rousing, emotional, beautiful, patriotic!

Rating: 9/10 (5 July 2000)

On July fourth, my 16 year old son and I, sat stunned at the conclusion of Mel Gibson's patriotic dream, as did the rest of the packed theater. We all just sat, utterly silent and still for a few moments before we began to stir, and speak to each other quietly, almost reverently. The audience loved the Patriot! And so did my son and I.Very exciting, nonstop stimulus for all your senses.Now I have read all the criticisms of this film on this board and elsewhere, but I love films, so I go into them with an open mind, more inclined to enjoy than find fault. I want to be thrown into another world and Gibson's film does so,totally bringing the 1700s alive, beautifully filmed and costumed,the american countryside one of the stars.Perhaps its facts were historically inaccurate, but its feelings were very accurate.I could feel the oppression, understand the class struggle,the anger of both the colonists and the British,the issues of loyality and honor, the desires to control ones own destiny and property.Contrary to the critics, the British were not all evil,slavery was dealt with,the main character did embody all the ideals and struggles of the revolution, the suicide was understandable and justified, the acting was terrific,the villains acting was not over the top but perfect.And Mel, well, he was very moving, and personally, still sexy and vibrant as ever, maybe more so.There were a couple of flaws but they did not ruin the film, disrupt the flow, etc.Just go see it, especially if an American.It was definitely worth the $7.50!