Steinesongo Too many fans seem to be blown away

KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Sammy-Jo Cervantes There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Brennan Camacho Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

filmalamosa This movie takes place in 1849 on St. Pierre. It is about a murderer who committed a murder in a drunken state not really knowing what he was doing. Such a person might get 8 years or something these days. But you have to remember that in 1848 you were sent to Australia in chains if you stole a loaf of bread. The wife of the captain in charge of holding the condemned man feels he should be rehabilitated and let loose. The whole movie becomes a treatise on unfair penal sentences.My problem with the movie is not that I think the man deserved to be executed, but rather the one sided manipulative propaganda approach used by the director.The movie degenerates into endless obvious manipulation. Every facial expression in every crowd is controlled to show the appropriate emotion. There are constant cuts to the ship bringing the guillotine. Suddenly everyone loves this guy no one will be the executioner etc... It is not believable.A huge part of the problem is that the actor playing the condemned (Emir Kusturica) is a disheveled large hulking unattractive middle aged cave man who just doesn't work in the role--negative charisma? Kusturica's chemistry is just wrong (maybe bad acting?)--for some reason there is absolutely nothing sympathetic about him walking around with a plaintive look. A younger more handsome man who could act could very well have made the movie work.The Captain and his wife are Gods descended from some morally superior heaven we should all aspire to.The whole message thing is just too heavy handed. The part in the beginning where they throw rocks at the prisoners is more like real human nature. This movie is terrible which is a pity.I liked Patrice La Count's movie-- M. Hire-- and decided to watch more of his films unfortunately the others are also too much socially relevant treatises but this is by the far the worst one. REDICULE at least had large parts of it that were entertaining this film had nothing of the sort---unrelenting politically correct hammering against the death penalty etc etc etc...It is a pity because the actors and Le Conte bring a lot to this--however no doubt about it Kusturica ruins it. He should stick to directing.DO NOT RECOMMEND!

p111 This is a wonderful film. It captures characters in a profound dilemma and shows a study of the bureaucratic mind that will crush a truly good man for the ends of both personal advancement and political correctness. It is as much a statement on the evils of mindless bureaucracy as any I have seen. It is also a fine story of personal redemption and the decency that can allow it to thrive. I could not but think of such works as Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment or such films as Schindler's List, because I am fascinated by the portrayals of seemingly ordinary people put in situations of fundamental moral choice.

Lee Eisenberg Focusing on murderer Neel Auguste's (Emir Kusturica) redemption while awaiting his execution, "La Veuve de Saint-Pierre" (called "The Widow of Saint-Pierre" in English) raises some good questions. The townspeople are forced to ask themselves whether or not it's a good idea to execute him now that he is making up for it. The movie never gets preachy, it sticks to asking the questions and shows that there's not necessarily a ready answer. Juliette Binoche and Daniel Auteuil play Pauline (aka Madame La) and Jean (aka The Captain), respectively, overseeing Auguste's penance. All in all, this is a movie that everyone should see.

mpr3t I must say that this is one of those films that really stuck with me for weeks after watching it, both for its evocative cinematography as well as its acting and mood. I must take issue with a previous reviewer who called this movie "preachy" or "too liberal". The central moral dilemma in this film is precisely that we cannot understand, much less judge, a human being by a single action. It is true that Auguste commits murder, but what the director then sets up is the largely unspoken debate as to a man's worth to society. One can of course argue both ways, that the law must be enforced no matter what, or that his contributions to the community are worth more than his death. It isn't preachy at all, because the film doesn't tell us what to think, it's up to us to reflect on this. Life isn't black and white, despite what our politicians would like us to believe, it's shades of grey.