My Antonia

This dramatization follows the novel faithfully, and is a tribute to its producers and to the cable network who aired it. Although Willa Cather had intended that her works not be filmed, I believe that she would have been proud of this production. Most persons agree that Antonia Shimerda is one of Cather's most memorable heroines. I found the casting for the role of Lena Lingard to be uncannily on target for Jim's sweetheart. Willa Cather stands alone, in my opinion, for her ability to create characters that you not only feel you know, but do not want to give up when you have finished the book. In my case, I choose to re-read them several times.

This film version (the only one for this book, as far as I know) is a good, though simple and very Hollywood-ized production of the Willa Cather classic. After enjoying the book, I was looking forward to the movie- but was disappointed. The filmmakers stayed mostly faithful to the novel, though the actors could have done better jobs. This is partly because of the script, however, and though it sticks to the main events in the novel, it just barely covers them. The setting is beautiful, and I agree that the Lena-portrayal was right on track. However, in the novel, there was no romance between Antonia and Jim, as is "started" in the movie. He loved her, but she always thought of him more as a brother than a beau, according to the book.

Overall, this film version was okay- but definitely not exceptional.

How many chances do you need? It seemed like Jimmy got so many possibilities, but he did not take any. I always thought/still think that true love is much stronger.

Overall the film was pretty disappointing. The aging process was like a bad comedy, no themes we have not seen before and the acting of most of them not catching. And why is a Rumanian girl pretending to speak czech, for Eastern countries this film is a joke! Only Jan Triska, the only real czech, shows how to speak the language. Was it so difficult to find native czech speakers, who was casting? But if you still decide to watch this film, the scenery is beautiful and Jason Robards sr. always a pleasure to watch.

Willa Cather's novel "My Antonia" captures the pioneering spirit in America as the country began expanding. The life in the prairie was told in great detail by Ms. Cather. With "My Antonia", she gave us a look what it was like to be a settler in a strange land where everything seems to go against you.

This film, which was shown recently on cable, had a look of a movie made for television. As directed by Joseph Sargent, who has worked extensively in that medium, the movie takes us back to the Nebraska that Ms. Cather wrote about.

We are shown two different families living in the Nebraska of the last part of the XIX century. The Burdens, who evidently have been around for quite a while, are seen in sharp contrast with the immigrating Shemardas, who came from Bohemia. The Burdens have taken roots in their land whereas the Shemardas are trying to make a living in their property, without much success. Jimmy Burden likes Antonia, the young woman who is his neighbor. They form a bond that seems to be sealed, but life intervenes. Jimmy can never make his mind about the love he feels for Antonia and destiny never let them consummate that love. At the end, we watch as Jimmy goes back to visit Antonia, who has her own family and appears to have made it, after all.

Elina Lowensohn makes an impression with her Antonia. This actress should be seen more often. She is always an interesting figure in whatever film she is in. Neil Patrick Harris was a product of television. As such, he is at a disadvantage playing opposite Ms. Lowensohn. Besides, he doesn't seem to register much emotion. Mr. Harris has been doing theater lately, which might help him in the acting department. Jason Robards Jr. and Eva Marie Saint play the older Burdens, and Anne Tremko is fine as the Swedish beauty, Lena.

We would recommend to read Ms. Cather's novel, which is a fine piece of work in the American literature.

For me, "My Antonia" is sacred ground. This film isn't perfect (especially when they try to create unnecessary romance), but often brings the novel alive in a way that doesn't really match my own imagining of it, but is powerful enough in its way. Above all, Elina Löwensohn is perfect as Antonia (if again not quite the woman I pictured, nor quite like Anna Pavelka, the real-life model). She really has a compelling energy and above all the cheerful life force that carries "Our" Antonia through so many trials. The film is necessarily a little telegraphic, given how much there is to fit in, but does a respectable job with the allotted time. But above all it is Löwensohn (who has never stopped working since, yet seems to have never broken through) who anchors the film. (Oh, and years ago my friend Endre Hules told me he was shooting a Willa Cather piecel; for some reason, I thought it was "Oh Pioneers". But here he is as Russian Peter :) ).