I saw this on TV after the guide gave it a good review, and I was vastly disappointed. It was as if the film makers had plotted out the characters' lives in excruciating detail, taking care to include all the mundane parts and not place any emphasis on any part that might give an insight into the characters' emotions, then took random bits from this time line, and that's what wound up on the screen. There are many scenes which lasted not much more than a minute, and which seemed completely pointless.It felt much longer than the quite short running time, and I didn't care a bit about any of the characters except the younger daughter, or see any point to what I had been shown. It did remind me a little of "Don't Look Now", which is not a good thing (I definitely wanted those two hours of my life back) although it didn't have the older movie's staggeringly moronic twist ending ... or any kind of twist, really. It plods for 90 minutes then just stops.Avoid.

From the very beginning, to the very end of the film, the viewer is presented with a sense of foreboding and impending doom. The subtle passages of a typical child's life, complicated by the death of loved one, promotes a deep concern for the young characters' safety and well-being. These concerns intensify as the movie progresses. By the end of the movie, the viewer is left deep in thought, and somewhat conflicted.The director brilliantly gives the audience a heart-pounding glimpse of what it feels like everyday to parent tweens and teens. The balance of love, concern and worry is in every clip. The film's ending exemplifies the simplicity of just another day in the cycle of fear and pain that accompanies the love of a child.

Superb acting, especially by Colin Firth and the younger daughter, but really, the entire cast was GREAT.Moving on to SOUND: atrocious. It's the type of sound editing where you've got the remote in your hand and the sound is up to 24 one second and down to 2 the next.Also: I HATE movies where the music and ambient sounds drown out the dialog.Camera work mostly good, but what was that in the church where the younger daughter takes off and Kathryn Keener looks out the door after her and the camera moves in for a split second close up? Abrupt.There are parts of this movie that shine, but the first half hour is atrocious. Amazing this script was produced.

I gave this move a try b/c of Colin Firth who is one of my favourite actors. But what a huge disappointment. I knew this movie would be melancholy and not have a lot of action, but this has got to be one of the most boring movies I have ever watched. Not only is there no plot, I don't think the movie even attempts to have a meaningful message. I didn't care at all about the characters. The movie basically takes you through the day to day life of the family after they move to Genoa. And it basically goes nowhere. The ending looks like they just ran out of time and decided to end it where they did. That it takes place in Italy was another reason I gave it a viewing, but if that is how truly bleak Genoa is, it won't be on any of my future travel plans. In summary, that is 1 and a half hours of my life that I will never get back. Use yours more wisely and skip this meaningless movie....