Why so much hype?

Very Cool!!!

The Worst Film Ever

Crappy film

"Oscar and Lucinda," made in 1997 by Gillian Armstrong, stars Ralph Fiennes and Cate Blanchett in the title roles. The film starts out one way and becomes something else, and then something else again - it's quite a saga, and very beautiful to look at.Fiennes plays an Anglican minister, Oscar, who is a compulsive gambler. On a ship to Australia, which he took explicitly to get over his problem, he meets Lucinda (Blanchett), a free-thinking businesswoman who owns a glassworks factory. She, too, is a compulsive gambler. The two get together and start gambling, Fiennes justifying it by stating that faith is a gamble as well. After all, one stakes everything on the fact that there is a God.The two arrive in Sydney, and Oscar finds himself down and out before he even starts. When he and Lucinda are caught playing cards, his ministry goes out the window. If Lucinda weren't so wealthy, she'd probably have to leave town, but she's tolerated. Upon arriving in Sydney, Oscar promptly wrecks his ministry before it even gets started when he's caught playing cards with his new friend. Oscar then makes a bet with Lucinda that he can deliver a church - made of glass - to her minister friend Hinds, which means it has to travel across the continent. If he can do it, it will be proof that he loves Lucinda.The vision of the glass church going down the river alone makes this movie worthwhile - truly stunning.Blanchett gives a beautiful performance, very organic. Fiennes is very good, just not quite as impressive as Blanchett. The narration is given by a great-grandchild of one of them - I won't say which one.I found this an odd story, full of symbolism, and what a credit to the director that she was able to pull of the elements together. The very last scene in the film pulls it out of what could have been a real downer.I can't say I loved it, but there are some wonderful elements in this movie. If you have a big screen TV, it is a glorious watch.

First things first, Cate Blanchett and Ralph Fiennes are water and air for the world's film industry as we know it. Very few actors working today can stand side by side with them when it comes down to the Nitty-Gritty of acting chutzpa! So when reviewing a film in which they both starred, with a fine director, fine script and cinematography, it's very hard not to want to get that out of the way first. It's also very hard trying to put into words how well they did justice to this film. It was breathtaking (especially the floating church scene), it was heartbreaking, it was bittersweet, it was beautiful, it was thought provoking, it was marvelous, it was well narrated, it was well acted, it was well directed, it was picturesque!Oscar and Lucinda (Fiennes and Blanchett) are two young adults who love to gamble. Oscar's a priest and Lucinda's socialite just coming out in society. One evening, they meet aboard a gigantic ship (almost like Jack and Rose in Titanic) and the instant chemistry between is ignited. But they quickly have a falling out when Oscar's fear of the Ocean causes him to offend Lucinda. By the way, let me point out that both of them had scarred childhoods, Oscar's mother died while he was very young and the impact virtually drove his father insane, while Lucinda endured parents who were unhappy with one another but pretended to be happy for the sake of their daughter. When her father died, her mother slowly became a living corpse until she eventually died years later, leaving Lucinda devastated but well taken care of financially.One day, Oscar and Lucinda make amends to their friendship and slowly become closer and closer. Lucinda then decides to build a glass church for their mutual friend, a priest who lives miles away and Oscar bets he can deliver it to him before Good Friday. By doing this, they both break their promise never to gamble again and this sets up a dramatic chain of sorrowful events that occur in the wake of Oscar's journey. A character that Fiennes plays to the pulp!

This is a beautiful movie. That's the best way I can find to describe it. It's odd and quirky and desperately sad, and it will stick in your memory for a long time to come. The leads are fabulous, I read the book before I saw the film and they were every bit as I'd imagined them. I'd recommend this film to anyone who wants to watch a romantic movie that follows none of the clichés of romantic movies. The soundtrack is great too, haunting and utterly, utterly perfect. Everything about this movie is right, the casting, the script, the look of the sets. The only reason I haven't given this movie 10 is that it doesn't measure up to the book it is based on.

There are many films that are so controversial yet so beautiful, they appeal to only a select number of individuals. "Oscar & Lucinda" is one such triumph. It manages to border on heresy and yet sustain profoundness. Altogether a masterful piece of work from one of my favorite directors (Armstrong also filmed "Charlotte Gray," and "Little Women"), with an absolutely stunning, star-studded (before they were "big") cast.You simply cannot comment on the film without considering the two leading cast members. Cate Blanchett is stunning here. She was beautiful, aloof, and impressive as "Elizabeth," but her role as the uncertain yet adventurous Lucinda is extremely memorable. Note her childish transformation into womanhood -- the discovery that not all tales have happy endings, that love eventually leads to sorrow. Her scenes with Ralph Fiennes literally crackle with intensity. These are two actors who manage to convince us they're not acting. The passion and devotion put into the role gives the film it's sparkle beyond the stunning cinematography and absolutely breathtaking musical score. Ralph Fiennes is rapidly becoming one of my favorite actors. He's extremely versatile and never shies away from challenging roles, whether it's a heartless Nazi in WWII, a Cambridge professor caught up in the throes of a quiz show scandal, or the impassioned Evgene Onegin. With "Oscar" we see him literally at his finest. The appropriately-nicknamed Academy Award should have been handed to him the day this sweet little Australian film premiered. His Oscar is passionate, guilt-ridden, complex, and utterly sweet. If you're not in tears by the end, you've not managed to give your heart over to one of the most fascinating literary characters ever created.The sub-roles are all very good (Richard Roxburg in yet ANOTHER 'villainous' lead, but no one minds his untimely demise; Cirian Hinds in the upper-crust role of a minister shocked by his lady friend's gambling habits, even Geoffrey Rush as the unseen narrorator) and lend themselves to a highly romantic atmosphere. I love a slowly unfolding, deep love story but dislike superficial attachments. In the course of this film you believe Oscar & Lucinda actually get to know one another. They're involved in a series of "narrow hits and misses," which make the ending all the more tragic. They "connect" in a way other people cannot; in a world full of round holes, two square pegs make the perfect match.The religious aspect of this film is also highly interesting. As a Christian myself, I regard anything bordering on heresy with wary suspicion. At first glance, the film borderlines on blasphemy, as Oscar so prudently considers in a key scene ("... unless it is blasphemy to consider mortal pleasure on the level of the divine!") when comparing eternal salvation to gambling ("It's all a gamble, isn't it?"), but if you take the time to explore it more fully, there are very realistic truths tucked in with the uncertainties. Oscar eventually does find Truth and clings to his beliefs to the bitter end. The rivalry between different denominations is also notable.Older viewers seeking enthralling but not necessarily uplifting entertainment will find "Oscar & Lucinda" an excellent way to spend a couple of hours, particularly in a group. There is one scene of sexual content that is offensive (although clothed and necessary to the plot; for my own enjoyment, I always skip this provincial scene) but otherwise the film is surprisingly light in content. But it's a movie you shouldn't enter lightly. Out of the group of friends I showed it to one weekend, two out of five found it "depressing." But the rest of us were enthralled.