Bride Flight

Oh, what a tangled web we weave. But to how many webs do we belong? How many decisions were made outside our comprehension that changed the course of life forever? How many of those decisions became regrets? It doesn't really matter because yesterday happened, but it is interesting to consider the interconnected backstage of existence. And then tremble at the great unknown that is your parent's past. There's just so much we'll never know. And that's mostly OK. Bride Flight is a film that I admired because its leading characters were not only exquisitely defined, but their stories felt distinct and complete, almost separate within a greater whole. These people kept things from one another, and yet they were all so pivotal to each other. The dramatic irony fires on all cylinders. And the ensemble has absolutely excellent chemistry to pull it off. You never doubt the natural unfolding of events because every glance they give or catch is so engaging. New Zealand serves as a breathtakingly epic backdrop to this romance that jumps back and forth on a timeline much more gracefully than so many other examples. When it does jump back you start to become very happy certain rigid social customs have been left behind, and that's a testament to how fully yet subtly its realized. This was a pleasant surprise to watch.

Bride Flight is an absolutely beautiful movie that serves as a window into the lives of 4 people, and the connections between them after they met and bonded on a plane to a new start in New Zealand. Its a romantic drama that takes it beyond just the romance shared between two of the characters and makes it about the relationships these four people have with each other throughout their lives. It goes beyond a love story and makes it a story about life, the relationships we have with the people around us, the choices we make, and the regrets and satisfactions that come from those choices after we've lived out our lives and reached old age. I'm not really into chick flick love stories, but the fact that it is more about life in general and the outcomes from our choices made the movie a lot more relevant to me. The four principle characters are absolutely fantastic! Their acting is superb and each one of them makes you fall in love with them in their own unique way. The ending is emotionally touching as the three women look back at the man that changed all their lives in a way they never thought possible, and ride away together reminiscing on the lives they've lived, and their relationships together. It's absolutely touching and beautiful!

My wife lured me to this movie, she had the evening off and we wanted to do something together. In the theater I was the only male, the rest of the viewers were all women. But I did enjoy the movie. Great acting, the director took the time needed to build the atmosphere for each scene. I must say that sometimes the camera was too close. Very intimate. And also the twist at the end could have been somewhat more dramatic (although I cannot exactly say in which way). But it was enough to make me think about the story (stories!) the whole next day. I even decided to write this review. I agree fully with an other review, that the trailer does not reflect the movie: the latter is much more intense! and Ada, what a great actress Karina Smulders is, the stars came off the screen! The casting (two actresses for the young and old main characters) was also very good. I can recommend this movie to everyone!

In the present day, successful winemaker Frank de Rooy dies and three women are requested at his funeral. In 1953, a KLM flight breaks a record traveling from London to Christchurch. Frank meets Ada van Holland, Esther Cahn, and Marjorie Mullin who are three of the brides on their way to New Zealand. Frank lost his family in colonial Indonesia during the war. He falls for country girl Ada but she's already married by proxy to Calvinist Derk Visser. She goes on to live a loveless marriage in a bunker having several children. The only passion is the exchange of letters with Frank until he discovers them. Esther is an independent Jewish woman after losing everyone in the Holocaust. She refuses to live with ghosts from the past and charges forward making a career as a successful fashion designer. Marjorie marries Hans Doorman. After Esther gives birth, Marjorie adopts the baby as her own.

It's an old-fashion romantic melodrama. Ada's quiet suffering is devastating and her life is worthy of any pulp romance. This is all very pulpy with Marjorie and Esther. The movie should stop flashing forward to the modern era so much. It should have stopped after Rutger Hauer died. Every time it goes modern, the movie grinds to a halt. The modern era should be tiny bookends. Otherwise, this is a good old fashion melodrama if one is inclined towards such things.

Although it took me two nights to view this film, I must say I was very satisfied with it at the end. The arc of the story, spanning over 50 years or so really was truly grand. The film touches on the many personal issues and emotions of its central characters, yet maintains a certain distance, careful not to have us rooting for or against certain characters, while showing sweeping historical changes take place in the background.

The cast is top-notch, especially Karina Smulders, who plays Ada Van Holland, a young, unwordly bride-to-be traveling, for the first time, from Holland to New Zealand. There is a natural, non self-consciousness about her performance that is very appealing. The other members of the cast are also very wonderful. Many flawed characters occupy the screen, but no one beyond redemption and forgiveness. The cumulative affect of the storytelling, between flashback and modern day, was, in the end, deeply personal, and awe-inspiring.