Cold Mountain movie review

The movie, Cold mountain is a tragic love story about 2 lovers, separated by a war.

The star studded cast brings this movie to similar heights of The Titanic. Not surprisingly, this movie has a number of academy award nominations. It was nominated for the award in these categories: Music (score), Music (song), Cinematography, Film Editing, Best actor and Best supporting actress. Of these, it won the best supporting actress oscar.

Nicole Kidman is Ada. Ada is fragile, beautiful and helpless at first. The beautiful, innocent daughter of a preacher. Well bred, quietly aristocratic, yet humble. As time passes, Ada learns to fend for herself. By the end of the movie, Ada is a strong independent woman, though still as feminine.

As with all the characters she plays, Nicole Kidman becomes Ada. She doesn't seem to be "acting" at all.

Jude Law is Inman. The young man in love with Ada. The soldier turned deserter, in response to Ada's plea to return to her in Cold Mountain. He was nominated for best actor in the 76th Academy Awards for this role.

The entire story is filled with the longing of the 2 lovers for each other. The few precious moments they had before the war was all they had. Their romance had merely started when Inman had to leave to serve in the war. The war that was meant to last a month dragged on for years.

Renee Zellweger plays Ruby. The bossy, yet adorable drifter who came in to Ada's life to help her with her farm. Renee won the best supporting actress for that role, in the 76th Annual Academy Awards.

Renee steals the scenes with her boisterous portrayal of Ruby. If I had not read the credits, I wouldn't have guessed that it was her. She's a real chameleon.

Through this movie, you see how much war destroys lives. The lives of soldiers lost on the battlefield. The ruin of the women and children left behind.

During Inman's long journey back to Cold Mountain, he encounters a woman (Natalie Portman) with a baby, who had lost her man to the war. You feel her sorrow, her loss as she asks him to spend the night with her. Later, as the soldiers separate her from her baby, you feel her anguish as she pleads with them for her baby.

The theme of pain and loss due to this painful civil war stretches through the entire movie. How a beautiful land and happy families are ravaged by war.

The happy carefree life of those who lived in cold mountain contrasted strongly with the ruin of those left behind, driving home the senselessness of war.

Even the bittersweet reunion of the lovers is short and tragic.

There were light hearted moments in the movie too.

Ruby, with her cute bossy ways teaching Ada how to fend for herself.

Ruby's dad, the incorrigible drifter and musician who returned into her life.

Even Ruby, beneath that tough exterior had been hurt earlier in life.. through her dad. She talked a lot about her dad, yet was full of anger towards him. In modern times, she would probably have gone into therapy to deal with her issues with her dad.

Cold Mountain is about relationships. About people. About the ravages of war on those left behind. About how war brings out the best or the worst in people.

There were those who risked their lives to help a deserter live, and those who killed others for a sport.

It is a movie that leaves a deep impression long after the movie has ended.