Antonia's Line

Rating:
Summary: Absolute masterpiece
Review: Antonia's line is one of my all-time favourite films. I was very surprised when it won the Academy Award as it was far too risky to seduce the sometimes narrow-minded Academy members. As other people said this is a celebration of life and its circle showing some very interesting characters and clever attitudes about sex and religion. Some accused it to be too feministic, but in my opinion this is a film directed by a woman about four generations of women, and as a man, I never felt insulted. All it shows is pure respect and tolerance. An absolute gem to enjoy again and again. Don't be afraid of the subtitles, you are in front of one of the most beautifully deep films of recent times.
Enjoy... Thanks for reading.


Rating:
Summary: Exasperating
Review: "Antonia's Line" is one of those movies that's in love with its own quirkiness. This isn't always necessarily bad. Quirky films can be quite delightful when done well. However, in this case, the quirkiness comes at the expense of plot and logic.

My sense is that this film's director intended Antonia and her line of female descendants to represent strong, fearless heroines imbued with the fighting feminist spirit. I get this sense because most of the men in this film are brutes, buffoons or a combination of the two, and the women kick butt, make love to each other and tell all of the men off at regular intervals.

This film is insulting to anyone who truly values feminist sensibilities in our movie culture. As so often happens, the makers of this movie equate "strong" with callous and emotionally distant. It's hard to care about Antonia and her relations because they all come across as either vacuous or heinous. Antonia's daughter casually chooses a complete stranger to impregnate her because she wants a child but doesn't want to have to deal with the father. Did she ever think that maybe the child would want a father. Is selfishness like this supposed to impress me with its strength of character?

The script meanders from one incident to the next, characters you barely learn anything about appear and drop out of the movie listlessly, and the pacing of the whole thing is limpid. The film is only about 110 minutes long but feels much longer.

I'm tired of the trend of thinking that propagates the belief that in order to be considered strong, women must prove that they can live entirely without men. That's such a juvenile attitude and serves no purpose. Callousness is callousenss whether displayed by a man or a woman, and there's nothing weak about letting leaving yourself vulnerable to the complex relationships that spring between men and women. Of all the life lessons Antonia supposedly passes down to her ancestors, this is the one she forgot to include.

Grade: D+

Rating:
Summary: Engrossing, life-affirming Dutch film impossible to resist.
Review: "Antonia's Line" is an Oscar-caliber film of astonishing power. It follows three generations of women on a farm in the European lowlands. But it is really a timeless tale of the power of love to overcome prejudice and bigotry of all kinds. NOT A WOMENS' MOVIE! I defy you not to be profoundly moved. A masterpiece. END

Rating:
Summary: This is by far my favorite movie . . .
Review: . . . which is actually quite extraordinary, since I usually like so many different things for their own individual reasons that I can never choose favorites. If you are a lover of the beauty that can evolve within a story, watch this movie. You will not regret it. In fact, like me, you may even find yourself renting it over and over and over again until finally you find yourself searhing for it in cyberspace during the wee hours of the night!

Rating:
Summary: A joy!
Review: A beautiful movie that shows many difficult subjects -- rape, suicide, incest, intolerance, death -- and how one woman's strength helps her and "her line" to transcend them. I laughed at points when I least expected to find humour, and wept at others.

<Antonia's Line> demonstrates that we can create family that is made up of not only our flesh and blood, but also of those whom we help and whom we allow to help us.

Rating:
Summary: See Amelie instead
Review: A fairly tired film with a predictable European sensibility (e.g., easy targets like male chauvinism and the clerical hypocrisy).

The film is assembled with a kitchen-sink mentality; a character is raped, another discovers she's a lesbian, etc. All serve as plot devices to advance how progressive the protagonist is in dealing with these issues. Rent Amelie instead!

Rating:
Summary: a must see
Review: A great movie, Unexpected ingenius scenes It is a profound masterpiece. Do not be fooled it is not a "chic film" See it!!!!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Part Fairy Tale, Part Family History
Review: Although this movie is (I believe) Dutch, the style reminds me a lot of something out of a Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel. It centers on a multi-generational family, but focuses on whimsical and story-like characters. The women (Antonia and her line) are strong, and unique and original, and the heart behind the tale is good. I can see how some may be offended by some of the content, but I can't see a shred of ill will in this story. Even the harsher plot lines have a point to them.

Rating:
Summary: A Delight to Watch
Review: Antonia and her daughter return to their Dutch village after World War II to bury Antonia's mother. The first hint that this is an unconventionial movie is when the corpse sits up and belts out "My Blue Heaven". This movie combines magical realism in a plot of seriousness and intent. Characters with names like Loony Lips, Crooked Finger, and Mad Madonna come and go over the course of the next 50 years as Antonia's extended family grows. After all, this is the story of Antonia's line, or lineage, and an exploration of the mysteries of life and of death.

This is a film in which males are relegated to second-citizen status because the women are just so darn capable and able to mostly get along without men. They do not define themselves through men nor do they depend on them.

The film perfectly captures the extraordinary spirit and the strength of the mother-daughter bond. The women of Antonia's line are strong and loving, good and kind, strong yet gentle. The acting in this film is wonderful....it is a movie I hated to see end.

Rating:
Summary: A Delight to Watch
Review: Antonia and her daughter return to their Dutch village after World War II to bury Antonia's mother. The first hint that this is an unconventionial movie is when the corpse sits up and belts out "My Blue Heaven". This movie combines magical realism in a plot of seriousness and intent. Characters with names like Loony Lips, Crooked Finger, and Mad Madonna come and go over the course of the next 50 years as Antonia's extended family grows. After all, this is the story of Antonia's line, or lineage, and an exploration of the mysteries of life and of death.

This is a film in which males are relegated to second-citizen status because the women are just so darn capable and able to mostly get along without men. They do not define themselves through men nor do they depend on them.

The film perfectly captures the extraordinary spirit and the strength of the mother-daughter bond. The women of Antonia's line are strong and loving, good and kind, strong yet gentle. The acting in this film is wonderful....it is a movie I hated to see end.