Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

This movie was a surprise. It all starts as an old woman sees that her last day on this world is coming, so she gets ready to say goodbye to all the women in her family (daughter, granddaughter and great-granddaughter). From that we go back to the past, to the moment she arrived back to her hometown with her daughter, and we see how they both grow old there, how their relationship with the other inhabitants develop and how they re-adapt to live in the countryside, in a very small village.The movie has hard moments, but also quite some funny ones, is quite smart and its characters are well developed. If it seems like a small movie, it may be, but it will grow on the watcher pretty fast, as you will get involved in the life of Antonia and all those that surround her. The actors do a great job and they bring a lot to the movie too.It will surprise you, it will make you laugh and, maybe, cry too.

Watching Antonia's Line 20 years after it was made (and winning Best Oscar Foreign Film then), it still has its quirky 'life-is-full-of-the-unexpected' charm reminiscent of 'new wave' movies of the 90s, though it does feel dated now. It's about lore, life, love/lovelessness, and definitely not about logic. So if you go about looking for typical character motivation, plot sensibility or any form of social, religious or political allegory, then you're looking for these typical "movie subtext" in the wrong garden. It is laughable how so many read 'feminism' into the movie. There is none of it, unless you go about creating one on your own. Both male and female characters can be interpreted as "strong" or "weak" depending on how you choose to view them based on your own bias - the movie as it is, has no bias whatsoever. For example, is resisting marriage a 'strong' or 'weak' trait? Depends on your own experiences, opinions, and views, isn't it. Or, to bay at the full moon because you can't marry your Protestant lover - is that 'weakness', 'foolishness', 'madness' or 'strong love'? Or to drown your own kin (who has committed a heinous rape) when he is already beaten and weak by pushing his head into the water from the back without his ability to defend himself - is that 'righteous', 'weak', 'strong', 'anarchic', 'cowardly', brave' or what?The movie presents what it presents. If you choose to draw any conclusion from it, then know it comes entirely from you, and don't merit your own intentions to that of the movie's intention.Watch it with open eyes and just let it rinse into you, and wash out whatever washes out.

Funny thing with this movie is that it's an highly appreciated one (it even received an Oscar for best foreign language movie) all over the world but in its own native country the Netherlands it wasn't received that well. At least not as an Oscar worthy movie and everyone within the Netherlands at the time also was quite surprised it took home the Oscar.What I can say about this movie is that it feels like a waste opportunity. The movie feels like one with hugely potential and if it worked out better this could had really been an 'epic' strong feminist family drama but instead the movie jumps all over the place also with its different styles and it's mostly an ineffective one. There is not much interesting within the movie, although you certainly have the feeling that the story itself had plenty of interesting elements to offer but yet it somehow doesn't always translate well to the big screen. Perhaps if the movie would had been an hour longer it would had worked out better and also as a more effective one.The movie covers basically the entire lifespan of a strong-woman of the Dutch countryside and the future generations of women, her daughter her grand-daughter and right up till her great-grand daughter, while she herself is of course aging. This becomes an interesting aspect of the movie. It begins right after the end of WW II and it ends somewhere in the '90's or so I would guess. So the world around her is constantly changing but yet it also stays the same because she keeps all the people she care for close to her. This means that parts of the movie are set in different time-era's, which gives the movie something unique.It's obvious that this movie was intended as a strong feminist picture, with all strong female leads in it but with this I mostly feel that the movie isn't as effective as it should had been. It just doesn't feature enough strong or original moments within the movie.It's still a really well made and good looking movie though. It doesn't look at all like the movie got shot in the Netherlands, the countryside and all within this movie is far too beautiful looking for that. But I always have that with Dutch movies and I guess I just don't know how beautiful my country actually is. Perhaps I just need to stop watching so many movies and get out more...Female director Marleen Gorris is obviously capable of making a beautiful and professional looking movie. She actually now has a quite successful career in America as a movie director, which is quite an accomplishment not only because she is Dutch but also foremost because she is a female. She actually was the first woman to direct a movie that won an Oscar for best foreign film. Guess she is a strong woman just like Antonia in this movie and that's why she directed this movie with so much obvious passion and devotion. I wasn't too happy about the acting within this movie though. Willeke van Ammelrooy has always been praised for her role but in all honesty her performance is quite a mixed bag. As the younger Antonia she isn't always too great but as the older Antonia she's much better and more convincing. Can't say that the make-up always looks convincing though. Jan Decleir is normally always a real great actor but his role in this movie isn't anything too memorable but this is mostly due to the far too limited screen time he gets in this movie and he also has far too little lines to speak. He however still does a good job with his sequences and it's actually nice to notice that he took on a Dutch accent and for once dropped his native Belgian one. Still it's weird to hear many other actors within this movie still speak with a Belgian accent, while the movie is obviously set in the Netherlands but this of course has everything to do with the fact that this is a Belgium co-production and a certain part of the cast & crew just HAD to be Belgian.I wish I could say that it was a brilliant Dutch movie, worthy of its Oscar...6/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

When Marleen Gorris debuted in 1982 with "De Stilte Rond Christine M." ("A Question of Silence"), she quickly became one of the most prominent and controversial feminist artists of Europe, as the unapologetic (some would say extreme) feminism of the film was seen as a very angry reaction to the women's role in society. Her next two films followed this path, and soon she was known as an interesting director to be taken seriously; although the extremism of her work and the heavy handed way she handled her subjects often diminished the true potential of her movies. In her fourth movie, "Antonia", Gorris seemed to make a big departure from her first movies, as the movie offered a more complete and humanist vision of life. It certainly was an enormous progression, not only in terms of her personal ideology, but also in terms of film-making, as in this movie she showcased her talents as storyteller like never before. The five years between "The Last Island" and "Antonia" really payed off, as this movie received the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language film in 1996."Antonia" is the story of well, Antonia (Willeke van Ammelrooy), a widow who returns to her home village after the World War II with her daughter Danielle (Els Dottermans), as she has received news that her mother is dying. After her mother's death, Antonia inherits the farm and along Danielle, she establishes there. And so Antonia and Danielle's new life begins at the village and, as time goes by, we witness Antonia's line to grow and develop, meeting old friends, finding new friends, and of course, gaining new enemies. The contrasting aspects of life and death, youth and decrepitude, and specially love and hate, become the key focus of the story of this community led by this strong (although often stubborn) woman. "Antonia"'s story could easily be described as the story of the growth of a woman, and the growth of her odd family through more than three generations.Written by Marleen Gorris's herself, "Antonia" could be seen as the progression of Gorris' past works. While in the past she had portrayed the world almost as a constant struggle between males and females, "Antonia" showcases the quest for a balance between both. At its core, it is the story of Antonia, her family, and her village, growing and developing from the 50s through the 80s, and the important events in their lives; but it's also way more complex than that. It's about discovering what's important in life, and that what is important to some may not be important for others. Of course, being a Marleen Gorris' movie the relationships between male and female are of vital importance, but this time, extreme feminism is out and both genders are given a value (in an interesting change, Antonia herself must learn to love an accept a caring man). It's a clever character driven story filled with a good sense of humor, and an intelligent humanist theme.As written above, "Antonia" also marks Gorris' evolution to more ambitious and complex films, as while the movie is entirely character driven, the whole setting and overall composition of the movie is wonderful. Together with cinematographer Willy Stassen, Gorris makes a beautiful portrait of Europe's countryside, and accurately captures the slow but constant passing of time through the village. Jan Sewell's make-up is essential to this, as his work is of a frightening realism that one truly wonders if the cast suddenly became old for real. An interesting touch is how different the movie becomes according to the characters' points of view: Antonia's scenes have a philosophical calm, while Danielle's world (as an artist) is quirky and suddenly surreal; contrasting sharply with her daughter Thérèse, who sees the world in a cold, distant and overtly scientific way.The many characters of the film are borough to life by an ensemble of both experienced and newcomer actors. Willeke van Ammelrooy is excellent in the main role as Antonia, a difficult one as her character is the one whose own personal growth becomes the basis of the rest of the film. Els Dottermans showcases her beauty and talent as Antonia's daughter, Danielle. While not the focus of the movie, her character plays a very important role in the story, and Dottermans plays the part in a very effective way. Overall the rest of the cast is remarkable (specially considering the lack of experience of some cast members), and really make the village a place so real and alive that one can't help but fall in love with the characters. While everyone makes a good job, Marina De Graaf as Deedee and the Carolien Spoor as the young Thérèse are really highlights of the film that deserve to be noticed.With its remarkably well developed screenplay and the warm touch of Gorris' direction, "Antonia" is truly a step forward in the director's career and an improvement over her previous work. While not a masterpiece, the movie is an upbeat movie that despite being at times emotionally manipulative, it's never annoying and really charming in its quirkiness. Critics have pointed out that Gorris' heavy handed extremism is still there, but personally I found a more mature piece of work, as if Gorris had finally exorcised her own demons and, like her Antonia, found a balance by discovering and accepting men instead of openly fighting them. Oddly, this new approach also brought criticism from Gorris' own followers, but it is in this balanced view where "Antonia"'s main strength is, as more than being a feminism movie, it is a humanist one."Antonia" is a joyful experience that, while not as deep as similar movies, it offers an interesting insight about human relationships; and despite not being exactly realist, raises interesting questions about love and unnecessary yet unavoidable "battle of sexes". It seems that in 1996, the Academy got it right, "Antonia" is a great story. 8/10