Saw it with Jet lag, just because it was playing at the right time at the small indie theater next to where I stay in Paris (and I do not know how widely released in the US). Gripping to say the least. After all the bubble gum US movies of this past summer (2011), A Quiet Life came to me as a totally amazing surprise. With no cheap thrill, very little camera effects, the plot progresses so slowly but so intensely, revealing only bit by bit, and often quite subtly and obliquely,layers and layers of deep human drama. About the mafia yes. But about bad choices that seem reversible but... about deep relationship between father(s) and son(s), about estranged brothers, about loyalty, trust, resentment, appearances and deeply ingrained feelings, protection and self protection, and all types of love. The sociological background that raises (again subtly) questions around multi language/cultural environment, border crossing, immigration adds to the already complex psychological web, although I wonder if some of it may not be lost in translation (and in subtitles)-- For me: as deeply moving as the Godfather. Yes.
