denizov

I expected much more from this film, as usually they claim it to be a classic movie, one of the best in history of cinema etc. But in my opinion it isn't. It has too many shortcomings. First of all -- the music is totally inappropriate for such a thriller, it is mocking and amusing, which does not fit with the whole story at all. It makes it all look like a light-hearted comedy, not to be taken seriously. The dialogues are presented in a mechanical, artificial way: normal people do not respond so quickly to surprising and unknown information. The plot fixes too much attention to the girl, rather than to the complex and confused story. The good things are the cinematography and the atmosphere of postwar Vienna, where the action takes place, but even they should have been given more attention.

I really don't know what to think of this movie. There are things that I like about it and at the same time things that I dislike. It is a moving, psychological story about a family that is crushed by a string of bad luck, failures and mistakes. The emotional moments are well-presented, without sentimentality, and maybe because of this, they are more impressing. The flashbacks are very- well merged into the overall story ( a rarity in movies) and I could easily follow the chronology of events. Also, the setting is wonderful-New England coastline in winter-evoking sadness and melancholy. The music also corresponds to the mood. So far, so good. The bad things: the movie is too long (over 2 hours) for such a story and it could have been cut as there are numerous unnecessary scenes which only distract the viewer. And what I was disappointed about: there was no climax to the whole thing--it just ends unexpectedly. There was no ending whatsoever.It just stops and I have the impression of it being unfinished.