Feast of July

"Feast..." is a well crafted, somewhat staged and romanticized drama about a woman, Bella (Davidtz), who wanders into the lives of a 19th century agrarian English family with 3 adult sons changing their lives forever. The film offers good performances by all, represents rural life of the time well, is artfully presented, and avoids extreme excursions giving the film a sort of perfect Disney-esque feel. Davidtz graces the screen throughout though Chaplin offers perhaps the best performance. A good watch for those in need of some easy-going romantic period drama.

The film is carried almost entirely by Embeth Davidtz. She brings warmth and quiet charisma, and her romantic scenes are the only moments that feel genuinely alive. Her partner works well through their shared chemistry, while the supporting cast remains natural but largely unmemorable.

Feast of July opens with the promise of a restrained period romance but quickly settles into a pace so slow and observational that it often feels documentary-like. The story lacks momentum, and the central conflict remains weak. The male lead's intensity only becomes coherent near the end, when his mental condition is revealed, but the explanation arrives too late to justify the prolonged emotional distance.

Technically solid and tastefully directed, the film's strengths are mostly technical rather than engaging. Without Embeth Davidtz, there would be little to hold attention.

Rating: 6+ /10.

Beautiful scenery and details, authentic costumes and language. After six viewings, Ben Chaplin still lights up the screen.

In an almost quasi-Victorian style, and most certainly with a true Victorian setting, H.E.Bates' novel has been turned into a fine cinematographic production. Excellent interpretations by all concerned, not only the leading actors, lushly backed up by some truly splendid photography, this is a film which appeals to the senses of perceptive viewers.

Unfortunately the music score is not up to much, or perhaps I should say that you should not see this film expecting great orchestral and vocal music as Zbigniew Preisner has already given us in the trilogy `Trois Couleurs' or especially in the previous film `La Double Vie de Véronique' (1991).

H.E.Bates was first a serious novelist, giving us such splendid titles as `The Jacaranda Tree' and `The Purple Plain', both based on his wartime experiences in Burma (now called something like Myaungyi), and evidently `Feast of July' falls into this category. Unfortunately he then turned his hand to light frivolous reading with would-be attempts at hilarity, and he simply fell out of any serious reading list. Thoroughly recommend these two novels as they paint an authentic picture of people with real feelings and genuine jealousies and mistrust. Perhaps it is this characterisation that has been soundly transformed into a visual experience that makes `Feast of July' a thoroughly recommendable film. Near 7 out of 10.

Sophisticated and well paced love story between a disgraceful young woman and an insecure and neurotic young peasant man, adorned with England last century background. The movie goes on swiftly, although the first part is a little slow and heavy handed by the direction. Chaplin and Davitz are good in the lead roles and the climax (the last scene, to be exact)cause a strong and impressive impact on the viewer. I give this a six.