Jeanskynebu
the audience applauded
Evengyny
Thanks for the memories!
Cooktopi
The acting in this movie is really good.
bandkstone
I was very moved by this film. I thought the acting was excellent. I am mystified that so many people think it was disappointing because it was not "realistic."It's a STORY people. Guessing the same people who love Spiderman can suspend their disbelief.
sunny-06093
The first time I saw this film, like many reviewers I was a bit lost with all the flashbacks and felt I missed some of the story line. After watching it a few more times, it has become one of my favorites and a part of my DVD library. I've never read the story it is based on, so I can neither compare nor critique one to the other. I have witnessed the ravages of Alzheimer's disease in my family and am frankly grateful that this film didn't go so much in that direction. I also didn't focus on the very upgraded facility. Considering this was in Canada and I've never seen a facility there, I just left it to my imagination - maybe things are better there. Much like another film I love, "I'm Still Alice" starring Julianne Moore, Julie Christie's character Fiona understands what is happening to her and doesn't want her husband to have to care for her as her condition deteriorates. That is why she willingly checks herself into a facility while she is able to, against her husband Grant's wishes. When she writes the note to him when he leaves her there, the website says the spelling of her name (Fona) is an error in the film. I noticed it, but thought this was just her losing the grasp of words and spelling, not an actual film blooper. The friendship she rekindles with Aubrey, whom she once knew, and the relationship that develops between Grant and Aubrey's wife Marian, isn't disturbing to me like it is to some reviewers. Grant and Fiona may still love each other, but their lives are being forever changed by Alzheimer's, just as Aubrey and Marian's lives have been changed by his condition. I thought it was somewhat natural that two people sharing an affliction might bond, and likewise two lonely people who were losing their spouses might bond. One thing it took me several viewings to notice is that Marian is indeed selling her house toward the end to be able to send Aubrey back to the facility to be with Fiona. And the film doesn't go any farther than that. You don't see Marian moving in with Grant and you don't see Fiona totally losing her mind, and I think that's just fine. The ending is poignant and touching, as Grant and Fiona enjoy what might be one of the last moments of total clarity that she may have. I always cry at the end..still, after seeing it all these times. I also love Neil Young's contribution to the soundtrack and KD Lang's rendition of "Helpless" is superb.
kgroneman-250-698012
This film could have deserved the high ratings it has received, but I think those ratings are based on the emotional factor of this film which, I agree, is high, hence my giving it 5 stars. However, there are several things lacking in this movie which took away the other 5 stars. Some things are just too unrealistic:There seems to be no friends or family of the main characters * The head nurse seems to have all the time in the world and never seems to be doing anything * The husband doesn't call police or even seem upset when his wife takes off on skis and goes missing. * There are no family pictures or music or any effort at all to remind the wife of who she is. The husband is totally unhelpful in this regard. Once he grabs her by the shoulders and tells her who he is, but otherwise is just too calm and too removed.If they would have added some elements of realism to this scenario, it would have been a lovely movie.
Dr-Bahaa Mostafa Kamel
I've got this obsession about Alzheimer's disease since years, and still. Getting to imagine how Gordon Pinsent shouted "yesss" to her, and living up with this miserable hugely depressing disease. Specially feeling for Julie Christie gave me the impression so clearly and the feelings were so intense to be hard to feel. Yet the concept of "making a decision to be happy" is too real, but too betraying as well. It's more than excellent movie ..Happiness is what you choose to remember, Julie Christie's spectacular performance is just unbearable ..But and a big but here, from a medical point of view, the script was lacking some important points through the process of Alzheimer's disease, missing those points reflected a different image for the disease to the public, and didn't show the real suffering of anyone that had to deal with that kind of disease ..That's all :)
