Reviews

An unbelievably bad movie. Improbable from the moment Bradley falls madly in love with Gaga in a trannie bar. She is transformed into Beyonce overnight; he drowns in a puddle of alcohol. The stunning moment is his peeing on himself. I kept hoping something real would happen. But it didn't. What a waste of two fabulous actors.

Nina Hoss, who was brilliant in "Barbara", once again plays an injured woman trying to resurrect her life. In this case, she has been a victim in a concentration camp. However, what happens to Nelly could have happened in Cambodia (someone surviving the camps) or in Argentina (a desaparecida), etc. The story is universal: how can we, who have not been through such horror, possibly understand what it means. How can those who are trying to return to 'normal' life possibly succeed?

Ronald Zehrfeld, as 'Johnny', Nelly's former husband, doesn't recognise her and bullies her into trying to become the Nelly who existed before the war. What an existential feat -- becoming one's self while being one's self. Johnny himself was a pianist, but his life has undergone dramatic changes and he is reduced to cleaning a nightclub for a living.

Another character, played by Nina Kunzendorf, tries to persuade Nelly to join her in Israel in the Jewish homeland. Again, no one seems to care what Nelly wants, or what she has been through. This film is perfectly portrays the persecution of one victim by a whole cast of characters thinking only of themselves. For me it asked the question: how we will treat a growing number of humans on our planet who have been through similar hells?

Austenland could have been all that the cast and concept promised, but its many unbelievable plot details wrecked that chance. The main character went from being a proud Austen addict to a wimp putting up with far too much humiliation for not much gain. Keri Russell as Jane the addict pays all of her life's savings for the bargain package at a place in England called Austenland. The loosely 'Regency' activities take place in a building that looks just like Darcy's home in Pride and Prejudice, but there any connection with Jane Austen ends. Jane Seymour is sometimes funny as a harridan; Bret McKenzie seems too convincing as a lover to believably be someone acting as a nefarious schemer; and Jennifer Coolidge is embarrassing. JJ Feild's performance shines as the only real person amidst a crowd of fakes. The only reason to watch this movie is to see what some people think is the value of Jane Austen -- and to be happy that even this sort of nonsense cannot diminish her.