StunnaKrypto Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

2hotFeature one of my absolute favorites!

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

mraculeated The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

anniemarshallster In the opening sequence of this film a photographer is taking shots of a woman lying dead in a deep grave somewhere in the Middle East. Her friends and relations are gathered round and uttering cries of mourning. Then the corpse opens her eyes. From that moment on the audience commences a massive learning curve. The photographer has already gone past the point of recoil at anything seen. We on the other hand are the "newbies" in these circumstances and are shocked and horrified. The twist of this film and one of the key reasons why it works so well is the gender reversal. The terrorists are all women. The photographer is a woman. This precludes the issues being judged on gender stereotypes and focuses our minds on the deeper issues such as what happens to those we leave behind when we go into danger? What is the worth of war photography? Is it a form of pornography or does it bare witness to an uncaring world? In the particulars this film examines the issues rather dispassionately. It's a case study in what happens to marriages, children, relationships, and most significantly it questions whether witnessing events can help modify the future for the better (which one assumes is the underlying justification for Rebecca's calling). It also questions whether the calling of war photographer/ correspondent is akin to addiction. The adrenaline rush is presented as compelling. The location work is exceptional, as you'd expect from an ex-war photographer (Erik Poppe, the director and co-writer). The cinematography and mise-en-scene are also ravishing. The music is subtle, appropriate and non-intrusive. The actors are outstanding – Juliet Binoche's performance is all watchful eyes and tightly closed mouth (her professional persona) contrasting with moments when she's a joyous mother. The performance of Lauren Canny as the teenage daughter Steph is particularly noteworthy. Nicholaj Coaster-Waldau gives an unselfish and fully inhabited performance as the husband, secure in his professional life and as a father, who can't take the wear and tear on the marriage and the family any more. His reasons become clear when the sequence in Kenya reveals Rebecca to be a woman who records the anguish of strangers but is deaf to her own child's. The film is non-judgemental about the people who wrap themselves in explosives and then blow themselves and others up; nor does it choose to condemn their families and supporters. There appear to be no villains, only victims. Perhaps this reflects Rebecca's viewpoint. This may upset some established conceptions about terrorism but this director is working from experience. It is no accident that Rebecca and Marcus and their family live in Ireland, a place with a violent reputation (but a peaceful presence in the film). And no accident that Rebecca works in Kabul and Kenya – more signifiers of trouble. But this story is timeless. Rebecca will find trouble wherever she goes because trouble exists in the world and she has the disposition to put it on record. In other words, it's not her, it's us. There is a terrible sequence where Rebecca tries to kidnap her children in a fit of insane rage (again a gender twist), only stopping when she realises what she is doing to her children. This is a nervous breakdown which causes her to evaluate her life and who she is. Who she is of course is a person who has to go out and confront evil via a camera no matter what the personal cost. The film is honest – there is no way this marriage can survive these circumstances. But there is one point that should have been worked out in another way. This husband would never, in a million years, let his wife take his daughter to a Kenyan refugee camp, no matter how "safe" it purported to be. He knows her too well. He is not a fool. This plot point really demands a better rationalisation than the script provides. However the rest is solid. It's a strong film, a thoughtful film and, despite everything, has moments of great joy and beauty. I was reminded through this film of so many witnesses to truth - both women and men - like Orla Guerin, Veronica Guerin, Kate Adie, Robert Capa, Don McCullin (still alive after a dangerous life from Vietnam to the Congo and now shooting grim B&W landscapes and portraits) but especially the one and only Neil Davis who most famously filmed the North Vietnamese troops and tanks break through the gates to the Presidential Palace in Saigon in 1976. He returned to a desk job at Visnews, couldn't bear the boredom and subsequently died in 1985 while filming during a five minute coup at Bangkok airport. His life sums up the addiction, the highs and the lows of a war photographer. Steph, the older daughter, who has carried some pivotal moments in the film, provides us with both the moral criticism and eventual justification for Rebecca's work. Her journey is our journey. But there's no happy resolution, personally or professionally. The film ends with a sequence not unlike the opening one but with a further twist – this time the photographer loses her dispassionate equilibrium and she and the audience experience a shared horror in the face of the processes of terrorism. She stands appalled and broken. Witnessing does not always lessen terror. Things may just get worse.

Mamabadger56 Juliette Binoche was great as always in this mostly interesting, but occasionally slow and pompous, movie about a woman dealing with conflicting claims on her time, her attention, and her life. Rebecca (Binoche) is a photojournalist who covers some of the world's most dangerous and unstable regions. She is passionate about her work and believes it makes a difference. When she is almost killed while covering an event in Afghanistan, her normally supportive husband objects to the toll her work is taking on himself and their children. She agrees to leave dangerous assignments behind, but is torn between her family obligations and her intense drive to continue her work. This leads to an eventual crisis in her family.The film catches our interest right away, with a fascinating scene in which Rebecca is shown photographing strange events in Afghanistan. It turns out to be solemn preparations for a suicide bombing by a young woman. Rebecca remains aloof, photographing the events and giving no indication of her feelings. When the bombing takes place prematurely, she is badly injured in the explosion. We get a glimpse of how obsessive Rebecca is when she drags herself from the ground to get a few more shots of the aftermath, before collapsing.The movie doesn't take sides. A woman asked to give up a successful career for the sake of her husband and children sounds, at first, unfair and patriarchal. We see how brilliant Rebecca's work has been, and how it has sometimes changed things in forgotten areas of the world. However, we gradually see the effect her many close calls have had on her two daughters, who are constantly afraid she will be killed while away on an assignment, and Rebecca acknowledges that she has an obligation to them as well. But nothing is completely one sided: even her older daughter, who was intensely angry about her mother's risk taking, comes to respect Rebecca's work and mention it with pride during a school project. The family scenes, although lovely and affectionate, tend to drag a bit. Maybe we're seeing it through Rebecca's eyes: she clearly loves her husband and children, but her strongest feelings are directed toward her work. Eventually, Rebecca comes to the painful conclusion that she has to continue with her work, even at the expense of her marriage. Yet even that decision is not without ambivalence; on a new assignment, Rebecca finds herself facing an ethical quandary, when she questions whether has an obligation to try and stop an evil act, rather than just observe and document the incident. The film ends before she finds an answer.

olastensson13 War correspondents, what does their work lead to? Is it just conflict porn to the morning coffee or can what they do make us react? And act?Juliette Binoche follows a suicide bomber in Kabul, from preparations to explosion. But is she somewhat responsible for what happens? She starts to think so. And she also has a family. Has she some responsibility for what's happening to them?That's the weak part of this film. Not that the script is bad, but the family conflict is a little too expected, from its up to its down. The most important question remains. What international media means to the world.

athena-j-dennis Juliette Binoche is one of the finest actresses of the past few decades. None of her beauty and vividness have faded with the advancing years. She brings to this role, as with all of her other roles a lot of heartfelt emotion. She plays a war photographer who is at war with herself about her family responsibilities versus her commitment to her dangerous occupation. Nicolas Costas Waldau is brilliant as her husband. A much more appealing character than his Game of Thrones one. The young actresses who play her daughters are also wonderful. One thing I will say is that it's frustrating to watch her put herself in immediate danger. Especially seeing as she has such an idyllic home life with such a beautiful husband, children and a nice cottage in rural Ireland. I won't spoil it for you. It is a wonderful movie, if a little frustrating.