Product: Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story
Rating: 4.0
Poignant addition to the Anne of Green Gables series!
I guess I'm one of the ones who actually enjoyed this movie; it added more scope to my imagination since it kind of departed from the book series.It's very poignant and moving as each character struggles to deal with the stress of WWI. Anne & Gilbert's relationship really blossomed into something so beautiful it takes my breath away! I'm so glad they waited a few years before getting married because that made their wedding all the more lovely (and a real tear-jerker since Gil leaves for war right afterwards). It's such a cute scene when the tent falls on everyone during the reception and Anne and Gilbert laugh! I get the feeling their marriage will be a very happy one.I'm soo happy Anne keeps up with her writing career in this movie after she marries Gil and that Gil is supportive of her endeavors. I like how they're not afraid to try new things, like trying a stint in NYC for a while.I had to admire Gil for saying that he just wanted to be a good doctor and try to take care of all patients regardless of whether they had the money or not instead of sacrificing lives to become a "world-renowned physician."Meanwhile, Anne copes with that creep Jack stealing her book idea as well. I kind of laughed a little in the NYC part where they show Anne working on her next book with Gil is kissing her goodnight and they make a point of showing a door and Gil heading out the door. I suspect since it was a "family" film, they wanted kids to get the impression that Anne and Gilbert were sleeping in totally separate quarters instead of living and sleeping together (which I suspect they might have really done).The scenery was really beautiful, esp. the opening scene that pans Green Gables and we see that some of the leaves are starting to change.The war scenes were historically accurate and you get a real view of the pain and suffering that victims went through. You could see that Anne really wanted to help all of them as well as search for Gilbert and Fred. I think it was accurate that Anne and Gilbert looked kind of wan & rather pale at the war's end; it realistically depicted the trauma that they'd both been through. It was soo touching that they both cried hard when they hugged.Two things that were a bit of a letdown...Marilla was gone; I really missed her and she would have made such a soothing steady presence in town town upside-down by the war.The second letdown, which was a really big one was Diana. I get the feeling that Diana was pushed into the traditional "female" role of marrying early and having one baby after another while not doing much else with her life.I sensed some resentment between Diana and her mother there too, esp. when her mom accuses her of putting on airs and Diana rudely snaps back at her.But Diana really didn't help herself or endear me to her here because she really acted very selfishly and complained endlessly to Anne about Fred, then when Fred announced that he's leaving for the war, Diana tries to make him feel guilty, then when Fred leaves with Gil's help, Diana screams at Gil, SLAPS him, then collapses into a hysterical heap right on the porch floor.Another thing that turned me off about her behavior in this movie was that when she heard that Anne was getting married, she butted into Anne's wedding plans and tried to pressure Anne into having an expensive, fancy, showy wedding. I'm so glad Anne stood firm on that and kept her wedding a simple outdoor wedding.It also kind of bothered me that Diana often teased Anne about sensitive topics. She's lucky Anne is a patient person and is a good friend. Anne even loans her her Green Gables house when she goes away to help with the war effort since Diana complains that she doesn't like staying with her mother with Fred away.All in all, a touching, compelling story of a generation affected by war. The ending is really beautiful and is a good resolution of the issues, esp. I get the feeling that both Anne and Gilbert struggle with the emotional after-effects of the war for months after the war ends.