One of the tests of a good film is to watch it many years later and see if the material has aged well. After not seeing it for a very long time I sat down last night and played it. I can gladly say that the film has aged very well and is every bit as solid and moving as when I first saw it. Barbara is as beautiful as she ever was in any film. Redford made legions of ladies swoon with his natural, rugged, non-tampered handsome blondness.
The story is quite believable and borrows from the historical record that it is placed in. There were lots of Jewish people who got caught up in the anti-Fascist, anti-war and anti-bomb movements. But the actual beliefs or disinterested lifestyles, although well articulated in the film are secondary throughout, helping to craft the tensions that underscore the real theme: romantic but inevitably doomed love.
Streisand and Redford threw themselves into this work and their on screen chemistry is wonderful. Barbara's singing of the theme music pulls at the heart strings as it is meant to. This is a beautiful and adult drama that reminds anyone who has lived through disappointment and heartbreak in love what it was all about. One of the best films for both actors. For me only "Yentl" eclipses Barbara's success on screen. Watch for a very young James Woods early in the film. Keep the Kleenex box close by. Still one of my favourites.
The story is quite believable and borrows from the historical record that it is placed in. There were lots of Jewish people who got caught up in the anti-Fascist, anti-war and anti-bomb movements. But the actual beliefs or disinterested lifestyles, although well articulated in the film are secondary throughout, helping to craft the tensions that underscore the real theme: romantic but inevitably doomed love.
Streisand and Redford threw themselves into this work and their on screen chemistry is wonderful. Barbara's singing of the theme music pulls at the heart strings as it is meant to. This is a beautiful and adult drama that reminds anyone who has lived through disappointment and heartbreak in love what it was all about. One of the best films for both actors. For me only "Yentl" eclipses Barbara's success on screen. Watch for a very young James Woods early in the film. Keep the Kleenex box close by. Still one of my favourites.
