https://www.chelmsford-filmclub.co.uk/2013/10/25/your-feedback-on-beyond-the-hills/ An independent film society based in Chelmsford, Essex. Mon, 28 Oct 2013 13:46:07 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://www.chelmsford-filmclub.co.uk/2013/10/25/your-feedback-on-beyond-the-hills/#comment-1047 Mon, 28 Oct 2013 13:46:07 +0000 https://www.chelmsford-filmclub.co.uk/?p=1190#comment-1047 Yes, I agree totally with Bob’s comments. I liked the film very much and thought it was completely ‘humanistic’, seeing the characters as doing the best they could with what they’d got. Hence the length of the film was justified, letting us observe the little details of people’s lives. Even the dismissive doctors at the end seemed ‘real’ when making their personal comments on the phone. Like many really good films, the imagery will stay me with me for a long time, I feel.

]]> https://www.chelmsford-filmclub.co.uk/2013/10/25/your-feedback-on-beyond-the-hills/#comment-1046 Fri, 25 Oct 2013 14:55:30 +0000 https://www.chelmsford-filmclub.co.uk/?p=1190#comment-1046 I found this film admirable for the way it didn’t seek to judge the main protagonists (normally in these films, the Priest is portrayed as a sadistic zealot, or the victim possessed by actual demons). The Priest, recognising that the Monastery wasn’t the best place for Alina, constantly tried to find alternative help for her, but everyone else (the Hospital, her Foster Parents) sent her away. Accepting that she needed help, the Monastery responded in the only way they knew – trying to exorcise her demons, with tragic consequences.

]]>