A tragic and melancholic, but beautiful and tender forbidden romance

Rating: 8/10 (19 November 2017)

In many ways, this is a very typical love story : a forbidden romance, bowing down to the rules and needs of the society, the resulting sorrow, ruining more lives in the process with betrayal, a desperate attempt to cling to traces of the romance, just leading to more heartbreak and an unfulfilling life. As can be inferred from the summary, this is a sad movie, but it is also beautifully shot, full of scenes with natural beauty and soothing calm, interspersed with moments of passion which nonetheless mellow out with gentle love and tender care as time passes and the characters grow older. What truly shines though is the brilliant acting performances, especially by Heath Ledger who truly sells a very conflicted and broken soul, torn between love, duty and fear.