - Per sempre

At first glance, Always looks like a variation of Ghost, until one realizes it is a remake of a much older movie. But it has something Ghost certainly did not have -- Audrey Hepburn.

In what would be her final big-screen appearance, Audrey is radiant as the angel Hap, who appears all too briefly in the film. From the moment her famous voice is heard, time seems to stop. True, Audrey doesn't have a lot to say -- although her Doctor Who-like non-explanation about time is funny -- the few moments she is on screen are minutes to treasure. If Judi Dench and Ingrid Bergman were able to get Oscars for glorified cameos, it's a shame Hepburn didn't rate a nomination.

Of course, much of what's special about Audrey's role in this film comes from hindsight -- the fact she only had a couple more years to live, and the fact she had only appeared a few times on film in the previous 20 years. But we can be thankful to Steven Spielberg for not only getting Audrey to make the appearance, but also for giving her a classy film in which to make her swan song.

I'll just be honest here --- when I originally saw Always at the cinema in 1989, it was just a few months after my big brother passed away prematurely at the age of forty, and I'm not at all afraid to say that I cried like a baby. Like so many Americans, I have watched far too many films that i have taken to heart, but you know, Always is probably one of the final American films to ever really explore and display such deep human issues as unconditional love, mortality, and what a hero really is -- and isn't. It may be mushy, romantic, and a bit flawed, but I am proud that Spielberg made this bitter-sweet film -- I just saw it again and, if anything, it comes across as even more humane and honest in today's America of aggression, greed, and "relative" truth. If you've ever really, honestly, been so in love and committed to someone that you were willing to unconditionally put their needs before you own, or if you've ever lost anyone who meant the world to you, check it out. It changed my life when I first saw it because it made consider death in a new light... and it is about to totally change my life again as I have decided to live every moment for the rest of it as honest and decent and true to myself as possible --something that few of us today are willing to admit is lacking in our lives.

My husband asked me to marry him after we saw this movie. He was a helicopter pilot and we had met at an air show. We both loved vintage aircraft so this seemed to be just the movie to see. We both laughed and cried so hard during the movie. Little was I to know that 13 years later I would lose my husband while he was flying. It took me some years to watch this movie again and I too cried through the whole thing. It is so personal to me. There are times when I feel, like Holly did, that I can hear my husband talking to me and guiding me. There is a lot to be learned from this picture about life and love. I highly recommend this picture.

After seeing a movie with Marg Helgenberger made in the 90's "Death Dreams" with Christopher Reeve, I felt the need to look for other Marg Helgenberger performances besides her famous turn in CSI - To my surprise, not many, except "Death Dreams" where she gives a performance that goes straight to something truly personal. She is amazing, amazing! That's how I got to Always. The only Spielberg film I hadn't seen. The film is a sort of remake of "A Guy Named Joe" charming with a lovely central performance by Holly Hunter but where is Marg? She's way back in the background. Beautiful and real but way too far away in the background. The most memorable memorable moment, at least for a film buff - is the last film appearance by Audrey Hepburn, as an angel.

If there is only one reason why someone should rent or buy this film, it is simply to see Audrey Hepburn in her final screen performance. There was no better way to end her magnificent career than making a final, but all too brief appearance as an angel - she was cast beautifully - almost poetic. She was truly remarkable, and sadly, there will never be anyone else like her.