Brilliant, Brooding and 60 minutes TOO LONG!

Rating: 8/10 (17 March 1999)

I imagine that I will appreciate this movie more and more as it sits with me, as its images come and go, when I see it again in a year or two, knowing better what to expect.
There is no question that this is a brilliant, rich film which delves far below the simplistic and easy emotions usually triggered by war movies. It is a meditation more than an action film. It deals with the emotional/existential experience of war, as much as with its physical challenges and terrors. It invited me - one who has never experienced war - to imagine what it is, not only to be IN the war, but to be OF it; to be passionatly and fearfully clinging to LIFE, while at the same time willfully serving as a cog in the relentless machine to destroy LIFE, all the while wondering why.
The film wonderfully depicts the dualities of Beauty and Death, Generosity and Evil, Lovingness and Numbness. It depicts, in a way rarely seen, that the gamut of experiences is the same, whatever side of the battle you are on. On top of that, the acting is strong, and the cinematography is luminous!
But I sure wish this film had been shorter. I was just not prepared for the slow pace; the repetitiveness of the voice overs; the long,lingering build ups to emotional states that are revealed and left exposed for seemingly minutes at a time. Had I known what to expect, as I will the next time I see this - and there will be a next time - I would not have been waiting for what was not coming, not anytime soon at least. It's hard to appreciate a solo piano when you're expecting the rhythm section to jump in ANY SECOND NOW!