Cheap Antonia's Line (DVD) (Willeke van Ammelrooy, Veerle van Overloop, Jan Decleir) (Marleen Gorris) Price

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Customer Reviews of Antonia's Line

A Delight to Watch
Antonia and her daughter return to their Dutch village after World War II to bury Antonia's mother. The first hint that this is an unconventionial movie is when the corpse sits up and belts out "My Blue Heaven". This movie combines magical realism in a plot of seriousness and intent. Characters with names like Loony Lips, Crooked Finger, and Mad Madonna come and go over the course of the next 50 years as Antonia's extended family grows. After all, this is the story of Antonia's line, or lineage, and an exploration of the mysteries of life and of death.

This is a film in which males are relegated to second-citizen status because the women are just so darn capable and able to mostly get along without men. They do not define themselves through men nor do they depend on them.

The film perfectly captures the extraordinary spirit and the strength of the mother-daughter bond. The women of Antonia's line are strong and loving, good and kind, strong yet gentle. The acting in this film is wonderful....it is a movie I hated to see end.

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One of the truly special film events.
I remember seeing this movie in the theatre, first run, knowing nothing about what was to come. I remember thinking as I left, how it was movies like this that made the movies so special. How a story could be so simply, and beautifully told.

There is nothing usual in the world of Antonia. A single mother, she leaves the city with her young daughter to return to the small hamlet that was once her home. It is the time of her mother's death, and Antonia will take over the operation of the now-decrepit farm. She is ill equipped to run a farm at face, yet her force of will and purity of spirit make no task impossible. She is a strong woman, a good woman. She does what has to be done, and uses or finds the necessary tools amongst the chaos at hand.

I believe the English title Antonia's Line (rather than Antonia) refers to the line of people she gathers through her life. This extended family grows from the most unlikely sources. They feast together outdoors weekly at one long table, and as the movie progresses, the size of the table grows and grows to accommodate each and every new member in Antonia's Line.

Antonia is a tale of tales, some mysterious and wonderful, some very basic and also wonderful. And throughout the line grows as Antonia's extended family encompasses more and more endearing souls.

I was hardly surprised when Antonia won a well-deserved Oscar for Best Foreign Film.

Every time I see this film I find I do not tire of it, and every time I see it I come away feeling better.

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Feminist Fantasy
European trash are not interesting enough for a two hour movie. The characters are all cliche's of village life. The bad guy is a blond (facist) rapist. He rapes his sister and a little girl. He comes back to town in a military uniform. The good people in this movie are all Lefty lesbians and tough grandmothers. This movie is a feminist fantasy of the European variety. The men are stupid and the women are brilliant. The only smart man in the film commits suicide.