Inexplicable sexual hunger

Rating: 8/10 (1 September 2018)

There is a lot to commend in this depiction of the post world war rebuilding of lives and traditions. Not least are the singing and dancing performances that form the backdrop to the fated romance between the pianist and his beau of do-we-believe-it dubious background. This is, perhaps, a symbol of general everyday misogyny -the woman's talent is minimized? Hard to tell because the story arc is not easy to follow with too-long-held black blank screen breaks performing that necessary trope of story-telling aka 'Meanwhile, back at the ranch'. We don't really get to see why the two lovers are so dedicated to each other, or why they have little or no compunction in having serious relationships with other people. A mystery the viewer has to fill with their own day-dreaming, as with adding colour. It is a shame that, throughout, we are restricted to black and white visuals. A fault that is repeated in the rather two dimensional story telling. Entertaining enough but far from perfect.