Not very convincing but doubtless a sincere antiwar sentiment at the end of the movie.

Interesting that at the end of the story the man (Andrei I think he’s called) having lost his family for the second time in his life decides to care for an orphan. Great (anti)war story with some very tense moments but a reflective and inspiring ending.

Really great Louis Malle movie. The ending is very moving.

A wonderful movie. Beautiful photography, and soundtrack. Simple elements put together with a memorable performance from Ana Torrent. A fine evocation of childhood.

Really great French film.

Un coeur en hiver

_At first sight “A Heart in Winter” is the story of a love triangle, a variation of the basic and often filmed competition of two men for the affection of a woman. At second sight, however, the film is a treatment of the philosophical question “What is love?” Unlike typical Hollywood movies, “A Heart in Winter” is not based on such popular premises as: love is the answer to everything, sexual consummation is the ultimate closure, or monogamous commitments are tantamount to happy endings. Sautet’s film subverts any such clichés by wondering about the nature of what people call “love,” by showing, for example, how much more weighty a passing glance can be than wild cohabitation, or by exploring the possibility that a quiet, solitary life can be as rich and deep as one that is crowded by emotional demands and relentless instinctual pressures. _

This film was okay for a while, in fact it was very exciting at the start, but it began to drag a bit.

That’s kind of how I feel about Dylan although I should say I know very little about him or his music. I mean I like the early Bob Dylan, and I know little of the later things he’s done.

It was interesting seeing the reaction to the electric Bob Dylan. Unfortunately the soundtrack went silent for about 4 or 5 minutes at this point and at first it was difficult to tell whether this was on the part of the filmmaker or the projection box. We didn’t regain sound until an interview in London; so the projection box I think was to blame. The sound was therefore back for the famous Judas heckle at the Manchester Free Trade Hall concert. I could feel a certain amount of sympathy for Dylan at this point.

The Richard Gere character scenes were a bit mystifying to me.

I couldn’t help feeling that Bob Dylan was a tremendous talent, some would say that he still is, but it was pitiful seeing him (or Jack Rollins or whoever) say that he had accepted Jesus in his heart. I don’t know why I feel that as I don’t wish to disrespect either him or the Christian religion. It just seems weak somehow (so okay I’m being disrespectful of Christianity—not cool I know).

I didn’t mind the length of the film nor that it was slow, nor that I couldn’t work out what was going on for half the time. I loved the huge font used for the credits. JJ’s associates seemed to me to be very poor liars. I was interested in the title not knowing anything about JJ or RF. The Wikipedia quotes from a letter written by RF to Governor Thomas Crittenden:

Instantly his real purpose flashed upon my mind. I knew I had not fooled him. He was too sharp for that. He knew at that moment as well as I did that I was there to betray him. But he was not going to kill me in the presence of his wife and children. He walked over to the bed, and deliberately unbuckled his belt, with four revolvers in it, and threw it on the bed. It was the first time in my life I had seen him without that belt on, and I knew that he threw it off to further quiet any suspicions I might have.

Jesse James

Jesse James

So to me it was about how off these little miss pageants are; the contestants (other than Olive) were grotesque, yet it was Olive who showed the thing up for what it was, admittedly unknowingly.

I loved the way the family came together at the end joining Olive on stage. And that her brother wanted to protect her. (Loved the character of this brother who had taken a vow of silence and read Nietzsche.) And the grandfather, was sorry to see him go.

Wrinkled old retainer (7)

Scrotum

Bust down reason (9)

Brainwash

Two of the funnier clues Sandy Balfour mentions in his book.

It’s very enjoyable.