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Reviews
Genova (2008)
Look Below the Surface of this Story
Genova is an incisively directed, beautifully lit, and exquisitely acted film that quickly moved into my top five all-time favorites list. A family suffering the sudden death of a beloved mother takes a journey to Genova, ostensibly to get away from their sadness and heal from their grief, and that is exactly what happens. But it is for you, the viewer, to grasp the metaphors of the maze-like streets of the city, the spirit of the mother who lingers, and the beautiful frescoes that reveal different aspects with each viewing.
I won't give away the ending - it's not obvious, only subtly powerful. But I will say that the grieving survivors act the way any of us would in such circumstances - we get on with our day to day lives, all the while trying to figure out what has happened to us and find meaning in it. Through it all we experience fear, guilt, avoidance, anger, confusion and loneliness. We hold onto memories, good and bad. We sometimes cling to each other and sometimes reject offers of comfort so we can work out our grief in the best way we know and survive the process. We end up different, still imperfect, but we heal and move along on our life path. If you are looking for an obvious plot, and someone to spoon feed you the meaning of this film, don't bother - you won't like it. If you have ever experienced sudden grief, you will understand it easily.
Colin Firth gives one of his best performances in this film. He has a generous way, in his serious roles, of portraying just enough knowledge of his characters to draw the viewer in and allow us to invest a lot of our own emotions into the progress of the character and his eventual outcome. That's Firth's great talent which is missed my so many who would rather have it all explained to them. I prefer the small space that Firth beckons us to enter. I watch this film often, and he and Winterbottom show me a new level, a new meaning, a new view of life's frescoes each time I see it.
Die Kinder (1990)
One of My All Time Favorites
Die Kinder is the show that made me truly appreciate the considerable talent of Frederic Forrest, who plays a jaded private detective (Lomax) hired by a British woman (Miranda Richardson), whose young children are abducted by their German father. Forrest plays this role with amazing range - he is cynical, pragmatic, romantic, protective, devious, heroic. You name it, he does it with this character, and he is completely believable in each nuance that was written into the role. I cannot imagine anyone else playing the part.
All praise for Forrest aside, Milne's script is simply terrific. Lots of plot twists, and each one believable. The characters find themselves caught in an invisible web of bad guys, underground radicals, and betrayed ideals. The final scene left me speechless for several minutes. Interestingly the short novel that was based upon the screenplay presents just one of the many endings that you must develop in your own imagination when you watch the series. This is one story where I DON'T recommend reading the book first.
The down side of all this is that WGBH has no plans to re-broadcast this mini-series, nor do they plan to release it on video. At least that was what they told me the last time I wrote to them. I write every few years with the same request. Perhaps fans of this series should start a letter campaign so they know it's worth releasing for sale. There are several of us out here who have Die Kinder at the top of our all-time favorites list - I cannot imagine there aren't lots more anonymous fans who would love to see it again. My worn out VHS is a precious possession.