Kiss of Life

All through this movie you are able to relate to the importance of family. The father is away - and alone - and also needed at home. Through his eyes you get to see what it is like in a war torn arena - and through the eyes of his wife (now dead) and his children you get to see and feel what love is truly about. Yes - It is all very sad. And you wont want to raise the roof after seeing this. But, you will remain introspective and considering of others - As a low budget film this movie oozes quality - Mainly for it's sensitivity - I really felt that each character (especially the young boy - but even the dithery grandfather has his moment.) was alive. It's a movie that feels from the heart and speaks of the troubles in the world today = NOT ENOUGH CARE FOR EACH OTHER, and TOO MUCH WAR. I'd rate this as far better than Titanic, but, if you like that sort of thing - Watch this.

Watching this movie was like watching the funeral ceremony of a total stranger: depressing, boring and ultimately pointless.

This movie could have used a stronger story, though what that story should have been I don't know as I'm not exactly sure what this movie was trying to tell us.

The characters are too underdeveloped and the movie too fragmented to really start feeling for these people, which makes the whole thing boring, depressing and confusing rather than moving.

The added "ghostly" twist doesn't help either. In this respect; why the mother had to suffer twice by making her witness her children's sorrow is beyond me as well.

This film aspires to be something far deeper than it actually achieves and is severely let down by bad to average acting and some very lame dialogue. Whilst the theme is not unique it is edited in such a fashion as to make it incomprehensible.

I'm sure there will be plenty who will disagree and say that this is a stunning debut film purely because it is British, but that is because we have so little to compare.

There are some redeeming aspects of this film, the score being one of them. I am sure that Emily Young can mature into a competent filmmaker if she learns from the failings of 'Kiss of Life'. Ultimately this would be a good student film but certainly isn't worth shelling out for at your local cinema.

At least the Film Council is finally doing what it was created for and is funding new directors in low budget features...even if the result is part of the directors learning curve. Maybe things can only get better?

As long as you are prepared to go at the film's pace this is a mesmerising, sad, uplifting and ultimately extremely rewarding film. It tells a story by painting a picture: absorb the imagery as well as the words if you really want to understand it.

Perhaps peoples reactions to it reflect as much their own experiences as those of the characters in the film. Go with it.

Part romance, part road movie and part ghost story, Kiss of Life is a strong but inconsistent debut feature from British director Emily Young. It's the story of a woman who – after being killed in a car accident – finds herself stuck in limbo whilst her husband, unaware of her death, races from war-torn Eastern Europe to be with her. In telling this tale, Young attempts to weave two very different stories together, and is not always successful. It becomes hard to care about one character or the other as you continually flit between stories. On one hand you have the family living in England. Helen floats in limbo whilst the rest of her family deals with the grief of her death. As Helen is reduced to being a spirit in her own home, she recalls previous times with husband John. Here, Young is attempting to wring emotional mileage out of Helen's situation, but it never completely works. This partly because it takes too long for her to work out her situation (You were hit by a car, your kids or father can't see you and are crying all the time. There's a good chance you may be a ghost) and partly because it all feels slightly too manipulative. However, as Helen, Dapkunaite does a fine job and is given able support by David Warner as her father.

John's story proves much more productive. Peter Mullan gives a wonderful performance as the father who will do anything to get back home. Hitching lifts with refugees or trying to find his way across deserted towns, his journey becomes not only a personal odyssey, but a document of the effect of war. It's in these sections where the dramatic irony of his wives death works so well. His desire to see her is countered by our knowledge of her death. Thus, his story is also tinged with an underlying sadness which culminates in an almost unbearably tragic scene in a deserted tower block as he continues his journey.

Kiss of Life contains many wonderful moments, but never quite coheres as a whole. Perhaps more suited to the small screen, it remains a confident debut from a director who will be worth keeping an eye on in the future.