Uma Noite no Lago

Two people in their twilight years, both now widowed, meet up to see if their childhood attraction remains strong enough to lead somewhere all these decades later.

The setting is austere, and the few other characters in the film have hinted-at stories of their own.

Very low key, but nicely acted and with a strong sense of place.

It's a 7 but it gets a bonus point for just being so damned sweet. The writing is dear. The direction tender without becoming syrupy. The acting is heartfelt perfection.

Elders reunite with all the same adolescent awkwardness of their youth. Time may have weathered bodies but their hearts are fresh as spring.

She says, "Come inside." So we get to go, go inside lives lived. Hearts beating. People gently reconnecting.

It's playful and tender and quiet and touching and beautiful in ways I did not expect.

I love a good story well-told. This is a good slice of life story told so well it captures the exquisite joy and sorrow, expectation and disappointment, truth and beauty, of life.

This is a melancholy, impressionistic movie about aging, loss, and the mystery of solitude. While the story line is simple and thin, the handful of characters who inhabit it convey the ambiguity and uneasiness of real life so naturalistically that it almost feels like a documentary. Not all viewers will be interested in experiencing this level of lonely introspection set amid the stark barrenness of the American west, waiting for "something to happen." But another type of viewer will find the relative wildness of the setting calming, reminding us of our own actual journeys and mental escapes into the almost incomprehensibly large landscape of this part of the country--a place where you can be both undisturbed and nearly forgotten. And in this movie the landscape itself seems to be an inquisitor, stripping bare civilized pretensions and routines with the oppressive gravity of solitude and unlimited time. Aside from being drawn with laughably impossible mechanical skills, the lead female character comes across as both frighteningly realistic and distinctly unappealing. Though she shows positive traits like self-sufficiency, curiosity, and generosity, she also seems uncomfortable in her own skin--making the viewer squirm and wonder if she's always been this way or whether grief and advancing age have made her so tense and enigmatic. The pacing and feel of the thing is so sober and bare-bones that it's surprising to find a touch of Wes Anderson in some of the incidental characters who momentarily break the silence.

This movie was utterly beautiful in every way. I did not know that I needed to witness strength and vulnerability in silence and was tremendously moved by Dale Dickey's honest and transparent performance. I can now count two times that I have been in awe inspired by an actor's performance when motionless and silent: (1) was watching Anthony Hopkins's heart break in Remains of the Day, and now (2) Dale Dickey letting go of a romantic fantasy and confront a deeper level of grief in A Love Song. My sincerely thanks to everyone on this production. It's been three days since I've seen it, and the impact of the movie is still felt acutely. Bless you and your humanity.

This flick caught my eye. The limited dialogue somewhat makes you want to keep watching to see where it is going. The director does an excellent job with the scenery in Colorado.

If you happen to be an RVer or a camper, this will get your attention as well. There are millions of campers out there in travel trailers, fifth wheels, motorhomes, you name it. The price ranges could be from a few hundred dollars to a million or more.

Dale Dickey plays the part excellently. You immediately feel for her. Limited money, drinking warm beer, fishing for food and seemingly down on her luck, but up on her hope for something special that just might happen. A "flame" from the past.

The actors are good, and the set ups are perfectly aligned to the story line.

The brothers and little sister are an interesting attempt - I think - at a little comedy. It did make me smile, and her directed them with the motor as the transferred it was a nice touch. A side story line or two was needed, and this certainly did the trick.

In the end, what happens with love. Sometimes it works out, and sometimes it does not.

I gave this film 8 starts, because 1. I liked it. 2. Good directing and good acting and 3. Good filmography and scenery. This director will get bigger budget films soon, I am sure.

Will I watch it again. I just might, to see what I might have done differently in the filming and timing of certain scenes.

I give it a thumbs up for sure. Enjoy! Rod.