Parts of this film are weak (the dance studio scenes in particular), and it failed to have much of an impact overall. Despite this, it is worth watching, not only because of the beauty of the soldier, but because of the picturesqueness of the landscape and family life in the protagonist's memory.
One strength of the film is the avoidance of stridency. Hollywood films tend to exaggerate everything for dramatic effect, and it's a refreshing change here to be free from that. I particularly liked the stepfather's attitude toward their relationshipthat's life. That theme pervades the film, and while it makes it a bit milquetoast, it also avoids the soap opera plus cartoon style Hollywood film-making tone.
Someone here wrote:
"And yet, the fact that the boy never got over the love of that man suggests the inherent imbalance in that type of relationship. Do you think the soldier went through the rest of his life trying to find the boy?"
I'd never get over a guy that beautiful myself, no matter how old I was when I was with him! Actually, when I was about twenty-three, I spent a weekend with a graduate student and he was so gorgeous that I have never completely gotten over him. If had been really young and had been with someone like him, the desire would have probably been even more intense, though. When I was that age of the protagonist in the film, I definitely wished for a relationship and wouldn't have turned down a guy like that solider.
One strength of the film is the avoidance of stridency. Hollywood films tend to exaggerate everything for dramatic effect, and it's a refreshing change here to be free from that. I particularly liked the stepfather's attitude toward their relationshipthat's life. That theme pervades the film, and while it makes it a bit milquetoast, it also avoids the soap opera plus cartoon style Hollywood film-making tone.
Someone here wrote:
"And yet, the fact that the boy never got over the love of that man suggests the inherent imbalance in that type of relationship. Do you think the soldier went through the rest of his life trying to find the boy?"
I'd never get over a guy that beautiful myself, no matter how old I was when I was with him! Actually, when I was about twenty-three, I spent a weekend with a graduate student and he was so gorgeous that I have never completely gotten over him. If had been really young and had been with someone like him, the desire would have probably been even more intense, though. When I was that age of the protagonist in the film, I definitely wished for a relationship and wouldn't have turned down a guy like that solider.