Superlative and profound romance from Max Ophuls (& Stefan Zweig) about lost opportunities and our greatest loves. Joan Fontaine is fantastic as the one man woman whom we see at 12 years of age, 20 and 30. She plays her character in all three time periods excellently and is thus believable in all three. Because it's her story, she has to be that good to command our attention and get us to believe she possess the emotions she claims to feel.
The film's only problem is the spectacle within the spectacle aspect of a story told in the 1st person. We must take the point of view on trust – which, in fact, we do - and yet there is a sense that the director expects too much from his audience in such identification. As if the spectacle itself is the only necessary proof of the veracity of what we see, despite its emotional contrivance.
Copyright © 2009 Frank TALKER. Permission granted to reproduce and distribute it in any format; provided that mention of the author’s Weblog (http://franktalker5.blogspot.com/) is included: E-mail notification requested. All other rights reserved.
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