La bottega dell'orefice

Having problems in your relationship? Then perhaps you should view this movie. This is an old fashioned romantic movie that will leave you happy at the end. It basically centers on a jewelery shop in Poland where two couples meet and then follows their lives afterwards. I don't think there is anything spectacular about the movie yet I loved it for some unexplainable reason :) Maybe it has to do with the fact that it is a somewhat touching movie that ends up cheering you. This isn't an Oscar quality movie but is worth checking if you have an opportunity and are in a romantic mood.

It has been quite a culture shock, in only 50 years, so many of our basics - including our feelings about marriage - turned about and pointed in the other direction entirely!

This film endeavors to address it all and it does - in a helpful, sensitive and entertaining fashion.

Not long ago, Marriage was assumed to be the natural and most desirable path for any decent person. Then came the population explosions, and upgrading of human rights/responsibilities in all directions and social experiments running rampant, with human guinea pigs for the project.

Changing approaches to marriage has been one of these experiments. The human experience sources partly in the wonder of the special relationship of TWO - but today, people do exactly as the young couple in the story - they express doubt - they ask "why ?"

And that is the thing: not all that long ago no one would wonder about marriage - it was half the foundation of adult life. To question marriage would be a horrifying prospect. And today it is much more than a questioning - it is often a casting off of marriage - this new reality - and those coming of age are even happy with this sad idea !

The Jeweler's Shop is not perfect. Criticize the film for "missing it" in places but films like this and NEEDED and more of them.

Technically, the story is an allegory or even a parable of sorts, since it has a moral and lesson for us, and many of its mechanics are simplified to empower the moral.

And yet it was written so it could be simply enjoyed for its story without the moral message coming on too heavily. And we were entertained. Nice.

Would I have watched this film if it had not been written by Pope John Paul II in his theater arts days? I don't know.

But, it was lovely! Thank you...Dzien cuje!

Yes, La Bottega dell'orefice is actually a play written by John Paul II, which is what a few people here are constantly emphasizing. And I think that most people that have seen it are linking it's enjoyment with the type of religion that the viewer is coming from.

I really think that it doesn't matter a single bit. If I were someone who from the start dislikes films that are linked to religion in their content I would probably want to avoid this. But I am sure glad I did not. The film really does not have a lot to do with religion. For me the main message of this film was that if we try to truly open our eyes, we will get a chance to fix most of our problems in no time.

I also like the film because it's not pathetic. It tries very hard to be believable and realistic. That is why it pours the viewers mind with hope.

There are still a few imperfections from the way I see it, but mainly on the visual side. As a whole, the film looks more like a TV drama (wich it probably is, I'm not sure). It had good but not great acting, but with great exceptions at a few moments. Overall it's the story and the storytelling that made this film worth seeing for me.

....... - 4/5 .......

"The Jeweller's Shop" is a film with a strange pedigree...it was written by John Paul II. And, as I watched the film, I couldn't help but think that it was good he stuck with poping, as his story wasn't all that interesting nor enjoyable.

Another unusual thing about the film is that one of the stars of the film is Burt Lancaster, who was an avowed atheist and the last actor I would have imagined in a film written by a Pope.

The story is a very dull story about two couples who meet and fall in love in pre-WWII Poland. One couple fortunately move to Canada after marrying, though their marriage is dead. Another have a tough time. He is killed in the war and eventually she immigrates to Canada. The film then follows the exploits of her son in his upcoming marriage.

The story is dull. Very dull. Lancaster, though a fine actor, has very little to do and seems wasted. Overall, it's a story I really had a hard time sticking with. It's a case of some good actors and a rather limp script. As I said, it's good he went in to poping, because as a writer, he just in his forte.

The performances are weak, probably due to lack of strong direction regarding the message of the stories put forth in the play written by Karol Wojtyla (John Paul II). The previous comments were made by someone that clearly didn't "get it" and thus sounds unintelligent and rude. The love put forth for pondering within the story is one of great value, that of the commitment in a marriage. Granted, the movie is weak, even Lancaster, but I encourage everyone to read the original play written by a playwright who obviously felt the love of which he spoke. With the recent passing of the Pontiff, no doubt much of his life before and after becoming Pope will be put to scrutiny even more than when his biography was released in the 1990's. Hopefully those wishing to find out more about him will delve into his theater background, fascinating.