Really Surprised!

As Good As It Gets

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

I have never been as perplexed by a rating as the low one for this movie. It is a very well made, well acted movie. I look forward to reading the book. Not your typical WWII war movie at all with only a couple of shots fired but probably a much more accurate depiction of what an actual occupation would be like. Ignore the rating and give this a chance. I found myself watching it twice because it is so nuanced I was afraid of missing something. Would have given it a 10 but the captions were strange. If you used the hearing impaired it didn't translate the German dialect which is very important.

The fascinating premise of "Resistance" is that Germany repelled the D-Day invasion and eventually won the Second World War. In the waning stages of the war, a small German army contingent arrives in Wales where they discover a small rural area where all the menfolk have fled to fight in the resistance. The German soldiers get settled in the community, and the major dramatic action is how the local Welsh women will react to the soldiers, who apparently treat the women with kindness.This premise had tremendous potential to explore what constitutes "resistance" versus "collaboration." It is clear that the local men left their homes to resist the invading Nazis. But what about the women? Are they in their own capacities also resisting? Or, have they capitulated when they accept favors from their occupiers? The focal point is the character Sarah, who remains committed to her husband Tom, despite the attention paid her by the German captain. The actress Andrea Louise Riseborough is excellent in the main role.Unfortunately, the good potential of this drama is not realized because the film never probes deeply into the main topic of collaboration. Riseborough's character never seems curious about the fate of her husband, and the ending of the film is especially disappointing, due to its vagueness.There was beautiful photography of the Welsh landscape, and the performers were excellent. But much of this film did not make sense. It was never clear why the victorious German soldiers would risk their lives by remaining in a small community where they were obviously not welcome. And why should the kid who is fighting in the resistance movement kill the poor woman who traveled with the colt to try to discover the whereabouts of her husband? Above all, it was unclear why the strong-willed women, fully capable of resistance, did not resist! At the same time, they really didn't "collaborate" either! In a film called "Resistance," there was not enough substance to do justice to the title.

This movie was a full blown surprise to me. I wish I heard about it 4 years ago when it came out. I will never understand how shallow and cartoonish movies get all the hype and publicity and a jewel gets left behind on the road. Despite of being very subdued and atmospheric, this movie engages your full attention, 100% of the time. Things aren't explained in so many words, and that's what makes this movie so great. Actors are well picked and give a mesmerizing performance. Two main protagonists are absolutely superb in their roles. The pace of the scenes is just right, even if it's just a scene where a woman is leaning longingly onto her husband's shirt. Or a scene where an enemy soldier who occupied the village stares covetingly at a young woman and his superior asks him if he has sisters. That certainly changes his intentions. Only a complete fool would think this movie is a waste of time! If you need action, watch one of those run-of-the-mill action blockbuster movies and remain grazing peacefully in your comfort zone until the end. It's not a story that is passe for humans. Look at the world we live in. We're still struggling to understand how and why to be brave and selfless. The fool who's written the negative review that pops out first on the movie page, saying that it doesn't have a story reminds me of a child that doesn't understand anything unless you dumb it down to it's level- someone who lacks adult level imagination and capability of abstract thinking. This movie is full of small stories, left for the audience to conjure out of short flashbacks and characters behaviour in the present time. We don't have to know every detail to grasp the choices they are compelled to make, or understand the reasons for their actions. Michael Sheen might have had a short appearance here, but to me, made a point to this story. Our choices in difficult situations determine who we are. (It's true, the movie has a wee bit of a problem with sound, somehow. I had to rewind a couple of times to understand what the actors were saying and lower the volume button when the music suddenly attacked my ears but I completely forgive that, for the otherwise excellent movie experience.)

A really disappointing film. Adding 40/50 minutes of people staring in silence at someone or at something doesn't make a film poetic, gentle and sensitive, it's just a trick to water down the screenplay and save a lot of money for a low-budget film. The screenplay, by the way, is quite ordinary and unconvincing. In fact the action and the dialogues are so rare here, that almost all of them, the essential ones at least, are in the trailer. It's even funny to think that the film is practically the trailer plus silence and some beautiful views of the welsh mountains. This could be easily a 10-15 minutes short film without losing anything of the plot.