'A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries' (1998)
A movie review by Walter Frith
wfrith@cgocable.net
Member of the ‘Online Film Critics Society' http://ofcs.org/ofcs/
Merchant-Ivory has a long standing tradition of producing some of the most respected and high quality films dealing with aristocratic lifestyles. Films such as 'The Bostonians', 'A Room With a View', 'Howard's End', The Remains of the Day', and 'Jefferson in Paris' have showcased their talents. Ismail Merchant is the producer and James Ivory is the director. Their latest film is a triumph of family, pride, cultural comparisons and light drama with an emphasis on telling a somewhat true story. Based on the novel by Kaylie Jones, the daughter of author James Jones, the film is a semi autobiographical account of life from the middle of the 1960's and into the early 70's.
Bill Willis (Kris Kristofferson) and his wife Marcella (Barbara Hershey) have a little girl named Channe. This American family lives in France and Kristofferson is a successful writer and the family attends parties and other social events. They have a French maid to look after their children as they adopt a little boy named Benoit.
Benoit's mother was 15 years old when she had him and she couldn't possibly hope to care for the boy and his adoption into the Willis family (he is later named Bill by his American family) is not an easy one at first. The maid and his step sister don't like him and his somewhat shy personality puts him at odds since he came from a life of little love and expects nothing special from his new family. The family indeed embraces him and later on he and his step sister grow fond of each other and discover their mutual need and respect for one another.
Their schooling is upper crust. A full European education in manners, complete with school uniforms and the strict discipline of the educators. Friends are made, identities are established and the kids eventually grow into their teens and into adulthood (Leelee Sobieski and Jesse Bradford). There are romantic relationships for the women. The maid has been sexually repressed for most of her life and the daughter would find her true love back in America. North Carolina to be exact, as the head of the household (Kristofferson) decides to move his kin back there. At first, the kids have trouble adjusting to the American way of life. European born but with American parents is somewhat confusing to them and they need to adjust promptly.
'A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries' has a natural rhythm to it that blends in with its benign but effective story telling. It never takes itself too seriously but there is an incredible amount of depth in the character's lives that puts it head and shoulders above most films of its kind. The entire cast shines. When Kris Kristofferson made 'Lone Star' in 1996, I thought he would receive an Oscar nomination for it. His craft makes him a viable force in this film and Hershey, as his wife, is on target as a strong willed woman who is neither subservient or intimidated.
The real protagonist of the story is Sobieski. As the daughter, the story centres around her. Her maturity into adulthood is impressively told through the lens of a very skillfully used camera. James Ivory captures every aspect of the family's life perfectly. There are no black sheep. This is usually a pretension reserved for less experienced film makers. You want to be a part of this family when it's all said and done! The screenplay by Ivory and two time Oscar winner Ruth Prawer Jhabvala ('A Room With a View' and 'Howard's End') is perfectly churned out with dialogue that says the right thing at exactly the right time. A film that knows the value of the spoken word is usually better than anything else that tries to imitate it. This stuff is authentic!
OUT OF 5 > * * * 1/2
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