Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Father Damian is maybe not the greatest movie I've ever seen but certainly not one of the worst like some people would like to suggest. David Wenham does a good job impersonating the Flemish priest and stays believable to the end. I had to get used to the accent but after listening carefully to it, I found it believable enough not to bother me. Most of the other characters are well balanced (some better than other). Peter O'Toole was just brilliant in his role. Looking at the names of the actors in the film, it was clearly a film made with "compromises". Luckily, it all turned out OK. All in all I liked this film. It kept me interested until the end - however predictable it is (we all know the story here). A film worth looking at.

Ok, so we have a Dutch/Belgium production, set & filmed in Hawaii, made by an Australian director with Australian, British & American actors. You can't accuse this film of not being an international concern!Solid acting performances by many involved, especially Jacobi, Wenham & O'Toole. Sadly the script lacks depth in many areas, had the director & producers had not been at loggerheads through most of the shoot, this could have been dealt with.Interestingly, Paul Cox still holds some bitterness over this. In a recent interview on the Australian TV channel, Showtime, Cox admitted the film was about 80% of what it could have been if he had his way & that there are too many "idiots" running the industry.Not a great film but not bad either, worth checking out but could have been a more indepth film.

This story is quite faithful to the facts of the life of this remarkable Belgian priest who chose to live in a leper colony while still a man in his early 30's even though he knew it to be a permanent assignment and a death sentence.The horrors of the leper colony were conveyed realistically while still giving a focus that would allow all but very young audiences to view it. The bureaucrats, both civil and religious, are well portrayed. -- (Derek Jacobi gives his usual fine performance in one of these roles.)This is a "must see" for anyone who has never heard the story of Father Damien or knows little about the leper colony on Molokai.

We rented the movie this evening after spending today touring the tip of Molokai, Hawaii where this story took place. The movie is an excellent supplement for the tour. Richard Marks, our tour guide, did not tell us that he appears in many scenes throughout the movie. He is the tall man who has his feet wrapped in cloth in many scenes. He told us that the movie existed and some background stories about the movie.Anyone wishing to tour this beautiful site should make sure, in advance, that Richard will be their guide. He is an excellent guide and also one of the people who has Hansen's Disease. He is 72 years old (2002) and a dynamic person.