Beautiful Movie

Rating: 9/10 (7 February 2009)

It's 2009 and I have just seen this movie for the very first time. I must say that I am most impressed and wish I had seen this years ago when it first came out! What caught my attention to make me watch this movie in the first place was the beautiful scenery and amazing cinematography. Many people have already commented on how beautiful the Montana scenery is, and I must agree. However, the movie was actually filmed in Canada, and the scenery was only passed off as being that of Montana. However, my understanding is that it very much resembles the same rugged beauty of Montana.
I have also read people's criticism about the clichés in this movie. I must disagree to some extent. Usually older western settings such as this we see much less civility than was displayed in this movie. The family and all their ranch hands held a tight bond together, and were upstanding, hard-working people with a lot of love in their hearts for one another and anyone else they met. The dynamics that existed between the characters, and the nuances of the performances that each actor brought to the table in their portrayals were very real, and makes you understand and care for the characters. We also don't see many movies in this time period and setting that explore human emotion in such detail. The characters in this movie are all very human and believable. The only reason I don't give this movie a 10 is because I thought the war scenes could have been a bit more realistic.
The sum of all these parts -- the scenery, the characters, the tragedies -- make this a timeless movie that will always hold its own. I can hardly wait for this one to come out to Blu-ray so I can add it to my collection.
P.S. - How fun it was to see Bradd Pitt fighting for the Canadian Army. This should give Canadians some sense of novel pride.