Antonias Line (1995)

"The experience of the film lulls us into a strange and wonderful mood...  Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
"This small Dutch film is a heady, life-affirming mixture of drama, comedy, romance, tragedy, philosophy, and art.  James Berardinelli's ReelViews

Editor's Note Following World War II, a woman returns to the Dutch countryside to raise her young daughter, ultimately founding a sort of open-use commune wherein the residents defy convention and live life as they please. A gentle comic drama. Academy Awards: Best Foreign Language Film.

	Els Dottermans
	Jan Decleir
	Marina De Graaf
	Willeke van Ammerlrooy
	Willy Stassen - Cinematographer
	Marleen Gorris - Director
	Ilona Sekacz - Oiginal Music
	Gerard Cornelisse - Producer
	Hans de Weers - Producer
	Hans de Wolf - Producer
	Marleen Gorris - Writer

This Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film embarks on a fanciful, magical exploration of the life of a strong-minded, nonconforming Dutch woman and her descendants.| As the story begins, the elderly Antonia is convinced that she is going to die that very day. With the end approaching, she reflects for the last time on her long, fruitful life. | The film then flashes back to the end of World War II, when the 40-year-old Antonia returned to the small farming community where she grew up. With her teenage daughter Danielle in tow, and without a husband, Antonia intends to start a new life. Before long, she has become a successful farmer and an integral part of the village, although she challenges the strict customs so loved by many residents. In the process, she touches the lives of everyone around her.

"What the eye doesn't see, the heart doesn't grieve about." ---- Antonia (WILLEKE VAN AMMELROOY)

Sight and Sound
"...Bold...Robust, feminist fare....Strong storytelling..." 09/01/1996 p.34

Entertainment Weekly
"Wonderfully earthy, funny, and sexy....[Van Ammelrooy] deserves to be a movie star." -- Rating: A- 03/29/1996 p.46

Variety
"...A feel-good fairy tale....It is a warm-hearted and empowering experience..." 06/26/1995

Film Comment
"...ANTONIA'S LINE cherishes the possibility of continuity and civilization, a rare and hopeful sign at the end of our chaotic century..." 11/01/1995 p.65-70

New York Times
"...A work of magical feminism. With the tone of a fable and the lulling bucolic look of a pastoral fantasy..." 02/02/1996 p.C18

Chicago Sun-Times
"...The experience of the film lulls us into a strange and wonderful mood..." 02/14/1996 p.45

The New York Times 8 of 10
...the film...has a solid faith in nature and destiny, as well as in the fundamental goodness of its women. It expresses faith with serene confidence in the cycles of birth, death and replenishment that play out during the story. - Janet Maslin