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An ode to unconformity, the all-time human right to be different. The heroine Sonia is a member of an apparently highly traditional Jewish society. Traditional values and ethics are an every-day practice, the 'law' everyone lives by and to which everyone abides without questioning. Hence a break from the norm is considered high treason. However Sonia finds it difficult to conform. Although a fierce battle rages inside her, she has to live with her identity and consider the people she loves before trying to free herself from rules and commitments.

Media say that the film is as good as Sleepless in Seattle (1993), comparing the two films easily since the pair is the same (Hanks and Ryan) and they are both written and directed by Nora Ephron (amongst others also written and directed Michael (1996), This Is My Life (1992) and written My Blue Heaven (1990), When Harry Met Sally (1989), Silkwood (1983)). I am not going to discuss here either Ephron's abilities as a writer or director, or Hanks' and Ryan's acting talents, all well proven. Still, the film is terribly cheesy, unbearably predictable, shockingly boring, JUST LIKE SLEEPLESS !!! So, the comparison stands, YES, the two films are comparable (in boredom) and hugely inferior to When Harry Met Sally (1989) of the same genre, romantic comedy allow me to say, but with much more comedy and romance and an equally clever plot. I guess Tom Hanks will never forgive the superb Billy Crystal in When Harry Met Sally. And a lot of us will still bet it was Hanks in When Harry Met Sally, BUT HE WASN'T!

To conclude, if you like the genre see again When Harry Met Sally instead of wasting time and money for You've Got Mail. It will soon be out on video anyway. Because I like Ephron, Hanks and Ryan anyway, 4 out of 10.

Doesn't it feel good to be treated by European cinema with delicacies like this? What an absolute pleasure such films fill your soul with, it feels so nice not to have been cheated by producers who promise heavenly films and deliver nonsense.

Benigni is not new in cinema and filming, having directed and written before (e.g. Il Piccolo diavolo (1988) aka The Little Devil (1988)), but it is mainly his comedy he is known of, his characters being utterly silly (on purpose ?) but always satirical and extreme, outspoken and laughable, as well as lovable. Just recall the taxi-driver in Rome in Jim Jarmusch's Night on Earth (1991) or The Little Devil (1988) himself.

Yet Benigni never managed to overcome the superficial comedy, the lighthearted one, which was keeping him in the general entertainer level, a kind of clown for the masses. In this rhapsody to life though he steps far ahead, he becomes the advocate of happiness, simplicity, love. He radiates his Italian/Mediterranean spirit of loudly spoken, open-hearted, joyful mood, even in his miserable times he has his own unique way to deliver an open smile.

Benigni chose to work on a tough subject, the holocaust, but his intention is not to present his version of the subject, produce another Schindler's List. The holocaust is only his vehicle to express his anti-racist, anti-fascist ideas and bind them up in an all-loving manifesto on enjoying life no matter how it comes. His story starts when his character Guido tries the urbanised way of living in a late 1930's Italian town affected by the rise in popularity of the fascist ideas. Guido remains unaffected by the dark signs and worries not, always finding a way to make things seem funny, satirising every aspect of a strict and collapsing state and public life. He falls in love with the school teacher Dora (Nicoletta Braschi, Benigni's real life wife, who has worked with him in almost all his other films), whose heart he wins through a series of hilarious incidents. The camera meets them again after a few years, married and with a son. They get sent to a concentration camp, but Guido will find again a way to make things seem glad to his little boy's eyes.

It's pointless for me to go through the nominations and awards the film has earned (and is going to earn !!!), look at the imdb's website for this. Still, it is the audience which gives the credits to the film, and it was a nice feeling for me to see so content faces when the lights turned on in the theatre I saw the film. Some might accuse Benigni of dealing with a sorrowing matter in a light way. But if you ask me, unlike Spielberg and other directors who narrated stories about the holocaust, Benigni succeeded exorcising it without putting even a single brutality on celluloid, merely telling his audience that life is what you experience and every single one of us has a different perception of reality. If you go to the cinema once a year, this is certainly the film to see this year! Simply UNMISSABLE! It deserves a 9 out of 10.

Here's another fine British film, and I have to say it again, the film industry of this island is working fine! And this is exactly the sort of films European cinema in general does better than Hollywood, light comedies about ordinary people, realistic stories about realistic characters without the pretentious tears of the American melodramas. The story spreads over to years focusing on the love affairs of 3 women, Hannah (Catherine McCormack, the beautiful wife of Gibson in Braveheart (1995)), Mary (Kathy Burke, superb in Oldman's Nil by Mouth (1997), also in Elizabeth (1998)) and Sophie (the also beautiful Jennifer Ehle, seen in Wilde (1997)), and 3 men, Danny (Douglas Henshall), Cameron (Dougray Scott) and "I don't remember", who exchange lovers between them and are all linked in this strange way. The story seems to be triggered by the wedding in the starting sequence, but to me it is only the vehicle of introducing the characters. The setting is the Camden Town area of London and the time is today, so we get a glimpse of reality in the English capital. I have to reveal that the humouristic tour de force is the lager shower of Cameron in the pub. For all the sincere and unpretentious cinema a loving 6 out of 10.

Whenever Channel Four Films associate themselves with a film, it seems like it is a guarantee of high quality. This time they are merely the distributors, but still... the formula works!

This film is quite a controversial one, especially since it refers to a true story and the real life survivors do not agree between them on the interpretation of things. It refers to the relationship of the Du Pré sisters as they grew up together only to follow different routes as adults. Jacqueline Du Pré (Emily Watson - The Boxer (1997), Breaking the Waves (1996)) became the famous cellist, while her sister Hilary Du Pré (Rachel Griffiths - Bettina in My Son the Fanatic (1998), My Best Friend's Wedding (1997), Jude (1996), Muriel's Wedding (1994)) became a mother and a housewife. Although the film became known for what was supposedly catalytic to their relationship, the event of Jackie sleeping with Hilary's husband, it seems in the actual film that this fact was totally irrelevant. It seems like it is the different nature of the two sisters, as well as their different experiences, that separate and/or connect them.

The unknown director Anand Tucker manages to extract magnificent performances from his cast with no exceptions, notably from James Frain (Daniel Barenboim, Jackie's husband), David Morrissey (Kiffer Finzi, Hilary's husband), Charles Dance and Celia Imrie (Derek and Iris Du Pré, the parents). The very interesting story line, told independently from either sister's side, is of course "decorated" by wonderful classical music, another subject of controversy between the owners of Jackie's recordings and the publishers of the film's soundtrack. For the exceptional sweetness delivered to eyes and ears, 7 out of 10.

At last, an unconventional love story. a Hollywood drama with no false characters, a sincere look in the feelings two lonely people develop about each other. The cast is so uniquely selected. Holly Hunter is the nurse whose husband, a medical doctor dumps her for a younger woman. Danny DeVito is the simple janitor in her block of flats who opens himself up to her and makes her feel nice. The catalyst in their relationship is the music of Queen Latifah, an exhilarating Manhattan jazz singer.

This is the directorial debut of Richard LaGravenese, but apart from this scenario he has written also The Horse Whisperer (1998), Beloved (1998), The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996), The Bridges of Madison County (1995) and The Fisher King (1991), all magnificent stories which carry his trademark of touching his audience's inner chords. This film absolutely deserves 6 out of 10.

What a disgrace! I am a fan of Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting (1997), To Die for (1995), Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1993), My Own Private Idaho (1991), Drugstore Cowboy (1989) amongst others), but I certainly don't consider him equal to the Master himself, and this film is a sacrilege to the original of Alfred Hitchcock in 1960 with A. Perkins. No matter how hard Vince Vaughn tries (and he is admittedly very good), he cannot match Perkins's performance. Rumours say that Van Sant shot the whole film scene by scene, trying to copy the original work of the Master. I couldn't really tell watching the 1998 version, but it seems like that. Anne Heche is as bad as ever. A mere 4/10.

A very good cast (Jon Favreau, Leland Orser, Cameron Diaz, Christian Slater, Rob Brownstein, Jeremy Piven, Daniel Stern, Jeanne Tripplehorn) delivers very good performances. I didn't expect it to be so good, seeing the cinema trailers and reading about the plot. I thought it would be just another brutal tarantino'esque stupidity, still I was surprised by its sincere cynicism and irony, it's unique black humor and it's realistic approach of a really 'difficult' situation. Full credits to Peter Berg who wrote directed the story so courageously! A definite 7/10!

What can one say about 2 very good actors of very different backgrounds meeting on a set of a 'theatrical play' and competing each other delivering the very essence of theatre and, why not, cinema ??? I was mesmerised throughout the film by the performances of both Brad Pitt and A. Hopkins, so much that I noticed how long the film is (more than 3 hours) only after it finished by looking at my watch! Martin Brest (Scent of a Woman (1992), Midnight Run (1988), Beverly Hills Cop (1984) amongst others) is not new to the 'theatrical play' genre, after Scent of a Woman (1992).Look out for Claire Forlani, she's magnificent! A celebrated 8/10!