After World War II, Antonia and her daughter, Danielle, go back to their Dutch hometown, where Antonia's late mother has bestowed a small farm upon her. There, Antonia settles down and joins a tightly-knit but unusual community. Those around her include quirky friend Crooked Finger, would-be suitor Bas and, eventually for Antonia, a granddaughter and great-granddaughter who help create a strong family of empowered women.
05 Apr Antonia’s Line (1995)
Lined Up
Some movies are there just to make you feel good about your self. And among those, most do so by showing you values you admire. Characters inhabit those values so we admire them as well. But the whole thing is engineered to parade Hallmark moments past you.
The most offensive of these stars perfect people. The gimmick in this case is four generations, one woman a generation, each perfect. Each an exemplar of what most of us think are great values.
Such tales have to have a bad guy, here a man so evil he is laughable. And few endearing nutcases. And to balance out the perfect women, a couple near perfect guys. And bad things too: two rapes, a murder, deaths.
The key character is a woman so in control, so much a master of her world, so good and in tune with nature that she chooses what day to die.
It is a tough call for those of us who do hold the values celebrated in this movie. But the thing is so repulsive in its fantastic glorification it demeans those values.
Posted in 2005
Ted’s Evaluation — 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.
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