ManiakJiggy This is How Movies Should Be Made

Cathardincu Surprisingly incoherent and boring

StunnaKrypto Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Stoutor It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

Helio The film portrays quirky characters realistically. The actors were convincing in their challenging roles. Some reviewers say it was about feminism but it was also about births, about death and lives inbetween and changes that occured over five generations. It offered the mystery of not knowing where the story would go next. Who is Fen-Shu to say men would not like it? It may be more accurate to say those with closed minds may not like it.

ken558 Watching Antonia's Line 20 years after it was made (and winning Best Oscar Foreign Film then), it still has its quirky 'life-is-full-of-the-unexpected' charm reminiscent of 'new wave' movies of the 90s, though it does feel dated now. It's about lore, life, love/lovelessness, and definitely not about logic. So if you go about looking for typical character motivation, plot sensibility or any form of social, religious or political allegory, then you're looking for these typical "movie subtext" in the wrong garden. It is laughable how so many read 'feminism' into the movie. There is none of it, unless you go about creating one on your own. Both male and female characters can be interpreted as "strong" or "weak" depending on how you choose to view them based on your own bias - the movie as it is, has no bias whatsoever. For example, is resisting marriage a 'strong' or 'weak' trait? Depends on your own experiences, opinions, and views, isn't it. Or, to bay at the full moon because you can't marry your Protestant lover - is that 'weakness', 'foolishness', 'madness' or 'strong love'? Or to drown your own kin (who has committed a heinous rape) when he is already beaten and weak by pushing his head into the water from the back without his ability to defend himself - is that 'righteous', 'weak', 'strong', 'anarchic', 'cowardly', brave' or what?The movie presents what it presents. If you choose to draw any conclusion from it, then know it comes entirely from you, and don't merit your own intentions to that of the movie's intention.Watch it with open eyes and just let it rinse into you, and wash out whatever washes out.

gizmomogwai The winner of the 1995 Oscar for a foreign language film has, I think, been unfairly derided on political grounds. Antonia, called Antonia's Line in English, is a Dutch feminist film and has drawn criticism just for that. Sexists love to paint feminists with one brush based on a lunatic fringe, but as a male film watcher I can testify that there's nothing about the film that should be offensive to men. A villain rapist is a man, but rapists exist in life and there are plenty of men in the film who are decent. The women in the family never marry, but many of them still love men and keep them close in their lives. What really scares closet sexists is that the women in this movie are strong characters- even if it's in a positive way, that just won't sit will with those still wishing for a male-run society. The real objective of feminism is for men and women to share power, not make females the sole power.Antonia's Line (a title that makes more sense than the original title of Antonia, because it better captures the focus of the movie), is a fine film that includes colourful, interesting characters, some funny moments and some compelling drama. For example, Thérèse is an interesting character because of her abnormal intelligence, and when the narrator announces she's been raped it's a shocking, disheartening moment (even though we don't actually see that rape). There's also some humour in Danielle announcing she wants a baby but also having a lack of interest in a husband, and in how her own mother arranges for her to get laid. There are lots of characters for a fairly short film, but most of even the minor characters have some appeal. This movie deserved its Oscar and it deserves to be seen.

madcardinal "Antonia's Line" is a beautiful, poignant film which skillfully manages to celebrate life in all its fertile richness while it simultaneously throws a richly deserved counter-punch into the face of 2,000 years of arrogant, church-sponsored misogyny.When a modern film such as this one cleverly turns the tables on real historical injustice, I do not find it offensive at all. I'm a man and I found this film admirable for giving a hoot about redressing a justified, legitimate grievance. Until very recently, women were not regarded as significant beings in their own right; they were deemed valuable only as helpmates to be utilized and governed by men - significant only to the extent that they were subordinate to a father and later a husband, and they were supposed to accept this secondary status without complaint, protest or challenge. Such traditional subjugation of women is rubbish and this movie plainly says so. That's a good thing. I see no reason to be offended by such truthfulness. These are not matters of conjecture but of historical fact.This movie features wonderful, strong female characters who are people in their own right - they are not compliant appendages of domineering male characters. Strong, independent women are found in cinema with extreme rarity, and this film has five of them! There are at least three male characters who are good human beings in this film: Farmer Bas; Crooked Finger; and Simon; so you can forget the reviews falsely complaining that all the male characters are creeps. Refreshingly, this movie also celebrates sexual joy without censorship or hand-wringing. It's even quite amusing, bringing a life-affirming smile to the viewer's face despite some of the violent and somber events which occur in other parts of the film.I found Dennis Littrell's review on this web site to be excellent, because it cites the ancient mythological underpinnings of this film.The soundtrack is beautiful.I suggest paying especially careful attention to the conversations between older and younger female characters, because they contain a complex interplay of emotion, intelligence, belief and intuition - and so, just when you think you have a character pigeonholed (for example, Antonia is completely atheist), you notice a nuance pointing in another direction. Sarah's final pronouncement in the film also alludes to new possibilities, if you're listening carefully.A fabulous, unique film, "Antonia's Line" gets my highest recommendation.