It was a very good movie – the first one I saw this year – but I was hoping for more, so I got a little disapointed :|

Hang in there during the slow start while Vera’s character is established (as a loving person who cares about and helps everyone she comes in contact with) – and you will be rewarded.

Not only was it a good “slice of life” period film that gave me an idea of what post-WW2 Europe might’ve been like, but it was also a moving reminder of what life could be like again (in England or the US) if the small but vocal “religous right” nutcases get their way.

I was expecting this film about a fiery woman standing up for women’s rights or a doctor crusading for women’s health. To show us such a kindhearted woman who just helped out women who couldn’t afford/couldn’t bear to have a child out of the kindness of her heart and not charging a nickel for it was incredible.

I thought the class issue was handled very well when you saw that the rich girl that got raped was able to get a safe, legal abortion —whereas the working women had to get illegal, unsafe ones.

This film moved me so much I went and gave a donation to Planned Parenthood. We will never go back to those days! It reminded me why we need to fight to force some pharmacists to do their job and fill birth control prescriptions; to remind the FDA that they’ve been sitting on approval for Emergency Contraception for years longer than most other drugs and we need to keep abortion safe and accessible for those few who need it!

The story is incredibly simple, but you really get a feeling for the title character, her family, and her life. That’s the power of this film. Giving you a slice of their life.

slow, but good. deliberate, angry, sad. the ending was a little bit of a puzzle, but maybe she’ll become a more articulate activist after she spends some time with those other radical jail-birds . . .