CheerupSilver Very Cool!!!

Jeanskynebu the audience applauded

Numerootno A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

Keeley Coleman The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

selffamily I am not good at watching movies at the moment, my concentration is shot - I hope, temporarily. However, this is 2 hrs something and I was glued to it. It was light enough to be enjoyable and of enough substance to hold the attention. I don't know how close to the historical facts it runs, but it didn't do New Zealand's tourism hopes any harm with breathtaking views and a good plug for the wine industry. The story is mostly predictable but runs smoothly, the main actors are great with a nice touch of drama here and there. My only gripe is that some of the smaller parts were played by Australian actors, with noticeable accents. Really? Couldn't find any NZers? Apart from that, sweet as.

Megan Daniels Normally I'm not one to watch romance films, but I got the chance to see this one and I am so delighted I watched it. First off the characters were portrayed excellently by the actors. I felt the young and old versions of each character were synchronized with their counterpart. I especially enjoyed Waldemar Torenstra as young Frank, he had a charm that all the female characters (and I feel the female audience) grows an attraction for. The scenery in New Zealand is beautiful and a perfect setting for an intriguing and timeless tale. The plot is full of twist and turns that are subtle yet brilliant, that keep you hooked until the end. Even though it's just over 2 hours, you don't notice. All in all a wonderful film that I can't wait to add to my collection.

pietterbeek The first twenty minutes I wondered which way this film was going, in more than one sense. The acting was not great, the dialogues where not convincing, the scenes in the plane where clumsy and Dutch international movie star Rutger Hauer's character died not long after the beginning. Honestly, with a few exceptions I am not very impressed by the Dutch cinema, was this another Dutch movie? Then the story started to roll and got me more in its grip. The acting was getting better, sometimes real good. What I think is a pity, is that the storyline is filled with flash forwards that do not add much to the story, which is all about the life of Dutch immigrants in New Zealand in 1953 and farther. The film could have been much better if the story was told chronologically and ended somewhere in the 70's or 80's. Now there are two actors for each character, and for me, also knowing the old respectable actors from the old days, this was sometimes quite disturbing. I found it hard to intermingle a character, I saw Willeke van Ammelrooy, not the character that grew old and looked little alike with the younger woman she once had been in the film. I had strongly the impression that the known actors where mostly used to put known names on the billboards. Their parts are relatively small and of little importance for the basic line of the story.

Wim de Gooijer Especially at the beginning you have to pay good attention (at least I had to), to be able to keep track of the rest of the movie. But it was a great story, beautifully put together in an epic drama that deserves many viewers, perhaps even outside of The Netherlands. I presume it must be difficult to continuously switch between the different years that form part of this movie, therefore my compliments to the editor because he managed to do a really great job successfully. In addition the New Zealand scenery adds beautiful pictures and seamlessly fits into the overall story.Although all characters, at the end of this movie, assemble for a sad occasion, the audience's feeling at the end of the movie is not of sadness but of joy because the film tells a story of how one can turn sad decisions in one's life into good things for the future.