VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

GazerRise Fantastic!

Keeley Coleman The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

daoldiges There are so many things to enjoy and appreciate about this film. The epic historical/love story, the score, the cinematography, the broad and unique cast of characters, and wonderful performances all-around made for a very impactful film experience for me. It's not that I didn't like Nicole Kidman, it's just that prior to her work here I always thought of her as overpraised. That all changed with her performance here. It wasn't only the delivery of her lines but she also brought an intense, genuine, and robust physicality to the character that blazed with power and intensity. Jude Law and Renee Zellweger played opposite characters, one barely spoke at all (Law) and the other wouldn't stop talking (Zellweger), but both were just right here. The score, which was a combination of newly written music along with traditional American folk music and was very emotive and greatly enhanced the story. All of the supporting characters too were also very unique and memorable. Many things happen throughout this epic story of love and war, side stories and side characters, all of which vibrated with emotion and tension. I encourage you to check out Cold Mountain for yourself.

HotToastyRag Civil War fans will find a favorite in the romantic drama Cold Mountain. Yes, there's violence, death, and unbearable tension, but that's what you expect when you buckle in for a movie that takes place during the Civil War! This one has a compelling story, good acting, and very authentic production values, so if you like this genre, it's worth it.Jude Law is a Southern soldier who, after being wounded, decides to risk being shot as a deserter and travel home to see his sweetheart Nicole Kidman. While he comes across helpful people, like Natalie Portman, during his journey, he spends most of his time avoiding the bad guys who are out for his head, namely Ray Winstone and Charlie Hunnam. Nicole pines away for Jude and finds it difficult to manage on her own until the feisty, Southern-cliché-ridden tomboy Renée Zellweger shows up and helps her. With Philip Seymour Hoffman, Kathy Baker, Brendan Gleeson, Donald Sutherland, Cillian Murphy, Eileen Atkins, and Giovanni Ribisi in the supporting cast, you know you'll be in for some quality performances, even if the overall aura of the film isn't enjoyable.The most famous element to Cold Mountain, besides the very graphic sex scenes and Nicole Kidman's needless nudity, is the make-up Oscar it won for Renée Zellweger, who had lost the gold the year before for her tour-de-force performance in Chicago. As a native Southerner, playing the tell-it-like-it-is Southerner in Cold Mountain was not a stretch for her acting abilities, and even though I'm sure she was very happy to receive her statue, I'm sure she realized it was a make-up Oscar.Be prepared when you go into it that the movie's a very heavy drama, more on par with Free State of Jones than Gone with the Wind. It's pretty upsetting at times, and will more than likely leave you unsettled in the years after you watch it. My brother cites this as one of the films he wishes he hadn't seen, but I'm used to the type so I wasn't too phased. Use your own judgement whether or not you can handle it, but by all means, put the kiddies to bed before watching it! Kiddy warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to nudity, violence, and graphic sex scenes, I wouldn't let my kids watch it. Also, there may or may not be a rape scene.

Python Hyena Cold Mountain (2003): Dir: Anthony Minghella / Cast: Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Renee Zellweger, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Natalie Portman: Provocative drama about distant affection and the peaks that are not as high as they seem. Set in mid 1800's Jude Law fought in the civil war and suffered injury but he reflects upon the woman awaiting his arrival at Cold Mountain. She is played by Nicole Kidman and she is the daughter of a minister whose lifestyle changes after his passing. This subplot is interesting but Law's trek across country is littered with pointless subplots that greatly weaken his necessity. This climaxes with a simplistic gunfight and shed tears that viewers likely won't fall for. Directed by Anthony Minghella who made a superior film called The English Patient. Here he is backed with fine production. While Law's role becomes greatly expendable, Kidman slowly becomes a woman when a ragged Renee Zellweger appears. They have a fine chemistry as Kidman gets her hands dirty and Zellweger gets her hands dirtier. Among cameos are Phillip Seymour Hoffman as a sleazy minister who steals his moments with humour and found guilty of a crime for which he meets consequences. Natalie Portman has a pointless role as a woman raising an infant son, and whom Law assists in a crucial moment. Theme of emotional endurance is evident in our cold society. Score: 6 ½ / 10

zardoz-13 "English Patient" director Anthony Minghella died before his time. Nevertheless, he made one of the more memorable movies about the American Civil War. Adapting Charles Frazier's first novel, writer & director Minghella depicted aspects of the War Between the States that no other film else has ever detailed. First, this epic length war film unfolds with the disastrous Battle of the Crater at Petersburg in 1864. Late in the war, Union troops tunneled beneath Confederate lines and detonated explosives that they had stockpiled in a mine. Indeed, this constituted a daring maneuver, but the Union didn't take into account the consequences of such a plan and they paid dearly for their audacity. Our sympathetic protagonist, Inman (Jude Law of "Alfie"), is one of many Southern soldiers resting in a trench who got the surprise of their lives. Moments before the explosion, a rabbit tears through their trench and not long afterward the charges ignited and blew up the area. The spectacle of the explosion is truly incredible. Afterward, Union troops poured into the crater as they charged Southern lines, but the rebels trapped them in the crater. "Cold Mountain" not only deals with the battlefront, but also it concerns the home front. After Inman and his friends enthusiastically march off to war, some of the most notorious citizens, led by Teague (Ray Winstone of "Beowulf"), establish a Home Guard. The Home Guard has the right to enter anybody's home if they suspect the occupants are housing deserters, and they may even be able to confiscate the property. Teague and his evil henchman, including Boise (Charlie Hunnam of TV's "Sons of Anarchy"), exploit these opportunities for their monetary gain, too.Aside from these two little seen events, Minghella assembled a strong stellar cast. As Ada Monroe, the refined daughter of the widowed Reverend Monroe (Donald Sutherland of "M.A.S.H."), Nicole Kidman is a young lady who has been raised like an aristocrat in Charleston, South Carolina, and has led an insular life. She doesn't know any practical to do, except play the piano. The Reverend Monroe left Charleston for reasons concerning his declining health. When they arrive in Cold Mountain, Ada meets Inman while his friends and he are erecting Reverend Monroe's church. Ada and Inman mingle now and then, but they never indulge themselves in hugs and kisses until the day that Inman must depart for war. After the opening Petersburg battle, Minghella shifts back and forth between Ada and Inman. Ada's father dies and she struggles to survive on a farm that she knows nothing about until her neighbors send her a laborer, Ruby (Renée Zellweger) who gets everything back in order for Ada and teaches her how to survive. Meantime, Inman leaves a hospital and deserts. He spends most of his time on foot avoiding groups of Home Front horsemen. Along the way, he encounters a hypocritical preacher, Reverend Veasey (Philip Seymour Hoffman), who has impregnated an African-American slave woman and plans to murder her. Inman thwarts the minister's plans and compels him to suffer the wrath of his congregation. Miraculously, Veasey escapes and stumbles across Inman later during his flight. "Cold Mountain" qualifies as first-class from fade-in to fade-out, with a top-notch supporting cast, including Natalie Portman, Jena Malone, Brendan Gleeson, Giovanni Ribisi, Katy Baker, and Lucas Black. No expense appears to have been overlooked by Minghella in this impressive $79-million production that was partially lensed on location in the Carpathian Mountains in Romania. If you consider yourself a Civil War fan, you should enjoy this movie.Interestingly enough, as an afterward of sorts to my comment about the Civil War and this film, historian Gary W. Gallagher cites Minghella from an interview about the director's sentiments about the Civil War and its relevance to "Cold Mountain." Minghella words can be found in Gallagher's book "Causes Won, Lost, & Forgotten: How Hollywood and Popular Art Shape What We Know About The Civil War." Says Minghella, "This film is not a history lesson. It doesn't exist to stand in for a study of a real event. Rather, it tries to cast light on some circumstances which surround any war . . . . If I thought I was making a Civil War film, then I wouldn't have taken this project on."