Episodic Civil War Story

Rating: 8/10 (2 February 2004)

mengella tells frazier's episodic war tale with finesse.
i've read many, but not all, comments on this graceful but violent movie.
a long time ago, i read a comment about the five essential things to a good/great movie. the five were grace, line, tone, speed and heart.
this movie measures up as:
GRACE: it is surely beautiful to see, and perfectly played as an anti-war film. the violence is contrasted with the desire for peace after seeing the realities of war.
LINE: here's a problem. episodic films work only if each different segment lead to a convincing end. also, the movie tries to tell one episodic tale about inman, and a story in linear fashion about ada. while the cuts aren't too jarring, they change the pace of the movie.
TONE: well, it's the old "war is hell, and i'm disgusted", refrain. however, mengella manages it well on both fronts. the opening scene at petersburg, the incidents of inmans return, and ada's tribulations and rebirth at her farm give us a sense of time and place, necessity and hope, fear and caution.
SPEED: ok. at 2.5 hours we're moved along with intriquing scenes. but some episodes stand out. the natalie portman episode was filled with irony. the backwoman healer episode was interesting, but felt more like a 50's half hour teleplay. (think twilight zone, or 5 star theatre.)
HEART: well, it's all here. desire, difficulties, resolution.
in total, a good to great type of movie, handled well.
so, go see it. it's worth the cash.