Brightlyme
i know i wasted 90 mins of my life.
Rio Hayward
All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
Marva-nova
Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.
Raymond Sierra
The film may be flawed, but its message is not.
nyilmaz1973
This is definitely one of the brilliant underrated,overlooked films.It tells the true story of a courageous, intelligent young woman who lost all her beloved ones during the first world war and later on became one the war pacifists. I have not read the book, but I did some reading on Vera Brittain, I should say that the screenplay has touched on all the key parts of her story at the time.The best way to tell if a film is succesful is the beginning and the end, and this film has has excelled beauty and strength in both. It should have definitely at least won an Oscar for best screenplay/leading actress, and funny but it has received no awards for screenplay or directing. It is even pointless to applaud Alicia Vikander's acting ,it was that excellent, she could have easily received a best leading actress Cscar with this one.I don't want to think that it was totally missed for telling a woman's story and hope that was not the case. I can watch very few films more than once,and this is one of the few films I can do so burst into tears each time It is that powerful.Don't miss this film.
krocheav
Have noticed others have said they were a little upset with a couple of added sequences that were not from the book. Having not read the book this offered no distraction. While it maybe agreeable when a movie adaption follows a book - they remain distinctly different mediums - two different styles of writing, so it's not always fair to compere them. The book in this case is Vera Brittain's autobiography. This strong story has remained in print since it's first publishing in the early 1930's - quite something for a female writer of this era.Since the release of that fine Turkish film "Gallipoli" in 2005, 'Testament Of Youth' has to be one of the best examinations of the unforgivably tragic wastage of WWI - This was war created at the whims of those who regarded themselves as the upper echelons - so called leaders who did not deserve the very breath in their bodies. This BBC Films 2014/15 production is stunning to look at and listen too, from Jon Henson's detailed production design to just about every last cast member it's a powerful thought provoker. Swedish born Alicia Vikander may not always seem the right choice for the lead but works very hard in a demanding role, Kit Harington convinces as Roland, Alexandra Roach as Winifred, Dominic West as Dad and Emily Watson as Mum, fine performances all.... It's a strong feature directorial debut for James Kent - embellished with mostly lavish visual support provided by D.O.P. Rob Hardy (and thank heavens hand held camera-work is kept to a minimum). The screenplay by Juliette Towhidi is kept in check by the real life daughter of Vera Brittain, Shirley Williams. It's possibly because of this careful control the whole production maintains a high level of integrity that's rarely seen in modern movies. Lavish scenes involving steam trains are lovingly set up using trains from the Keighley and Worth / North Yorkshire Moors Railways. The music score by Max Richter (The Lunchbox '13 & Re-composing Vivaldi '14) adds handsomely and has been blessed with full-scale orchestrations by Dave Foster. What's unique about this film's treatment is its solid focus on being told from a female perspective. A young woman who experienced first hand the loss of family, lover, and friends - who then went on to write and speak out about the dehumanizing impact on all those who served and died or were left to suffer throughout their lives. And for what 'essential' purpose?. This film brings home the horror - not with endless shots of hideous trench warfare but by taking us into the inadequate treatment 'hospitals', where so many young lives agonizingly wasted away. All very tragic, but needs to be told and re-told...
gosiafe
Vera Brittain made me think about time, immortality, about unspeakable suffering which brings war to all who participate in it. The beauty of nature, the joy of life, aspirations, plans - everything is so fragile, so elusive. It is so easy to destroy, to shatter all the dreams, it is so easy to bring nothingness, emptiness, nonentity.Vera helped me to notice the word "Memory" in my life. Do I want to be remembered? How I want to be remembered? How I will remember those I love, respect, admire?I've bought her autobiography after watching this movie.Thank you Alicia for the great performance!
SnoopyStyle
Vera Brittain (Alicia Vikander) wants to go to Oxford but her parents (Dominic West, Emily Watson) wants her to look for a husband. Her brother Edward (Taron Egerton), and friends Victor Richardson (Colin Morgan) and Roland Leighton (Kit Harington) all adore her. Vera falls for Roland and gets accepted to Somerville College, Oxford. As WWI approaches, her guys all volunteer. She convinces her father to let Edward enlist. She defers college and volunteers to be a nurse.It has a slow period-piece start. It's got a nice hazy moody feel. Vikander is great but the guys need more exposition. They don't have enough space to show their characters. It's a slow burn and it's all concentrated on Vikander. She wins me over slowly. She has great sadness. It has very poignant moments especially in the later parts.