In the autobiographical coming-of-age tale "Romulus, My Father," Eric Bana, of "Munich" fame, plays an impoverished German émigré struggling to raise his son, Raymond (Kodi Smit-McPhee), in rural 1960's Australia. The major obstacle to the family's stability and happiness is his wife, Christina (Franka Potente), who flagrantly violates her wedding vows by shamelessly shacking up with other men. Despite her highly unconventional behavior, Romulus refuses to grant her a divorce, masochistically torturing himself in the vain hope that she will one day return to him. It is, unfortunately, the good-hearted and good-natured Raimond who must bear witness to all this marital turmoil - and it is his memoir that serves as the basis for the movie (Raimond Gaita would later grow up to be an author).

Even though I admire "Romulus, My Father" for what it is trying to do, I can't honestly say I enjoyed it, for while the film has some fine performances and serious intentions going for it, these simply aren't enough to counteract the dour storyline and funereal pacing, which leave the audience as despairing and depressed as the people on screen. A serious slice-of-life drama is one thing, but this unremittingly downbeat wallow in adultery, insanity and multiple suicides (let alone attempted suicides) is something else again.

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I den självbiografiska tillkommande berättelsen "Romulus, min fader" spelar Eric Bana, av "München" berömmelse, en utarmad tysk emigré som kämpar för att uppfostra sin son, Raymond (Kodi Smit-McPhee), på landsbygden 1960-talets Australien. Det största hindret för familjens stabilitet och lycka är hans hustru, Christina (Franka Potente), som flagrant bryter mot sina bröllopslöften genom att skamlöst boja ihop med andra män. Trots sitt mycket okonventionella beteende vägrar Romulus att bevilja henne skilsmässa, masochistiskt tortera sig själv i det fåfänga hoppet att hon en dag ska återvända till honom. Det är tyvärr den godhjärtade och godmodige Raimond som måste vittna om allt detta äktenskapliga tumult - och det är hans memoarer som ligger till grund för filmen (Raimond Gaita skulle senare växa upp till författare). Även om jag beundrar "Romulus, Min Fader" för vad den försöker göra, kan jag inte ärligt säga att jag tyckte om det, för medan filmen har några fina föreställningar och allvarliga avsikter som går för det, är dessa helt enkelt inte tillräckligt för att motverka dour storyline och funeral pacing, som lämnar publiken lika förtvivlad och deprimerad som människorna på skärmen. Ett allvarligt livsdrama är en sak, men detta oeftergivligt nedslående vältra sig i äktenskapsbrott, sinnessjukdom och flera självmord (för att inte tala om självmordsförsök) är något annat igen. Tyckte den här recensionen positivt eller negativt om filmen? ALTERNATIV: - negativ - positiv
In the autobiographical additional story "Romulus, my father" Eric Bana, of the "Munich" plays fame, an impoverished German emigré struggling to raise his son, Raymond (Kodi Smit-McPhee), in rural Australia of the 1960s. The greatest obstacle to the stability and happiness of the family is his wife, Christina (Franka Potente), who blatantly violates his wedding vows by shamelessly shackling with other men. Despite her very unconventional behavior, Romulus refuses to grant her divorce, masochistically torturing herself in the vain hope that she will one day return to him. Unfortunately, it is the kindhearted and good-natured Raimond who must testify to all this marital tumult - and it is his memoirs that form the basis of the film (Raimond Gaita would later grow up to be an author). Although I admire "Romulus, My Father" for what it is trying to do, I cannot honestly say that I liked it, for while the film has some fine performances and serious intentions going for it, these are simply not enough to counter the dour storyline and funeral pacing, which leaves the audience as devastated and depressed as the people on the screen. A serious drama of life is one thing, but this relentlessly discouraging wallows in adultery, insanity, and several suicides (not to mention suicide attempts) is something else again. Did this review like the film positively or negatively? ALTERNATIVE: - negative - positive
negativ
negative