gudpaljoey-78582 An engaging movie with a story that's been addressed before but rarely with the believable performances as this one. I fell in love with the main characters, and even the minor ones, as the story is revealed of the beauty of farm life with it's many hardships. This is your life, everyone. This is a four star picture with a blurry fourth star because of a rush to the finish. I have to guess who is in the casket, which bothers me, but having to guess how the life of the girl and the old man will go on doesn't. The film may be criticized for its realistic portrayal of slaughter of animals, but I say, "get over it," and appreciate the great performances of the main characters.

Rotary68 This is not a review, but a warning. The film is well described in most of the reviews here, so I'll not add my own in that regard. Besides, I never got past the slaughter of the pig. Watching that pig struggle and scream in terror, then hang numbly before being shot was it for me.I am a vegetarian. Make of that what you will. Yes, I know animals are slaughtered on a farm. But this is a film, and I draw the line at slaughtering animals for entertainment of humans. We eat animals, use them to make clothing. Hey, animals eat each other. These are facts of life, but killing them for entertainment, no--not even if the animal was to be eaten. The film should have been issued with a warning to this effect.If you feel as I do, don't say I didn't warn you.

L H A wonderful film. However, I totally agree with the comments surrounding the gratuitous violence done to the farm animals. I kept hoping that there would be a disclaimer "No animals were hurt in the filming of this movie." I felt terrible. Animals died on-screen, so that I could see a movie? I highly recommend cutting those scenes out. As other people have mentioned, the deaths could have been simulated. I bought the DVD and enjoyed all the extras that were provided, Director interview, out-takes, alternate ending, etc, but because of the callous and unnecessary slaughter of the animals, I would not recommend this film to anyone without first warning them of these murderous scenes. How sad that not one of the cast or crew cared about animal rights.

jul_g Despite the fact that this was mostly a lovely film, visually, in the acting, and script, there are some serious flaws. There is a horrible scene in which a pig is butchered by by having its brains blown out with a gun, and we must witness the poor animal's suffering from up close. In addition, there is a dream sequence showing cattle being stunned on their way to slaughter, and in addition to all this, there is a close-up of a butchered rabbit which we have seen five seconds earlier in its cute furry bunny form.This puts a terrible damper on an otherwise sensitive and beautiful film. Why do animals have to die for this?