It would be easy to view this film as all about gender. (Is it feminist? Is it anti-feminist?) Or even to focus on race issues. (Did Coppola whitewash the story?) But that misses the point of this sumptuous, visceral, superlative movie.
Coppola made a film about what humans do under extreme conditions that is refreshingly devoid of the gender tropes Hollywood loves to spew such as "lusting male manipulator" and "frigid female spinster." In this film, every character is first and foremost human--complex, nuanced and struggling with their conflict between survival, desire and morality. Coppola's film shows that humans (male and female) struggle with the same conflicts. Yes, women lust. And, yes, men have moral struggles. Because both women and men lust and have moral struggles. And both have the instinct to survive.
The experience of the film was a unique blend of powerful sensuality--the intimate sharing of music, food, and prayer, acts of care and service like bathing, bandaging and even gardening, exotic rich nature scenes, the distant sounds of war and the sparse but compelling soundtrack make this a film you want to crawl into and touch, taste, and smell as well as see and hear. The exquisite costuming creates mesmerizing tableaux as well as expresses both what's common and unique to each of the female characters--not an easy feat to accomplish. The leading stars shine brilliantly, but we also see a depth and profundity of character and acting among the 4 young girls in the film. A truly ensemble drama, not usually seen among a cast of such varied ages.
The emotional ride is also a powerful experience. Sexual tension, flirtation, desire, and eroticism alternate with fear, suspense, and even horror. And, of course, the brilliant direction makes you not want to blink for fear of missing even one of the impeccably designed and composed ethereal, exotic, dreamlike visions in scene after scene.
I do not give a 10 rating lighting, but this film really deserves it. It is so far above the normal Hollywood fare.
After seeing the film, I understand and agree with Coppola's explanation of why she chose not to include racial diversity in the cast. Because of the time period, the film would have had to address the racial divide of slavery and to do that justice would take the film in the opposite direction of Coppola's vision, which is to use an isolated group of people to show how fundamentally alike men and women are, even in a sex segregated society. A film can't be all things to all people. There are plenty of African-American films, for example, that do not address the issue of sex segregation in black culture even today.
If you make sense of the world through the lens of gender stereotypes, or need big explosions to feel anything, you are probably not going to enjoy this film. But if you like complex human characters and sensuous subtlety, brilliant acting and virtuoso directing, don't miss seeing this film on the big screen.
Coppola made a film about what humans do under extreme conditions that is refreshingly devoid of the gender tropes Hollywood loves to spew such as "lusting male manipulator" and "frigid female spinster." In this film, every character is first and foremost human--complex, nuanced and struggling with their conflict between survival, desire and morality. Coppola's film shows that humans (male and female) struggle with the same conflicts. Yes, women lust. And, yes, men have moral struggles. Because both women and men lust and have moral struggles. And both have the instinct to survive.
The experience of the film was a unique blend of powerful sensuality--the intimate sharing of music, food, and prayer, acts of care and service like bathing, bandaging and even gardening, exotic rich nature scenes, the distant sounds of war and the sparse but compelling soundtrack make this a film you want to crawl into and touch, taste, and smell as well as see and hear. The exquisite costuming creates mesmerizing tableaux as well as expresses both what's common and unique to each of the female characters--not an easy feat to accomplish. The leading stars shine brilliantly, but we also see a depth and profundity of character and acting among the 4 young girls in the film. A truly ensemble drama, not usually seen among a cast of such varied ages.
The emotional ride is also a powerful experience. Sexual tension, flirtation, desire, and eroticism alternate with fear, suspense, and even horror. And, of course, the brilliant direction makes you not want to blink for fear of missing even one of the impeccably designed and composed ethereal, exotic, dreamlike visions in scene after scene.
I do not give a 10 rating lighting, but this film really deserves it. It is so far above the normal Hollywood fare.
After seeing the film, I understand and agree with Coppola's explanation of why she chose not to include racial diversity in the cast. Because of the time period, the film would have had to address the racial divide of slavery and to do that justice would take the film in the opposite direction of Coppola's vision, which is to use an isolated group of people to show how fundamentally alike men and women are, even in a sex segregated society. A film can't be all things to all people. There are plenty of African-American films, for example, that do not address the issue of sex segregation in black culture even today.
If you make sense of the world through the lens of gender stereotypes, or need big explosions to feel anything, you are probably not going to enjoy this film. But if you like complex human characters and sensuous subtlety, brilliant acting and virtuoso directing, don't miss seeing this film on the big screen.