REVIEW: DVD Release: Villa Amalia

Film: Villa Amalia
Release date: 4th October 2010
Certificate: 15
Running time: 94 mins
Director: Benoit Jacquot
Starring: Isabelle Huppert, Jean-Hugues Anglade, Xavier Beauvois, Maya Sansa, Clara Bindi
Genre: Drama
Studio: Peccadillo
Format: DVD
Country: France/Switzerland

Benoit Jaquot directed this vague remake of Under The Tuscan Sun, giving the theme of ‘starting over’ an individualistic French twist, with the usually irreproachable Isabelle Huppert dominating the screen throughout.

Ann Hidden (Isabelle Huppert), a successful concert pianist, witnesses her long-term partner in the arms of another woman. In a knee jerk reaction, she immediately begins to dismantle not only her relationship with her partner, but her career and, indeed, her whole life. Ann cancels her concerts, with the obligatory burning of her photographs and even her sheet music. She sells her apartment and finally we see her three pianos taken away.

Whilst busying herself with this annihilation of her old life, she also revives a friendship with childhood friend Georges (Jean-Hugues Anglade). Georges vows to help her with her new life, and a bond re-establishes itself between them, as they are both bereaved in their different ways.

As Ann travels away from her old life, she changes her appearance, discarding the sophisticated French look for that of a more down to earth traveller - she cuts her hair, and, as she travels and changes, so her mood lightens.

On arrival in Italy, Ann rents an abandoned villa overlooking the sea – the Villa Amalia. Here Ann’s emotional rehabilitation can really begin.

There is an added twist when, having been rescued from the sea by Guilia (Maya Sansa), the two women begin an affair. However, the death of her mother forces Ann back to France to face not only the funeral, but also her long estranged father. Ann has to decide whether or not to stay in France, or go back to her new life in Italy…


For at least the first sixty minutes, this is a superbly melancholic film, with a sombre and even depressive atmosphere, as Ann undergoes the cathartic clearout of her life. This clearout is depicted in forensic detail, perhaps too much so – it isn’t really necessary to witness every word of the viewings of her apartment and conversations with the estate agent to understand what is happening.

The piano music Ann plays is edgy, disjointed and even uncomfortable to listen to, and is a good choice to reflect the character’s mental turmoil. The lighting is subdued and the acting low key without being superficial. Sometimes, however, being artistically disjointed can be taken too far – the scenes where Ann is making her way to Italy verge on the messy, and the images of Huppert trudging through the snow, and latterly the mountains, to get to her destination are not only superfluous but mildly comical.

Once in Italy, the plot becomes hurried. Ann’s relationship with Guilia is given short shrift, even though one would have thought that being able to forge a new relationship after her recent traumas would be a major event in the character’s life. Having said that, time is wasted on scenes such as those between Ann and the elderly woman who owns the Villa – the light-hearted treatment of their friendship simply doesn’t suit Huppert, who is infinitely better at depicting drama and angst than light humour or sentimentality. It’s possible that this lightening of the mood, used alongside more visually colourful scenes and brighter lighting – shots of the Italian coast in brilliant sunshine are the obvious example – is intended to show that Ann’s world is getting better, too, but it is clumsily done.

The film would have had a much better balance if less time was spent depicting Ann’s removal of herself from her old life, and more used to show the audience how she began her new life in Italy - and it would also have benefitted from sticking either to light humour or drama, instead of vaguely trying to mix the two genres. There are also unnecessary characters – it seems that the only purpose for Ann’s mother being in the plot is to give a reason for her to return to France later in the film, yet time is squandered on Ann’s trip to her mother’s seaside home, instead of exploring key relationships in the film.

Isabelle Huppert commands all one’s attention when on the screen, and in this film she looks fragile, introspective and otherworldly, even after her character reaches Italy. This is a restrained performance by Huppert, but one is not entirely sure if this is because she is deliberately holding back, or whether there is simply not enough substance in the film for her to display her talent. Any film starring Huppert has to be worth watching, and her ethereal beauty in this film does not disappoint, despite the vague regret that she is somehow wasted here. It is not the theme of failing relationships which lets her down, rather the poor structure and lack of emotional depth in the script that give her nothing to work with.


For anyone who is a fan of Huppert, this DVD will, of course, be a must-buy, and one that will be watched more than once for the sheer pleasure of her company. Otherwise, you will be left unfulfilled, despite the art house treatment of the theme. GR

REVIEW: DVD Release: Breath

Film: Breath
Release date: 26th July 2010
Certificate: 18
Running time: 84 mins
Director: Kim Ki-duk
Starring: Chen Chang, Gang In-Hyeong, Ha Jung-woo, Kim Ki-duk, Park Ji-a
Genre: Drama/Romance
Studio: Palisades Tartan
Format: DVD
Country: South Korea

This film was nominated for the 2007 Palm d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and is directed by Kim Ki-duk, who was previously lauded for Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...And Spring in 2003. It seems he can do no wrong.

 Yeon is a depressed housewife, mechanically going through the motions of her day – entertaining her young daughter, listlessly seeing to the chores and, when her husband gets home, silently provoking him by wearing his lover’s hair clip, which she found in his car.

She becomes obsessed by a news story about convicted killer Jang Jin (Chang Chen), who has attempted suicide as he waits on death row for his sentence to be carried out. Her fixation grows partly out of empathy for his tormented state of mind, but also because she feels that she has experienced death herself during a childhood ‘prank’, and wants to reassure him that it is not actually a terrifying experience.

Yeon presents herself at the prison and manages to talk her way into seeing Jang Jin, and from this first encounter a strange relationship develops. Decorating the interview room with a seasonal theme each time, she sings to him and talks about her experience of death, and, as the meetings continue, a gentle kiss becomes a passionate one, a hug in one meeting becomes an embrace filled with desire, and it becomes clear that a love affair is blossoming – seemingly with the blessing of the prison’s director, who voyeuristically watches all the events unfold via CCTV.

The inevitable happens and Yeon’s husband finds out where she has been going, and in a final attempt to end the liason, he drives her to the prison for one more meeting with Jang Jin. As he and their child play in the snow outside the prison, the relationship that Yeon has nurtured so carefully comes to its dramatic conclusion…


This may not be regarded as Kim Ki-duk’s greatest work, but it certainly holds the viewer’s attention. At first the repetitive nature of events – Yeon goes to the prison, the meeting with Jang Jin takes place, she goes home to an unhappy marriage – threatens to become tedious, but this pattern nicely reflects the monotonous nature of prison life, and variety is, of course, added by the differences in each encounter, and the development of the affair between prisoner and visitor.

Park Ji-ah is compelling as Yeon, her moods directly reflecting the sombre subject matter, and the overall tone of the film, and the deepness of her unhappiness and her silences are amplified by the low key presentation generally – there is no music in the film apart from Yeon’s musical interludes. These interludes provide a moment of complete astonishment when, clad in a spring frock despite the bitter winter weather, she serenades Jang Jin in a tuneless but enthusiastic manner, and dances round the interview room. One is almost tempted to laugh, but because Park Ji-ah plays this scene in such a disingenuous way, the viewer is won over to her plan, however unlikely it may seem.

Chang Chen is equally convincing as Jang Jin, especially as he has no dialogue at all in the film. His performance begins as impassive and never becomes flamboyant; entirely reliant as the actor is on the subtleties of facial and body language to convey his mood. Strong supporting acting by his fellow inmates keeps the reality of his condition alive in the mind.

The film is full of coincidences and small details which add to the roundness and interest of the characters - not only does Yeon have to return to an unhappy home life, trapped in her domesticity as if in a prison, but Jang Jin must return to the reality of his situation after the escapism of those brief liaisons, and that includes the jealousy of his prison admirer, who is eventually instrumental in sealing Jang Jin’s fate.

This is a film which can be watched more than once and new questions will continue to be raised; but one needs to look beyond the surface to see the complexities.


 If the mark of a good film is that after watching it one is prompted to seek out other works by the director, or any of the cast for that matter, then this definitely qualifies as such - there is also enough to please any fan of South Korean/East Asian cinema. GR

REVIEW: DVD Release: Highly Strung

Film: Highly Strung
Release date: 29th March 2010
Certificate: 15
Running time: 96 mins
Director: Sophie Laloy
Starring: Isild Le Besco, Judith Davis
Genre: Drama
Studio: Peccadillo
Format: DVD
Country: France

Since the world was first disturbed by Fatal Attraction in 1987, the viewing public has been treated to many homages to this classic tale of obsessive love gone horribly wrong, and this film follows in what has now become something of a cinematic tradition.

The storyline, for this category of film, is unremarkable. Pretty and naive Marie (Judith Davis), from a wholesome rural family, arrives in Lyon to take up her place at the prestigious music conservatoire, and cannot believe her good fortune when she moves in to the spacious apartment of her old school friend Emma (Isild le Besco), a medical student.

At first, having overcome her wonder at Emma’s new found sophistication and enigmatic demeanour, Marie revels in their friendship, seemingly unable to perceive what the audience can, namely the growing possessiveness of Emma over her flatmate. The disapproving looks as Marie happily accepts an invitation from her friends, the sudden unwanted appearances at Marie’s conservatoire, and the initial romantic overtures from Emma seem to ring few alarm bells – until Emma makes a more predatory sexual move on Marie after an evening out.

Surprised and confused, Marie eventually shrugs her off, but as her intensity and panic over her impending conservatoire assessments loom, so an affair of sorts between the two girls develops. Marie is by turns excited and repulsed by this new experience, but Emma’s obsessive jealousy becomes unbearable, and the inevitable rows and plummeting grades follow, until the tables are turned and Marie brings a boyfriend home, flaunting her sexual relationship in Emma’s face.

As is often the case in tormented three way relationships, Emma feigns acceptance, in an attempt to hold Marie close by befriending the boyfriend. More inevitable events – Emma is driven to self harm as a desperate and deluded attempt to keep her ‘girlfriend’ – follow. The relationship continues its doomed path – to an inevitable conclusion…


Production wise this is a solid film, with good camera work, nice use of classical piano music and some strong supporting actors. However, there is absolutely nothing innovative about this film; the plot is clichéd, the script pedestrian and the acting mediocre. It is difficult to say whether the script is at fault or the youth of the actors, but certainly in her debut film role, Davis is incredibly irritating in her wide-eyed, open mouthed gaucheness, and le Besco simply is not intense enough for the role of mentally unstable seductress, even though in one or two of the ‘intimate’ scenes a certain sensuality is conveyed.

There is no continuity in the characterisation either – two thirds of the way through, the film seems to completely lose its way, and the volte face of the power relationship between the two girls, when Marie suddenly gains the upper hand and Emma becomes a mental wreck from the strain of it all, is lacking in subtlety and does not work. In addition, the vague allusions to the confusion Marie feels over her sexuality are too amorphous to be credible for the average audience. Apparently director Sophie Laloy had the idea for this, also her debut film, from events that happened to her as a student, but not all one’s memories can be stretched in to a full length piece of fiction, novel, film or otherwise.

It is not clear exactly which experiences she had herself, but for anyone looking for a quality lesbian storyline, this would be a poor choice, even though distributors Peccadillo have the title on their lesbian list. Nor is it the perfect choice if one is looking for a story of obsessive love - if sexual orientation is not important to you in a plot, look no further than the towering performance of Isabelle Huppert in The Piano Teacher – that is how obsession and desire should be played.


Rather than offering a satisfactory lesbian storyline or indeed a gripping tale of obsession and its consequences, Highly Strung is more a story about the emotional immaturity of a number of people in their late teens or early twenties, and so it adds nothing new to this sub-genre. Disappointing. GR

REVIEW: DVD Release: The Essential Eric Rohmer

Film: The Essential Eric Rohmer
Release date: 10th May 2010
Certificate: 15
Running time: 414 mins
Director: Eric Rohmer
Starring: Serge Renko, Clara Bellar, Andy Gillet
Genre: Drama/Romance
Studio: Artificial Eye
Format: DVD
Country: France

With unusual choices, this collection is an intriguing introduction for the Rohmer newbie and a refreshing reminder for the aficionado of the great man’s talents – and they couldn’t offer greater contrasts.

The Sign Of Leo (1962)
Rohmer’s debut feature tells the cautionary tale of a Paris-based American, born under the sign of Leo and confident that luck is on his side.

In anticipation of an inheritance from a recently deceased aunt, he freely wracks up debts only to find himself in dire straits when his windfall fails to materialise...

Rendez-vous In Paris (1995)
In Rendez-vous In Paris, we witness three romantic encounters. In the first, a young woman agonizes over rumours that her boyfriend is two-timing her, and through the introduction of a third party who returns her stolen purse, she is led into a revelation that will influence her future life.

Another tale takes us on a guided tour of Parisian beauty spots with two teachers who are engaged in a platonic, highly romantic love affair. She claims to be in a loveless relationship with another man; her lover waits patiently while she ponders what she will do if or when she leaves her long term partner. Will she turn to the long suffering teacher, or not?

Finally, a flirtation evolves between an artist and a young woman he encounters in a gallery. The artist pursues the girl down the street, and after engaging her in conversation they end up in his studio, discussing attraction and love. Can he win over the girl he has fallen for so quickly?

Triple Agent (2003)
Triple Agent is basically a spy movie based on a true story, set in the 1930s and given historical context with astute use of vintage news footage.

Fyodor Vorodin is a White Russian General in exile, ostensibly working quietly and lawfully for a veteran’s association. His wife, Arsinoe, is a gifted amateur artist who befriends the neighbours in the upstairs apartment. Despite knowing that her husband is fond of political conversation and debate, she is unaware that he may have a secret life beyond the mundane – until she finds out by accident that he has been taking clandestine trips to Nazi Berlin. Who is he working for, and why?

The complex espionage plot unfolds alongside an examination of several relationships notably that between Fyodor and Arsinoe, but also Arsinoe’s friendship with her neighbours.

The Romance Of Astrea And Celadon (2007)
Honore d’Urfe’s seventeenth century novel is the inspiration for the final film, The Romance Of Astrea And Celadon.

A love story set in 5th century Gaul, it opens with beautiful shepherdess Astrea rebuffing her lover Celadon - mistakenly believing he has betrayed her with another girl. Distraught at losing her love, he throws himself into the river and is believed to have drowned; in fact, he has been rescued by a trio of beautiful nymphs and nursed back to health.

Months later, Astrea wanders into his life again and Celadon is thrown into a tormented dilemma. Does he obey her last words to him to never come before her eyes again – or is there a way around her command so that he may win her back?


These films are archetypal Rohmer - gentle, beautiful, and positively academic in places. Triple Agent is more political debate than James Bond, set against a carefully reproduced historical backdrop. The characters are cultured, well educated and awfully polite to each other, even when their political views diverge wildly, but underlying this is an exploration of loyalty and truth – and the human need to pigeon-hole people (we have people living in apartments; their allegiances to various causes, and private relationships). Arsinoe’s genuine hurt and anger as she confronts her husband about his secret existence is about more than just his failure to include her in all parts of his life, it is about trust in a wider sense, and about how the innocent or naive can be manipulated by those closest to them. The vintage footage is astutely used and contributes to a growing sense of tension in the film and the colour palate used by Rohmer is subdued and gentle, and leaves one with the memory almost of an album of sepia photographs, very apt considering its setting.

Rohmer‘s artist’s eye is displayed even better in The Romance Of Astrea And Celadon. This is a gorgeous film to look at, with beautiful young characters acting in truly Elysian locations, alongside verdant meadows, delightful chateaus, and woodlands with dappled sunlight. The shepherdesses look as if they have stepped straight out of a Frederick Leighton painting, dressed as they are in flimsy versions of the Roman woman’s stola - highly impractical for the work of herding sheep (this is not a film for those who are sticklers for historical accuracy). In order to enjoy and even understand this film, complete suspension of disbelief is absolutely essential, otherwise you will be in turn bemused and irritated by what will come across as florid speeches, improbable turns of the plot and horrendous singing. For example, putting the brawny Celadon into a frock, giving him a close shave and stick-on plaits, and having him speak in a wavering falsetto should fool no woman into thinking he is female, not even the disingenuous Astrea! Concentrate instead on the sheer beauty of this film, its gentle humour and the Shakespearean turns of the plot, and let it wash over you – and when it has finished, you will also be prompted into thinking about its underlying messages of the nature of love, loyalty and trust. There is more to this film than at first appears.

More young and beautiful actors can be found in Rendez-vous In Paris, and yet more ponderings on the nature of love, trust and betrayal. This time, set against the backdrop of modern Paris, the scenarios are more accessible for those who like realism in their films - although not many real-life lovers will wander the streets engaging in philosophical discourse to the extent that these characters do. Paris is important in the film, but it is the choices that the characters must make which stand out. This is a polite comedy of manners, with pretty speeches and little twists in each of the three stories for the characters to stumble over. However, not all the characters are appealing; the female teacher in the second story can be downright irritating and behaves shabbily towards her lover, but then even Rohmer can’t have universally nice folk in his films – life just isn’t like that (except in the world of Astrea and Celadon). Underlying these stories is the seamier side of relationships - sadness, broken trust and heartbreak - but offered to us in Rohmer’s deceptively gentle way.


Although these films have some themes in common, they are sufficiently contrasting to make this collection an intriguing introduction to Eric Rohmer. Don’t forget to look for the hidden and in some places unsettling messages to make the most of these films from the French master. GR

REVIEW: DVD Release: Rendez-vous In Paris

Film: Rendez-vous In Paris
Release date: 10th May 2010
Certificate: 15
Running time: 94 mins
Director: Eric Rohmer
Starring: Clara Bellar, Antoine Basler, Mathias Megard, Michael Kraft, Judith Chancel
Genre: Drama/Romance
Studio: Artificial Eye
Format: DVD
Country: France

This film has been released alongside the Essential Eric Rohmer DVD box set to celebrate the great director’s work, and will be welcomed by his fans as a worthy tribute to one of the most famous of French filmmakers.

Three romantic encounters make up the dramatic content of the film, linked by brief musical interludes from typically, or it might be said stereotypically Parisian musicians. In the first, ‘Rendezvous At 7 O’clock’, a young woman (Clara Bellar) agonizes over rumours that her boyfriend is two-timing her, and through the introduction of a third party, who returns her stolen purse, she is led into a revelation that will influence her future actions.

The second of the triptych of stories, ‘The Benches Of Paris’, takes us on a guided tour of many Parisian beauty spots with two teachers (Aurore Rauscher and Serge Renko), who are engaged in a platonic but highly romantic love affair. She claims to be in a loveless relationship with another man; her lover waits patiently (almost implausibly so) while she ponders what she will do, if or when she leaves her long term partner. Will she turn to the long suffering teacher, or not? When the decision is eventually made to consummate the affair, by pretending to be tourists and book in to a Paris hotel, the sight of another guest causes a swift change of plan – and of heart.

Finally, in ‘Mother And Son 1907’, we witness a prolonged flirtation between an artist (Michael Kraft) and a young woman (Benedicte Loyen) he encounters in an art gallery. The artist pursues the girl down the street, and, after engaging her in conversation, they end up in his studio, not so much looking at the paintings as having a positively philosophical discussion about attraction and love. Can he win over the girl he has fallen for so quickly?


This is a beautifully mannered film, peopled with good-looking, young, romantic individuals who all seem to be either students, professionals, or involved in the world of fine art. There is an assumption by Rohmer that his viewing audience will understand all the references to Picasso, Surrealism, Cubism and the graves of famous illustrators, and he is probably right to make that assumption. Similarly, there are classical allusions in the script which reinforce the cultured and sophisticated atmosphere. There is also something of a very gentle Moliere comedy about the film, with turns of plot and elegant speeches by the characters that somehow seem almost incongruously polite in a modern setting, yet underlying these are some potentially unpleasant situations – two timing partners, break-ups and suspicion. It is Rohmer’s lightness of touch, both as director and script writer, which keeps it from falling over into torment and angst, but one is aware that the possibility is there.

Special mention has to be given to the use of Paris as a backdrop; we see numerous lovely shots of the city, both intimate in the market and park scenes, and wider ranging, with panoramas of the city. The only criticism here is that so many well known sites are used it can be distracting.

Time plays a big part in the film, too, especially in the first story. There are many references to the passage of time, dates and assignations, to the point where it is almost but not quite over played - in fact, Rohmer treads a fine line throughout the film, for example with the mannered performances (had these been overplayed, they could easily have disintegrated into pastiche, and it has to be Rohmer’s handling of the cast that has achieved this successful balance in the performances).

Despite this rather arty feel to the film and dialogue, there is another side to it. The viewer is almost an eavesdropper to the events in the film, following the characters through the market, almost bumping into them in the street as they stop abruptly to talk or embrace, so it is naturalistic despite the politeness.

Rohmer has allowed the background noises to stay at their normal level, which again adds to the sense of realism, but some may find it rather distracting; in the third story, one can clearly hear the whirr of the film camera as in the supposed silence of his studio, the artist paints his picture.


This film may not be one of Rohmer’s very best, but it is nonetheless charming, easy to watch on a superficial level and yet generous enough in its themes to allow for speculation on a deeper level. A safe choice for the beginner to the world of Rohmer, and sure to please his many ardent fans. GR

REVIEW: DVD Release: My Father My Lord

Film: My Father My Lord
Release date: 12th April 2010

Certificate: PG

Running time: 73 mins

Director: David Volach

Starring: Assi Dayan, Ilan Griff, Sharon Hacohen Bar

Genre: Drama

Studio: Artificial Eye

Format: DVD

Country: Israel

Director David Volach has approached this film with inside knowledge, having been raised within the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community it centres on (he turned away from it in order to pursue a career in film), and set in a country (Israel) of great volatility one might expect a film with plenty of action and a fast paced story line. However, if that’s the kind of movie you are hoping for, look elsewhere.

This film’s gentle pace allows time for a highly authentic feel to shine through, from both characters and setting, and the attention to the detail of the orthodox lives of the three main characters – Rabbi Abraham Eidelmann, Esther, his wife, and their young son Menachem – is the backdrop and preparation for a storyline of great and tragic simplicity: a family visit to the seaside results in the death of the child who is lost in the sea, whilst his father is engrossed in his afternoon prayers.

It opens with a depiction of the small world of Menachem, and we see him spending time with his parents, at the Rabbi’s Yeshiva school with the students, and also at his own faith school. Sometimes we see the world through the child’s eyes, and at other times we observe as adults the world that Menachem has to live in. The greatest influence on him is his father, whom he clearly loves, but is also in awe of.

Menachem’s life is ruled by his father’s complete (some might say obsessive) devotion to his faith, and the living out of the Torah; every part of the boy’s life becomes a lesson in faith, and much of what the Rabbi says is in the form of a prayer. His long suffering wife Esther does her best to protect her boy from the excesses of this, trying in vain to intervene when Menachem is ordered to destroy his collector’s card because it might depict a scene of idolatry, and softening the effects of Menachem having to watch his father drive a dove from her young because the Torah told him it must be done…


There is strong irony in the story; Rabbi Abraham uses his son’s question about whether dogs have souls to explain to his Yeshiva students that only they, the Righteous, have the privilege of God’s guidance, and anyone outside that group, and that includes non observant Jews, and indeed the rest of the world’s population, is only there to be the servant of the Righteous. And yet we discover that God has chosen (as the Rabbi sees it) to take away a doted on only child from this Righteous couple whose lives are devoted to God. Seemingly, and most likely because of his fervent belief that God directs every moment of his life and control is therefore not his to wield, the Rabbi recovers from this tragedy faster than his wife, even chastising her for weeping on the Sabbath. This is a heartbreaking scene, in which one can feel the faith ebbing away from a distraught Esther, whilst her husband sings praise to God. Bemused, the Rabbi asks his wife what he was supposed to have done when the boy disappeared, because as he said, at that moment, “I was wrapped in the hands of the Almighty.”

This is a movie which raises many issues, and it really needs a second viewing to get the best out of it, because one can get so engrossed in the minutiae of Hasidic life the first time around that the issues only become apparent later. Esther is a victim of the orthodox gender divide; she is not allowed on the all-male beach with her son, and stands apart from her husband as the emergency services search for Menachem, whilst Abraham sings to his God. She cannot share her grief with him in the Synagogue either; however, this provides her with one of the final moments of the film, in which she pushes prayer books over the balcony of the women’s gallery onto her husband below, a feeble “revenge” for her loss, but another indication that she blames her husband for her son’s death.

It must be said that whilst Volach is critical of the Orthodox community, he is not disrespectful, and maybe that is why the film works so well. There is no doubting the genuineness of the Rabbi’s love for his son, a truly passionate tenderness which, in fact, both parents depict beautifully. Similarly, one has to guard against the human being’s natural reserve when it comes to experiencing a different way of life to one’s own, and look beyond that to the faith-based devotion that is genuinely felt. What Volach wants us to see is what happens when that devotion to God blinds an individual to the dangers of the here-and-now.

David Volach has produced a brave and unflinching critique of religious exclusivity so be prepared for the sting - you may come away from this story feeling strangely uncomfortable, saddened, and disheartened to discover that yet another faith has an inflexible and extreme element to it.


Beautiful to look at, with an abundance of softly lit scenes and warm colours, complemented by wonderful performances from the three leading actors. Watch it, and learn. GR