Monday, April 28, 2014

Movie Review: Brides (Nyfes)

Ok… this is a hard movie to write about, because when you watch, it just possesses you! I’m trying to think of the proper words to deliver the movie’s real beauty, because I’m afraid I don’t value it enough! Yes, it is that much amazing!

First of all, the soundtrack (StamatisSpanoudakis) needs a review by itself! Listening to it, it just haunts you; it is nostalgic and melancholic, the two concepts the movie addresses. I still haven’t told you what the story of the movie, but do bear with me, I have so much to say.

The story is about the mail-order brides in 1922 sent from Greece, Turkey and Russia to America, to the men living there. The ordered brides get to know their husbands-to-be from a picture through an agency, and the men learn about the brides-to-be from birth certificates. Niki Douka (Victoria Haralabidou) a “substitute” mail-order bride, who is sent from Greece to a tailor in Chicago, meets the American photographer Norman Harris (Damian Lewis), who is returning home after giving up on his career. During their journey over the sea, Niki, falls in love with Norman and is in despair to choose whether to go with her lover or to save her family’s honor… and what a despair, unbelievable!

This is a very deep movie, it would probably remind you of Titanic, but I may say it is deeper. The nostalgic melancholic soundtrack has gone deep inside my soul, and I was touched by Niki’s simplicity and frankness. I have read once that one can be seduced by conversations. Such was the case.

The agony of making a decision, or let me say, seeing the future and not being able to change it. Again the same question; what is the correct decision? Shall one think only of one’s interests or should sacrifice for the sake of the family’s honor? But really what is the right decision?.. Is it always and forever “Shut your heart, listen to your mind” and to convince oneself that memories are enough to live by? Or is it really better to live with memories?! “You are the being I will miss forever”, writes Norman in the only letter Niki ever gets, this sentence just possessed me!

I was so shocked to learn that there were really mail-order brides in history, but what is one to say; poverty, family honor! I loved so much the set of the movie, the places, and the deck, the sewing machine, the letters and photographs, and lots of what Norman call “minor things”, which shows its value in a way or other, and again the soundtrack, and much more.

If you like deep movies, if you appreciate words and gestures, and Titanic, then this is just for you! Brides (Nyfes) is a drama romance directed by Pantelis Voulgaris.
This is an unforgettable movie!

To learn more about it and see the trailer, click here.

By:
Noura AlNaimi.
Twitter & Instagram: @nouranaimi

Blog Twitter & Instagram: @KemzMovies

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