Linbeymusol
Wonderful character development!
Bob
This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
Walter Sloane
Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.
jmvscotland
First, this is a very fine movie and I do recommend watching it. Beautiful cinematography, terrific and thoroughly believable script, a moving screenplay and excellent acting throughout by all involved.BUT, I found myself feeling such rage at the main character, Rebecca, that it is almost enough to make this viewing of the movie my last despite its many otherwise admirable qualities.What I'm referring to here is Rebecca's complicity, I would say participation, some would say acquiescence, in the atrocity committed by the suicide bomber(s). For a photo journalist to stand by and do nothing to assist those injured or killed in a suicide bombing after the event might possibly be understandable if not acceptable. But for a photo journalist to do more than witness and, I would argue, to become involved in the actions of a group of bloody terrorists is something else again. In my opinion, such acquiescence on the part of the photographer condones the act of suicide bombing, the act of killing innocents in the name of any bloody religion.Imagine the outrage had a photo journalist been a party to the bombing in Omagh all those years ago by attending to take photographs of the preparations for the bombing. Such complicity could and should be regarded as participation in the act and should carry whatever penalty that the law provides. This is essentially what Rebecca did in this movie and I was repulsed by her actions and her being involved in a deed as foul as suicide bombing rather than simply being on the spot in the aftermath of such a bombing. Yes, of course this is a moral judgement but it is nonetheless a valid one.As I said at the beginning, it is a very fine movie and it is very thought provoking. If, like me, you think you might be repulsed by the main character's actions and her participation in a deadly act or terror, then perhaps this is a good movie to avoid.
eddythedolphin
This is an inspiring movie that shows today's reality of the extremist religious – social politics in countries dominated by radicals, fanatics
Things that we see on the news everyday, and sometimes we just take it for granted
It is happening as I write these words here, and for sure it will still be happening when you will be reading theses lines, and who knows watching the movie
It was nicely and simply shot, totally artistic, and the director was careful enough not to be graphic on scenes that perhaps required some detailed frames. And what to say about Juliete Binoche, I am her fan, so I won't say much about her performance, only that she contributed a lot on her role in order to the story be told the way it was.
Mamabadger56
Juliette Binoche was great as always in this mostly interesting, but occasionally slow and pompous, movie about a woman dealing with conflicting claims on her time, her attention, and her life. Rebecca (Binoche) is a photojournalist who covers some of the world's most dangerous and unstable regions. She is passionate about her work and believes it makes a difference. When she is almost killed while covering an event in Afghanistan, her normally supportive husband objects to the toll her work is taking on himself and their children. She agrees to leave dangerous assignments behind, but is torn between her family obligations and her intense drive to continue her work. This leads to an eventual crisis in her family.The film catches our interest right away, with a fascinating scene in which Rebecca is shown photographing strange events in Afghanistan. It turns out to be solemn preparations for a suicide bombing by a young woman. Rebecca remains aloof, photographing the events and giving no indication of her feelings. When the bombing takes place prematurely, she is badly injured in the explosion. We get a glimpse of how obsessive Rebecca is when she drags herself from the ground to get a few more shots of the aftermath, before collapsing.The movie doesn't take sides. A woman asked to give up a successful career for the sake of her husband and children sounds, at first, unfair and patriarchal. We see how brilliant Rebecca's work has been, and how it has sometimes changed things in forgotten areas of the world. However, we gradually see the effect her many close calls have had on her two daughters, who are constantly afraid she will be killed while away on an assignment, and Rebecca acknowledges that she has an obligation to them as well. But nothing is completely one sided: even her older daughter, who was intensely angry about her mother's risk taking, comes to respect Rebecca's work and mention it with pride during a school project. The family scenes, although lovely and affectionate, tend to drag a bit. Maybe we're seeing it through Rebecca's eyes: she clearly loves her husband and children, but her strongest feelings are directed toward her work. Eventually, Rebecca comes to the painful conclusion that she has to continue with her work, even at the expense of her marriage. Yet even that decision is not without ambivalence; on a new assignment, Rebecca finds herself facing an ethical quandary, when she questions whether has an obligation to try and stop an evil act, rather than just observe and document the incident. The film ends before she finds an answer.
LeoDRK
During the first ten minutes we learn that Rebecca (Juliette Binoche) is a photographer investigating terrorism, putting her own life in danger. Until an explosion takes her back to home. Twenty five minutes later she decides to quit her job. Twenty five minutes later she decides to take her daughter to a refugee camp in Kenya.Until this very point, nothing really happens in the story. It looks like Erik Poppe thought the subject (the terrorism) was enough to carry on the audience. I don't think that worked.The actual story starts after a whole hour of film. Here Rebecca takes a series of decisions making changes in her life and her family. And it's kind of interesting, but you are already too bored by that time.I think the film presents Rebecca's difficulties for staying at home, as the main conflict. But it seems to be too weak for making the story flow.