Spring15

I had seen this movie long ago on VHS but could not remember it very well so I watched it on DVD recently. How I wish I had seen it in a theatre! The gorgeous cinematography and the sweeping score by John Barry deserve the big screen. However, the story is told so well and it is so well acted that it is very enjoyable even on my TV.

Colonial Africa is shown very well. There are so many brilliant scenes! The characters stay with us long after the movie ends. Meryl Streep shows once again what a great actress she is. Her Danish accent and her portrayal of baroness Karen Blixen seem perfect. Sydney Pollack did a great job as director. Although the main focus is on Karen, everyone around her is an important part of the story. The screenplay and dialogues are excellent.

The story evolves slowly but it never becomes boring. Klaus Maria B. as her philanderer husband is perfect in a supporting role. Some scenes between the two are memorable. Although this is a marriage of convenience (he marries her for her money, and she for the title), they begin to like each other. His infidelity deals a death blow to their marriage, however.

The scenes between Streep and Redford are excellent, but I have one complaint. In real life Denys Finch Hattan was British, not American. I have to assume that the producers wanted Redford for the box office. In that sense he was miscast but he portrayed the character well. I don't know how close it was to the real life Denys, but it makes a convincing love story in the movie. The two have great on screen chemistry.

The biggest success of this movie comes from the incredible cinematography, which made me want to visit this part of the world some day. The score by John Barry is among the best ever. I would rank this movie among the top 10 best ever movies.

I saw this movie recently on DVD only to see Meryl Streep's Oscar winning performance in the Lead Actress category. She fully lived upto the hype, but not the movie. It is a drag, and not because it is 2.5 hours long. The screenplay is terrible. Nothing happens for about half hour, except the threesome having fun.

This topic is worthy of so much more. The only interesting parts were in the Holocaust related scenes, and Streep was absolutely brilliant in them. She plays a completely different personality effortlessly in other scenes. Her Polish accent seems perfect (I have just two Polish friends).

Even though one character is telling the story, the focus should have been on Sophie's past, and not so much on her present. Just when the movie starts getting interesting, we are thrown back to the present situation, which is a total waste of time, in my opinion. The ending made no sense to me at all.

The acting by the top three actors (one of them Meryl Streep) was very good, but the screenplay just about ruined the whole movie for me.

I would still recommend that people see this movie, only to see Meryl Streep's brilliance as an actress. She is definitely the greatest actress of our time.

I like movies about WWII and after seeing the trailer of this movie couple of times I decided to see it. However, I read the poor reviews and low ratings and I kept postponing seeing this movie. When I finally saw it, I liked it very much, despite its predictable plot.

'The Aftermath' is about lives of people after WWII, their losses, and their suffering. The story is gripping, with some twists and turns. The screen play, direction, cinematography, production design are all excellent. The strongest point of this movie is the acting by the three main characters. Jason Clarke has really established himself as a strong character actor. He and Keira Knightly portray very well the troubled couple who lost a child. Alexander Skarsgaard is very good as the German widower. His daughter Freda is played well by a young actress who I am not familiar with. The pace is just right. The story slowly unfolds to display what these characters are going through.

It seems romantic movies don't get good reviews from the critics or the audiences. I can enjoy a good romantic movie that is well done but does not fit the current formula of perpetual action, fights and CGI. 'The aftermath' is a sensitive film about people who are suffering in different ways. Besides the three main characters, the general population of Germany was suffering greatly after the war. Their pain, anger, frustration is shown very effectively. It is easy to feel empathy for all the characters.

If you enjoy a sensitive, serious film, do see 'The Aftermath'.