Rating: 
Summary: A romantic drama with a progressive social conscience
Review: Juliet Binoche demonstrates a steely grace in this French film set in the 1840s Newfoundland. A man commits murder during a night of drunken hyjinks. He's sentenced to the guillotine except for one the remote town of St. Pierre doesn't have the necessary executive device (nicknamed the "Widow"). The town officials send away for one from France (that must be some mail-order catalog they consulted), but in the meantime the convicted man is held in custody by a captain (enigmatically played by Daniel Auteuil) and his wife (Binoche).*** Binoche's character is progressively-minded, and instead of keeping the convict locked up, she puts him to work helping her with her garden and then with chores around St. Pierre. The townsfolk take a shine to the convict and begin to protest his pending execution. *** This is an odd little period film with an anti-capital punishment stance. While not entirely surprising, the premise is remains a novelty to behold. You're never quite sure what made the characters who they are, but Binoche and Auteuil are a curiously striking couple and succeed in bringing plausibility to their roles.
Rating: 
Summary: A sad, hyper-ideological film of little consequence
Review: Lots of stilted pseudo-intellectual dialogue. A pseudo existentialist hero. A painfully ideological lecture against the death penalty. Stilted performances by brilliant actors. A receipe for disaster. Why this film was a hit, I have no idea.
Rating:
Summary: A sad, hyper-ideological film of little consequence
Review: Lots of stilted pseudo-intellectual dialogue. A pseudo existentialist hero. A painfully ideological lecture against the death penalty. Stilted performances by brilliant actors. A receipe for disaster. Why this film was a hit, I have no idea.
Rating:
Summary: A Moral Tale With Avant Garde Values
Review: Patrice Leconte's 2001 film on a garrison captain (Auteil) and his wife (Binoche) stationed on the Island of Saint Pierre near Nova Scotia in 1849. Although the film shines with brilliant direction, cinematography, and acting, it presents its theme through a rather improbable plot.
The film is character based and follows the life of a garrison captain (Auteil) and his wife (Binoche) stationed on the Island of Saint Pierre near Nova Scotia in 1849. The captain and his wife are portrayed as the standards of justice and mercy when a villager (Emir Kustuica) is tried and sentenced to death for killing another in a drunken brawl. The captain realizes that this man, although guilty of murder, is a good man who just made a fatal mistake. Feeling that the death penalty is unjust for such a crime, the captain gives the prisoner various liberties outside of his cell. The condemned man suddenly becomes a model citizen and helps the other villagers with various things while awaiting the ship that carries the guillotine to be used for his execution. The captain and his wife are riddled with guilt and try to plead for the prisoner's release.
I found the plot and theme rather contrived. The film is character driven and the main characters simply don't reflect the prevalent values of French society in 1849. The theme is a parallel of Victor Hugo's 'Les Miserables' in which the prisoner is somewhat of a Jean Valjean and the captain a morally superior Javert. The reality though is that it would be extremely unlikely for a character such as Auteil's captain to have the morals portrayed in the film: being a military officer in charge of a garrison, he would have to be a man who's prepared to oversee various cases which would involve similar moral doubts as the prisoner's: cases such as desertion, insuboordination, and mutiny, which would all carry the penalty of death. This is a period of time in France in which even petty thieves were regularly shipped off to prison colonies such as Devil's Island to perform years of hard labor. It was a period of time in which Victor Hugo was sent into exile by Napoleon III for his outspoken social critiques such as 'Les Miserables.' In sum, the characters in the film are little more than crude caricatures of the past on whom are imposed purely modern concepts: concepts which were still very foreign for 1849.
Despite some of the thematic problems in the film, the direction and cinematography is excellent. All of the actors deliver outstanding performances to make this movie a pleasant and moving experience.
Rating: 
Summary: Quality film with poignant story and excellent acting.
Review: Set in 1849 on the Island of Saint Pierre off the coast of Canada, this 2001 French film is a sad and human drama about love, sin and redemption. The film starts with a senseless murder and a death sentence for the culprit, played by Emir Kustuica. However, the execution must be carried out by guillotine, which is referred to as "the widow" and there is no such instrument of death in the town. It has to be sent by ship from a French Island in the Caribbean. And this could take as long as a year. The prisoner is under the control of a Captain, played by Daniel Auteuil. He is deeply in love with his wife, played by Juliette Binoche. There are some tender scenes of their lovemaking as well as scenes in which it is clear that he adores her and respects her in all ways. And so, when she sets out to reform the convicted murderer, he supports her wish. The convicted man is allowed out of his prison cell and accompanies her all over the province. He helps out the townspeople and works with her to plant a garden and learns to read. He even impregnates a local woman and marries her. Everyone in the town grows to admire this man and nobody wants the execution to take place. What will happen? I was drawn into the story and, along with the townspeople, I too hoped he would eventually get his freedom. But the story is not as simple as that. And, as the tension heightened and moved towards its conclusion, I found myself clearly upset as I saw the way it was going. This is a good film. The story and acting and cinematography are all excellent. It moved a little too slowly for my taste, however. And I found it hard to believe that the condemned man would be given so much freedom to move around the town. But this doesn't detract from the quality of the film, the empathy I felt throughout for all the characters or the subtleties of characterization that made the story seem real and poignant.
Rating:
Summary: Quality film with poignant story and excellent acting.
Review: Set in 1849 on the Island of Saint Pierre off the coast of Canada, this 2001 French film is a sad and human drama about love, sin and redemption. The film starts with a senseless murder and a death sentence for the culprit, played by Emir Kustuica. However, the execution must be carried out by guillotine, which is referred to as "the widow" and there is no such instrument of death in the town. It has to be sent by ship from a French Island in the Caribbean. And this could take as long as a year. The prisoner is under the control of a Captain, played by Daniel Auteuil. He is deeply in love with his wife, played by Juliette Binoche. There are some tender scenes of their lovemaking as well as scenes in which it is clear that he adores her and respects her in all ways. And so, when she sets out to reform the convicted murderer, he supports her wish. The convicted man is allowed out of his prison cell and accompanies her all over the province. He helps out the townspeople and works with her to plant a garden and learns to read. He even impregnates a local woman and marries her. Everyone in the town grows to admire this man and nobody wants the execution to take place. What will happen? I was drawn into the story and, along with the townspeople, I too hoped he would eventually get his freedom. But the story is not as simple as that. And, as the tension heightened and moved towards its conclusion, I found myself clearly upset as I saw the way it was going. This is a good film. The story and acting and cinematography are all excellent. It moved a little too slowly for my taste, however. And I found it hard to believe that the condemned man would be given so much freedom to move around the town. But this doesn't detract from the quality of the film, the empathy I felt throughout for all the characters or the subtleties of characterization that made the story seem real and poignant.
Rating:
Summary: The Widowmaker....
Review: The "Widow" of the title is initially the nickname for the guillotine, although, later, there will be other widows. There is a brutal and absurd murder at the opening of the film, and after convicting the perpetrators, the small Canadian community of Saint-Pierre is at a loss as to how to execute them, not having the mandated guillotine. One of the murderers is killed accidentally, and the other is placed under the authority of the Captain of the Guards for the town (Daniel Auteuil). His wife (Juliette Binoche) believes in the inherent goodness of people, and the prisoner becomes her "project", her protege, at first assisting in building a greenhouse with her. The Captain, quick tempered, mercurial, nevertheless adores his wife, and indulges her whims to the point that the prisoner is virtually set free to work in the villages and becomes devoted to the Captain's wife, much to the consternation of the petty bureaucrats who run the town. The prisoner killed while drunk, and under the Captain's wife's influence, now sober, he is transformed and is revealed to be a basically good person. In fact he performs an act of heroism and the people of Saint-Pierre no longer wish his execution. However, the town Leaders have sent for a guillotine, and one is onboard a vessel, making its inexorable way to Saint-Pierre and an inevitable crisis. Really a study of the 3 people involved: the Captain, his wife & the condemned prisoner, the film is not so much a blanket argument against capital punishment as it is a look at the difficulty of finding true justice within the laws of men. Human passions cloud the issues, as do jealousy, envy, the exertion of authority for its own sake, and the denial of the possibility for redemption. Beautifully filmed (I have to quit writing that, cinematography is so universally excellent anymore, it is a surprise if something ISN'T beautifully photographed) in the icy winters of Quebec, we watch the drama unfold, knowing that this is not going to end well. Binoche is beautiful, her smiles of joy at her protege's transformation light the screen. Auteuil's Captain is enigmatic & prickly. There are hints that he has caused himself problems previously, which is why he is in such an isolated & Godforsaken posting. His wife believes in goodness, and he believes in the goodness of his wife. He loves her utterly. It is the irony of the story, that her good intentions and good actions, bringing about a real transformation in a once thuggish man, will result in tragecy for them all. Worth a look. 4-1/2 Stars.
Rating:
Summary: You will be extremely disstisfied
Review: The whole story tutored in the movie seems to be unrealistic. A history piece presented by 21-st century men. The film failed to show customs and cruelty of early 18 century. Some parts are really lengthy and dull with no meaningful impact on action. Binoche is sailing around in her skirts without showing open passion either to her husband (except the unnecessary and out of taste nude scene) or to the murderer. Seems that she only pretends that she really cares about the guys. I guess she just looks for a strange way to escape thoughts about hanging herself because of boring island life. I have a feeling that the whole "male" cast (mostly unknown actors) is poking around Binoche. Her suppose-to-be husband and that other guy are of no match to her as actors. If you are up to a real character played by Binoche you better stick to films where a) she plays with great names as Fiennes and b) she plays less morbid character.
Rating:
Summary: Do not watch this film
Review: This film is laughably bad. The entire plot is completely unrealistic and it is difficult to have any sympathy for the cruel murderer who is central to the plot, who is not only a murderer but also totally retarded, missing numerous opportunities to escape and make life easier for himself and the saps who for some random reason have taken it upon themselves to look after him. This film is an absolute waste of time, but feel free to watch it if you feel like wasting 107 minutes of your life.
Rating:
Summary: A brilliant film!
Review: This film tells a powerful story, a "Crime and Punishment"-esque recovery of the soul, except without the ending that Dostoevsky had in his novel. After Neel Auguste committs the murder, Madame La (Juliette Binoche), much like Dostoevsky's Sonya, takes on the monumental task of recovering a lost soul and succeeds. Those who suggest this film is unrealistic have no grasp of eternal, Christian values of compassion and those who call this film ideological propaganda have no appreciation for beauty, as the acting (by all three, especially Kusturica and Auteuil, whom I have discovered through this film and who almost eclipse the talented Binoche), the cinematography, and the directing are absolutely brilliant.
This is a must-watch for many different kinds of people, from those interested in St. Pierre & Miquelon (I had to look up the islands on a map and was surprised to learn they are French, not Canadian), to those who would like an illustration of why there is never a soul, lost forever, to those who would just like to receive aesthetic pleasure from a beautiful film.
Finally, some have commented on the character of Neel Auguste, saying that he is "retarded" for not running away. Do not let a comment like that fool you. It would not be made had the reviewer understood the character or even picked up on a direct quote from Madame La, "You are so fatalistic!". Never trust someone who tells you not to watch a movie. Watch it and decide for yourself. I cannot envision that you wouldn't like it.
| 
