Eine Sommernachtsliebe (1995)
33KEine Sommernachtsliebe: Directed by Christopher Menaul. With Embeth Davidtz, Tom Bell, Gemma Jones, James Purefoy. After an abandoned young woman in late 19th Century England is taken in by a rural couple with three handsome sons, tragic consequences result.
“In an almost quasi-Victorian style, and most certainly with a true Victorian setting, H.E.Batesu0026#39; novel has been turned into a fine cinematographic production. Excellent interpretations by all concerned, not only the leading actors, lushly backed up by some truly splendid photography, this is a film which appeals to the senses of perceptive viewers.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eUnfortunately the music score is not up to much, or perhaps I should say that you should not see this film expecting great orchestral and vocal music as Zbigniew Preisner has already given us in the trilogy `Trois Couleursu0026#39; or especially in the previous film `La Double Vie de Véroniqueu0026#39; (1991).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eH.E.Bates was first a serious novelist, giving us such splendid titles as `The Jacaranda Treeu0026#39; and `The Purple Plainu0026#39;, both based on his wartime experiences in Burma (now called something like Myaungyi), and evidently `Feast of Julyu0026#39; falls into this category. Unfortunately he then turned his hand to light frivolous reading with would-be attempts at hilarity, and he simply fell out of any serious reading list. Thoroughly recommend these two novels as they paint an authentic picture of people with real feelings and genuine jealousies and mistrust. Perhaps it is this characterisation that has been soundly transformed into a visual experience that makes `Feast of Julyu0026#39; a thoroughly recommendable film. Near 7 out of 10.”
