Noble

"And what's your name? My name is Mr. Reception Desk. That's a nice name. "

"Noble" is nothing more than a biographical film about the (for me anyway unknown) Irish Christina Noble (Deirdre O'Kane). After a troubled and difficult life she has set a noble (Yep) target. Namely to offer the street children of Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam a better future. Mostly you see Christina in Vietnam moving heaven and earth to achieve her goal. A not so obvious task in which she has to convince the authorities and at the same time she tries to jolt foreign businessmen's consciences, so they are generous enough with their financial support. And so she tries to set up a shelter for those children in postwar Vietnam.

There's one thing you have to admit. This exceptional lady has sufficient reserves in terms of perseverance. Despite all the setbacks in her youth and the opposition she faces in Vietnam, she never gives up. And this thanks to her positive attitude. Throughout the film you're looking back at the turbulent life of Christina. It all starts in the slums of Dublin in the 40s. As a little girl (Gloria Cramer Curtis) she dreams of becoming such a famous singer like Doris Day. When her mother dies of tuberculosis and her father is unable to support his family (due to an alcohol problem), she ends up in a nunnery. In later life she's (Sarah Greene) a victim of a gang rape which in turn results in an unwanted pregnancy and her newborn son to be adopted. After moving to Birmingham with her best friend Joan (Ruth Negga), she is confronted with a cheating spouse and domestic violence. So you can safely say that Christina's life wasn't exactly rosy.

Perhaps that's why Christina demonstrates these unconstrained efforts when she arrives (thanks to a vision) in Vietnam. She is shocked by the appalling conditions in which children have to survive there. Perhaps the traumas of her own life are an extra motivation and she wants to give these poor children what she had missed all her life. A bit of security, affection, love and a hope for a better future. For her, poverty in Vietnam is equal to that what she experienced in Ireland.

Although the film lends itself to become a melodramatic tearjerker, they knew to avoid this anyway. Obviously Christina Noble isn't the only benefactress in this ruthless world. But her commitment and determination ensured that "The Christina Noble Children's Foundation" has already helped hundreds of thousands of children. Most likely this film will be broadcasted as an ordinary television drama. But the performances of the different Christina's are of an exceptionally high level. And despite the realistic and deadly serious story-line, they managed to incorporate a sliver of humor by means of a hilarious hotel receptionist. And in all honesty. This time it wasn't really bothering me that they used such a predictably happy ending once again.

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I had the pleasure of seeing a screening of Noble in London a few days ago and this film really blew me away. I had read Christina's book 'A Bridge Across my Sorrows' and I was excited to see how the book translated to film. Christina is played by three wonderful actresses at different stages in her life. Gloria Cramer Curtis who plays the younger Christina was a delight to watch. Sarah Greene who plays teenage Christina was incredible, and she really pulls you in with her terrific performance. Lastly, Deirdre O'Kane who plays the grown up Christina gives an outstanding performance that will make you laugh and cry. Supporting actors are also impressive including Ruth Negga, who provided many laughs from the audience, and the Vietnamese children were surprisingly good, especially the boy playing Lam.

I liked the pacing of the film, although I feel the film could have benefited with a few more scenes of Christina's childhood. If you have read Christina's book, you will notice a lot of things are not shown in the film. I can understand why the filmmakers did this, as the flashbacks needed to relate to Christina's strength and key events in her childhood.

The cinematography by Trevor Forrest was beautiful, and shot incredibly well. Another great thing about Noble is the score by Ben Foster and Giles Martin which is one of the best scores I have heard in a long time.

I am thankful for director Stephen Bradley, his wife Deirdre O'Kane and the producers for getting this film made. It's an incredible story and a film people need to see.

Noble is much more than just a film biography. It tells without hagiography the story of Christine Noble, who against all the odds, survived trauma after trauma in her native Ireland and went on to help literally thousands in Vietnam.

The film-making isn't top drawer, but, boy, the true story is - there are good central performances by the Christines at their different ages and attention has been spent on costuming etc, in the Sixties segments - but this is really a film about one woman's extraordinary resolve to fight poverty against seemingly impossible odds.

This is a film I would warmly recommend - it has more to say about determination, perseverance and resolve than most films and it does not shy away or coat over its subject, It's well handled and well delivered and well worth your time.

Based on the true story of Christina Noble, a charity worker from Ireland who went to Vietnam to help the street kids. This movie follows the stories from two different timelines. It opened with Noble's childhood days, from her struggling family to how she lost everything. Wanted to be a singer, but her terrible childhood turned her dream upside down and finally ended up in Vietnam finding her way to give children who needed love and care. Beside her intention was that no one should go through like she did.

It is a beautiful and inspiring story, but the movie was not great. Because the stars and crews were not well known, but their contribution must be appreciated to spotlight this great lady, Chritina Noble. It also won some prestigious international awards as to recognising its valuable message. This British movie was written and directed by the husband of actress who portrayed in the title role. It is not an entertaining movie, but just like documentary films it was filled with strong contents that makes it must not be missed.

7/10

What no one's writing about so far is the artistry. This film is beautifully shot, directed, edited. That dreaded, grey, Irish bleak is made beautiful. Truly.

The writing is heartbreaking and the excellence of the timing makes even abuse bearable. This film entertains, is easy to watch, draws you in - all righteousness and do goodery aside. Don't be put off by the saintliness of the topic. The film is GOOD . . .

. . . til about the very last fifteen minutes and then it does drag just a little and get a tad do-goody just before the end.

But it's well worth it over-all.

If you're hesitating because: do you REALLY want to put yourself through all that (as was I), I'm writing this BECAUSE I was, and then I thought, oh, just take a look. And I did. And I was instantly surprised.

It's GOOD!