Lengthy but good

Rating: 9/10 (12 February 2004)

Cold Mountain is no way better than The English Patient, but like any Minghella's movie, there are always the acting and scenery which dazzle. I haven't read the original, but I do think the story is rather weak, and it's certainly the reason for most of the negative comments made by others on this film. Yet, Minghella managed to portray this weak romance into something fabulous that at least in the middle of the movie, we somehow FEEL that Inman and Ada do love each other.
The scene in which Ada and Inman sit by the fire chatting is superb -definitely one of the highest point of the film, but the film goes stale after that. The final shooting scene is somewhat redundant (kinda remind me of old stupid Westerns); it's like a reminder of the lingering of the civil war but it simply falls into the wrong place. The last 15 minutes are largely unnecessary and should have ended up in the editing room. But on the whole, Cold Mountain is a good movie and a more enjoyable tragi-romance in recent years. Worth a look. 9/10.