1,000 Times Good Night (2013)

War photographer Rebecca (Juliette Binoche) is one of the best at her job, obtaining the kind of pictures that invariably get published in western magazines as examples of the violence of conflicts in nonwestern areas such as Afghanistan or Kenya. The only snag is that Rebecca is so obsessed with her work that she cannot understand the damage she is doing to her family back in Ireland, especially her daughter Steph (Lauryn Canny).

The conflict between personal and professional values forms the kernel of Erik Poppe's film. Yet thematically speaking the director is far more interested in prompting reflection on the photographer's trade. While Rebecca certainly shows a good deal of bravery in trying to get the best pictures, we also understand that she is something of a voyeur who actively enjoys intruding into her subjects' personal space. Her fondness for the close-up of suffering people is quite disconcerting, especially in a sequence taking place in the back of an SUV in Afghanistan. In political terms, she adopts a neocolonialist position of the westerner taking scopophilic pleasure in the power she exerts through her camera.

Perhaps the film's most telling moment occurs back in Ireland, when Steph turns the camera on Rebecca and photographs her repeatedly. Rebecca cannot endure the experience of the lens pointing at her in such an intense manner and turns her head away, her eyes filling with tears. Would that Rebecca might understand that her subjects could feel much the same; but if she did so, then she would not be good at her job.

Given the integrity with which Poppe examines this issue, it's rather sad that the film as a whole should be somewhat melodramatic. In the end the action descends into something of a tug-of-love battle between mother and family; at one point Rebecca bundles Steph and her younger sister Lisa (Adrianna Cramer Curtis) in a pathetic attempt to abduct them from their family home. Needless to say husband Marcus (Nikolaj Coaster-Waldau) foils the plot and eventually looks after the girls himself.

The film makes a half-hearted attempt to draw a parallel between Rebecca's wanderlust and the rhythms of the tide (her daughter observes that the photographer is like the sea, coming and going), but unfortunately outstays its welcome: the last half-hour unfolds slowly but predictably towards an inevitable denouement. This is a shame, given the seriousness of its basic premise - almost as if director Poppe had lost the courage of his convictions.

Fmovies: Griping drama about a war photographer who is caught between choosing her family or her work. Which we learn is a lot more complicated than we initially thought. The cast did a believable portrayal of the difficulties that people encounter in life between their passion and family. What I liked especially about this film was that the lead was not portrayed as some war hero and her story was not romanticized. The story and characters all felt realistic and convincing since the characters were different shades of gray. Something that is amiss these days within film making. There is always a need to create a struggle between good and evil. Probably one of the better stories I have seen this year. Erik Poppe you did a great job with this one!

I came into the movies with an open mind, without any knowledge of either the plot, setting or premise of the movie. The opening left me mesmerized, starting off with a silent photographer documenting a ceremonial initiation of a suicide bomber, to later become hurt in the subsequent IED attack. The following complications and insight to the photographer's life really builds up a powerful and emotional drama that mostly plays out within the borders of her own home.

From the reaction of her husband to their children's acceptance of their mother's dangerous occupation, every scene feels truly genuine. In addition to being a perfectly acted and directed movie, the cinematography is, to say the least, absolutely astonishing and beautiful. From start to end, the movie feels like a beautiful painting, with no expense spared on the details.

The most refreshing feature of this particular movie is the way the story is delivered, in a non-predictable fashion freed from the basic "Hollywood-recipe". To say the least, this is by far one of the best European movie released in years, and I am yet to see a movie this original, captivating, refreshing and complex from Hollywood. 10/10 stars, absolutely a must-see for all movie enthusiasts that appreciate something else than recycled, brain-dead black and white portraits of reality that Hollywood keeps producing.

1,000 Times Good Night fmovies. Frankly, I never knew what the movie is about. What I expected was a beautiful romantic drama and I got a movie that defined someone's struggle over her passion and its reality. After seeing opening scene I thought it would be another movie about war similar to the '5 Days of War'. I am glad it was so distinct which was partially based on the director own experiential story when he served as a photojournalist in the '80s. It is a jointly produced movie by Ireland and Norway in English language.

Rebecca is a passionate war zone photojournalist and her daring attitude make her one of the finest on the field. Like always her latest journey takes place in the war torn city of Kabul, Afghanistan. She follows a suicide bomber to cover up the story where she gets injured. After the accident the whole story flips back to her home in Ireland where it chronicles the worried husband and the two children who are very affectionate of her. This is the time where she has to choose the side, the professional? Or the family? The stay at home during recovery makes her realize the worth of her life. So the movie's end strikes with the path she opts to travel forth.

''Sometimes it's hard to stay at home. I mean, the one who stays at home has the hardest job.''

Well, it served a message with the touch of melodrama. The story demonstrated family value on the right amount of each others love and care. The opening and the end scenes that take place in Afghanistan was so brutal and there's another one that takes place in Kenya. But bringing the reality on the screen as it happening some places of the world must be appreciated. It kind of makes you realize that someone is sacrificing their life to bring light on what's happening in the war zones. Like always, Juliette Binoche was good. It was her movie, her side of the story told when she was caught between the family who loves and the war that calls her.

One of the fascinating thematic movie. Regarding the main role, you may think why she's not stopping the tragedy from happening. That's the journalism, when you have no power to act, just expose to the rest of the world. The combination of family drama and the conflict zone are like two different genres that brought together awesomely. The director's own experience helped to shape the movie well. Almost all the combat related scenes were so realistic as what he had seen is now letting us know through this film. I think this movie is a must see. The end scene makes us go speechless, woefully.

The only really positive thing I can say about Erik Poppe's English language debut, is that the photography is quite beautiful. The script and acting however, is at a level where even the most intense and action filled scenes are completely unengaging and boring.

What really ruins the experience though, is the way the movie continuously cranks the melodrama to 11, and constantly demand an emotional watershed. It's like every scene is screaming: LOOK AT THIS PERFECT FAMILY AND THEIR CUTE KITTEN, DOESN'T IT MAKE YOU CRY OF HAPPINESS!!! LOOK AT THIS POOR WAR TORN COUNTRY, DOESN'T IT JUST TEAR YOU UP INSIDE!!! Instead of provoking a sympathetic response, it is so over the top that it's reminiscent of bad poetry from an angst ridden teenager.

The blame can only lie with an overambitious director. All the locations in different countries and multiple plot lines, end up getting lost in their own entanglement, and makes it a pale comparison to his brilliant Norwegian classic, Hawaii Oslo.

What I was hoping would be a thought-provoking trip into the psychology of the heart of bloody conflict instead becomes a pompous, boring, weighted thing of mediocrity. It's almost as if the director believes that the seriousness of the subject matter is enough to make the film compelling to audiences - which it isn't.

Unfortunately an important theme still requires pacing - which is not best accomplished by long silences and slow-mo ad-nauseum. The cardboard supporting cast display all the range of a TV commercial trying to inspire sympathy, and there's some atrocious child acting.

I know many people will feel compelled to like this because of the subject matter and the strong female lead, but beyond the façade of great cinematography and overly emotional music this is simply not well made.

Self-importance sinks this film.