just plain BRILLIANT

Rating: 10/10 (31 August 2000)

in an age where the norm is more garbage on the big screen than excellence, this film is truly a big breath of fresh air.For lack of a better word, this is a "masterpiece." It falls into the same camp as "Cinema Paradiso," which was released about ten years before this one.
Many of the opinions here seemed to be based on what the critics wrote at the time; that the first half is weak and blah blah blah- -nonsense ! The entire package is simply a work of genius.This is an emotional roller coaster- - enjoy the ride ! 10/10