Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

TaryBiggBall It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

PiraBit if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Seraherrera The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

Prismark10 This adaptation of a newly discovered manuscript that was turned into a novel in 2004 is set during the German occupation of France in the 1940's. German soldiers were billeted in the homes of the locals in the village of Bussy.Lucille Angellier (Michelle Williams) lives with her wealthy and domineering mother in law, Madame Angellier (Kristin Scott Thomas.) Each sunday they would stealthily collect rent from the tenant farmers on their land. Lucille's husband is away fighting, thought now to be a prisoner of war.The Angellier household is joined by handsome, cultured German officer, Bruno (Matthias Schoenaerts) a musician before he became a soldier.Both are attracted to each other in a village where the war has complicated things. Madame Angellier remains a patriot having little to do with the Germans but still sees an opportunity to make money. Some of the women sleep with the German soldiers in a village that was deprived of men. Some of the wealthy people in the village like the Viscount manage to carry on regardless by keeping their chickens, rooms and power. Others suffer especially as some of the villagers settle scores by gossiping to the Nazis by writing poisonous letters. Lucille feels hell bent to help out one of her tenant family who is being harassed by a Nazi officer, willing to take risks.This is a handsomely mounted film well acted by Scott Thomas and Williams. The story is not deep, Bruno is not regarded as a token good Nazi, he is willing to overlook the actions of what some of his fellow officers may have done in the past but his feelings for Lucille seems genuine.

bryangary65 About the human side of war seen from both camps, the oppressor and the oppressed Michele Williams is as normal quite mesmerising to watch, and an atmospheric performance from Schoenaerts.

krocheav There's a story behind this movies existence that is as interesting as the film itself. It's disappointing to know that scenes involving the original story writers daughter (played by veteran Eileen Atkins) were deleted prior to the films release. Unfortunately, all that's left of these scenes is a montage of pages from her mothers original manuscript shown under the end credits - using these notes in this way can prove a little confusing for those unaware of the origins of these writings - as it tends to appear as if the films story was based on factual characters (while I'm sure many were indeed based on very real people and for the most part the instances portrayed were founded on some terrible historical facts). The author of the original story, Irene Nemirovsky, was tragically sent to her death at the hands of the invading German army following bitter fighting during the occupation of France in 1942. Her husband, before he also was executed, gave their daughter Denise his wife's manuscripts. Denise, for emotional reasons did not read her mother's writings till an astounding 60yrs later. She eventually had them compiled into a novel that was published in 2002 - becoming an international best seller. Story rights were then sold for production as a screenplay. Denise sadly died just before the films release. To play the main protagonist producers cast Michele Williams (My week With Marilyn '11) mother to the late Heath Ledgers daughter. Considering some of William's earlier roles she is nothing short of remarkable - turning in a convincingly measured performance as the repressed Lucile Angellier. This is more than a conventional wartime romantic movie as it deals realistically with the shocking impact of oppression and the devastating consequences it brings to all involved. Perhaps had the film makers paid a little less attention to the screenplays various sexual intrigues, they may have been able to treat us to those deleted scenes detailing the fascinating real life story - involving the writers daughter discovering her mothers work all those years after the event!. Director and co-screenplay writer Saul Dibb along with collaborating writer Matt Charman - join forces with director of photography Eduard Grau to create some remarkably atmospheric scenes. One well executed sequence featuring endless lines of displaced French families fleeing the relentless onslaught on foot, is a sad and dramatic sight.Those who remain in their homes are met with enforced billeting of German Officers - this brings out the worst of human nature with neighboring villagers sending notes 'rating' on their fellow neighbor's to gain favour from the Germans - a shocking act indeed. Music plays a key role throughout the film with a romantic piano soliloquy composed by Alexandre Desplate played throughout. The exciting accompanying action score is contributed by Rael Jones. Overall this is a sincere portrait of a dreadful time in human history and while the the script may falter in several situations it's far more thoughtful than some other offerings along these lines. Performances are strong with a sterling cast of professionals working at their peak.Note: This film is remarkably similar to an earlier production, staring the great Maria Schell "So Little Time" '52" - this marvelous classic film has recently been released on DVD in England and is more than well worth locating.

rogerdarlington Despite its title (a reference to a piece of music) and its setting (occupied France early in the Second World War), this is largely an English-language film with a British co- writer and director (Saul Dibb) and an international cast. American actress Michelle Williams plays the French villager Lucile Angellier and Belgium actor Matthias Schoenaerts is the German officer Lieutenant Bruno von Falk who become romantically involved. The first half is rather slow and plodding but then the plot picks up. What makes the characterisations interesting is that Bruno is represented as an essentially good German, while many of the French are shown in a less than flattering light.The film is actually an adaptation of the second of two stories that was intended to be a novel of five tales written in French by Irene Némirovsky, a woman of Ukrainian Jewish descent who was deported from France to Auschwitz in 1942 where she died of typhus. Némirovsky's older daughter kept the notebook containing the manuscript for fifty years without reading it but, when she discovered what it contained, she had it published in France in 2004. The film adaptation was released ten years later.