The Painting

A marvelous testament to the human spirit. The story of a young man whose search for what matters most to him, and the lives that he touches along the way. Vivid performance all around. Clifton Davis and Heath Freeman stand out. Highly recommended.

Like another reviewer on the website, I too was present at this movies "Premiere." Mine was in Indianapolis at the Heartland Film Festival which I was covering for my school news paper, "The Indiana Daily Student." This took place in October 2001, so it was the official Premiere, so poo on the other person who said theirs was.

I was supposed to review this new feature, but sadly I could not. The gracious hosts of the Festival gave me free passes to the Showing and the afterparty. So when I discovered that the film was insultingly manipulative I decided I should keep my opinions to myself.

The poor quality of this picture is astonishing. The story is cliched, the black protagonists of course have to be saved by the white protagonists. The dialogue is laughable and I've seen more emotional performances by the Muppets (Seriously, go check out Tiny Tim's death in the Muppet Christmas Carol... its a tear-jerker).

Anyways, a good love story, this is not... a good coming of age story, this is not... a good film about race, this is not. A good film? This is NOT! But then again what would you expect from a director who's most distinguished previous credit was being Associate Special Effects producer on Star Trek First Contact!

I was so grateful to be present at the Premiere of this movie in Kansas City. I went, thinking the worst that could happen was being bored for a couple of hours. Well, just the opposite happened. This movie was so outstanding, I was taken by surprise. It was so well done. This movie is both a chick flick and a guy flick, very rare now days. It pulls you into the movie, gently, sweetly inviting you into the character's lives. I fell so in love with the people in the movie, they were real, it showed them for the good and the weaknesses, but you cared for them as you would a dear friend or a relative. What happened to each of them deeply affected me as I came to care more and more deeply for them.

The camera work was stunning too. It was like the camera was having a love affair with the actors, the sets and the surroundings. The movie would especially be powerful to those who were born in the late 1940's or early 1950's, so many events that were shown were events, I myself had lived through, which made them even more personal in nature. If anyone has been to Vietnam, I definitely recommend this movie. It is one of the few movies where Vietnam vets were really honored. I could not recommend this movie highly enough. I hope and pray everyone will get to see this movie. It is very real, very thought provoking, very deep, very good....

I had the pleasure to watch the movie with my family in a private cinema. While the acting is not the best, the movie does make up for it because it is a really good wholesome family movie.

The era that the movie was set in must have been very turbulent yet the movie avoided the blood, gore and hatred but instead show the courage of the human spirit and the goodness in man kind. The human spirit is a wonderful thing and the sacrifice made by individuals are usually swept under the carpet for the sake of sensationalism. This movie reminds us of the sacrifice made by the different characters like the Jewish boy who died in the bomb, the main actor for the girl and others. There were also many caring characters which are real in my world.

It will be good if families go out together to watch this movie so that apart from their bonding, they can stir up each other's spirit and be encouraged by values that is good.

Love it. Oliver

I loved this movie not only because it was about two people who chose love over everything else. I also liked that it exposed the hidden racism that far too many people still have on both sides. I am both black and white so I understand the hidden prejudices on both sides.

The fact that they were black and white wasn't the point to me. The actor who played the black driver did a wonderful job, I liked and believed this role that showed what he was made of. After saving the boys life he became a father figure to the young man. Randy found himself in this new world where love was more abundant and more important than money.

I lived during this era and many have forgotten just how far apart people were. This movie made me and many other weep. So I vote with the majority and say this was a great movie.