Cubussoli Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

VividSimon Simply Perfect

Protraph Lack of good storyline.

Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

John Doe This movie is crap. The characters are boring and unlikable, the scenes make no sense and are of little impact on following scenes, and everything that happens is really stupid. The daughter is a whore. It's supposed to have some stuff with her father really loving her but he doesn't care she's such a whore(he's okay with/encourages it) so he obviously doesn't love her. The acting is as bad as the writing. None of the characters seem to have any emotion. You want to make some kind of emotional artsy film you should get people who can act. Nothing in this film seems to have any point at all. Maybe that was the goal, to make a film so stupid and boring and pointless as to push you into nihilism.

shanfloyd "A soldier's daughter never cries" by James Ivory presents us with an interesting story about fine aspects of human relationships with really impressive acting. The film is divided into three segments - "Billy", "Francis" and "Daddy". Each containing the protagonist Channe's experiences with three men in her life - her adopted brother, her school friend and her father respectively. The film shows how these experiences let her become gradually mature... emotionally, sexually and also in terms of personality.Acting is exceptional in this film. The first segment shows the time right after the brother, Billy, being adopted when he was 7 years old. Channe was also 7 at that time and the child actress who played her (Luisa Conlon) really deserves our praise. In the next two segments Channe (14 and 17 yrs respectively) was brilliantly portrayed by Leelee Sobeiski who is much responsible for the rather reserved nature of the character. Kris Kristofferson does a solid job as the father. His character is an unique one, as evident not only by the words he spoke, but also by Kristofferson's accent and expressions. Among the other actors Jesse Bradford is worth mentioning as Billy is last two segments. The actor who played Francis in "Francis" brings too much dramatic persona in my opinion. Though arguably that's one of the best things about the character. And there's also a nice extended cameo by Virginie Lledoyen as Billy's biological mother.Now about the characters and screenplay. Though stated from Channe's point of view, her father is the major influential character in this film. It was always his decisions, his outlook towards life that affected his family. The character of Channe is somehow very interesting. Her experiences with womanhood and men are written in an unique manner. And how she develops into a warm, soft-spoken yet determined personality is clearly something that Ivory spent time on. On the other hand Billy is a rather shy and quite unimpressive character with no apparent personal feature that should be rendered as a quality. Now Channe's school friend Francis has all the unusual features - he's an opera singer, loves to dance puppets, has a really corky sense of humor and his mother is an existentialist. His relationship with Channe is one of the film's major assets. All the characters are quite multi-layered, even Billy. The script is also masterfully written. A nice example is the conversation between Channe's father and her High School boyfriend Keith. I don't understand French that well so can't comment about the French dialogues though.Actually, it is a film that is bound to be enjoyed if seen in a special mood. I'm lucky that I had that mood when it was showing on TV. Also it is a film that grows wonderfully with time, segment after segment. It's a really good coming-of-age story that should be considered as Ivory's one of the best works.

jcappy5 I don't think less is more in this case. Generally I favor low key films, but this movie has too little drama. What tension there is seems to be too little and too late. Just as one seems to arrive at the film's point(s) it's just about over. I do praise the restraint the film exercises in drawing its characters, but i am only moved by Francis (the daughters Paris friend) and Billy (her adopted brother). These two make the movie for me--both convincing outsiders, interesting and very troubled. But neither is, of course, a main character. The principal characters are rather unlikeable and somewhat static--they are not much different than all the stylish, rather snobby, and obnoxious teachers who are shown in the Paris section of the film. This said, these main characters do seem more human and real as things progress and do seem to invite the viewer to a second viewing.

Geordie-4 I read the reviews that people gave of this movie and I don't understand why they wanted so much character development and resolution. I thought that the characters were fine. They were a little underdeveloped but they seemed alright. I think that people didn't like the slowness of the movie perhaps. I thought that the slowness of the movie was its strength. I didn't mind that things were left unresolved. I would rather have a movie that leaves some things unanswered than answers all the questions. I thought it was a great movie. It wasn't too flashy or anything, quite simple, well edited, and it allowed the characters to breathe and be themselves. I thought it was wonderful for that. The characters were very natural and just were themselves which I enjoyed. I'd recommend this to anyone who wants a movie which might provoke a little discussion about parents and the relationships within a family. I thought the relationships within the family were nice and appropriately complex while at the same time sometimes unexamined, which is a lot like life I think. Well, I would thoroughly recommend this movie to anyone. It is a sedate and quiet and really feels like a French movie.