rooprect I can't understand how so many reviewers feel this movie is about "true love" when it is about the exact opposite: hypocrisy and selfishness masquerading under the self- righteous banner of love.The story begins with a woman who has an affair and dumps her husband 5 days before Christmas (all in the name of love, of course). The man in the affair, a world renowned composer, similarly breaks up his own marriage and family to be with the woman. The two live in wedded bliss with the woman repeatedly making the man promise that he'll never abandon her. But an incurable illness drives a wedge between the two--an illness for which the woman repeatedly and irritatingly blames the man (as "abandonment") while she melodramatically plays the martyred caregiver.There is a scene midway where, at her end of her patience, she cruelly crushes his illusion of comfort by blurting out the harsh reality he needn't know. Then she justifies it by saying they swore to always be honest with each other, in the name of "love". That scene made me want to track down the writer and say "By the way, yes, that dress DOES make you look fat!" *facepalm*Let me say that the illness is one that I have firsthand experience with. The portrayal is quite accurate, and for most of the movie I was impressed with the acting in that regard. But what I found utterly disgusting is the woman's way of handling the illness. Sure, dealing with any sudden illness is tough on loved ones, but this movie came across as simply a pity party for the woman and a justification for her atrocious handling of the situation culminating in an utterly sickening, hypocritical choice even though apparently other reviewers think it's "beautiful". I won't say what it is, but rather I'll let you be the judge if you decide to waste your 2 hours watching this. I'll just say it will undoubtedly offend anyone, like me, who has actually dealt with the hardships of caring for a loved one unconditionally.Though evidently some have interpreted this to be a feel good love story, I found it to be a sickening glorification of selfishness. It reminded me of similarly disturbing Woody Allen flicks which glorify Woody's sexual obsession of old men and young girls which audiences applaud, perhaps not knowing or caring to know about Woody's real life history of sexual abuse toward his daughter, Dylan. I can bet you that the creator of this film has a similar agenda of glorifying his or her own selfish behavior, passing it off as the spoils of love.If you want to see a great movie that illustrates true, unselfish love in the face of a debilitating disease, check out "Away from Her" starring the great Julie Christie.As much as I hate "Song for Martin" I actually recommend that you watch this movie to the end so that some of you can see how NOT to behave in a serious illness situation. This movie took hospice care back 100 years. Two stars out of ten, simply because I reserve 1-star ratings for snuff films like "Cannibal Holocaust" and "Electrocuting an Elephant".

cathylb This is not a "public gratification" movie - don't watch it if you must have a happy ending. Also, it's subtitled (the subtitles were large and easy to read, yet did not detract from the film).It is a powerful and moving story of a woman, a talented violinist, dealing with Alzheimer's disease as she watches it ravage her husband, a renowned composer. It details her journey from having a fully functioning, healthy, loving husband, to the hard reality of taking care of him as he gets worse and worse. There are heart-wrenching scenes as he declines and his disease takes over his brain. As his wife, she is determined to keep him home as long as she can, but as he knows her less and less, it becomes impossible. We watch as the transformation takes place in her: From loving wife, to care-taker, to nurse-mother, and eventually to accepting the inevitable. It's amazing to watch how she adapts to each stage, and it is done incredibly well.I was completely engrossed in this film from the moment I started watching it. I found it beautifully done. It is worth watching.

jotix100 This was a very real and harrowing film. I went with misgivings since I knew what the subject was about, but fell under the spell cast by director Bille August. This story rings true from the beginning. The film is a lovely love story between Barbara and Martin, played superbly by Viveka Seldahl and Sven Wottter.Barbara, obviously is dealt a blow when the Alzheimer is diagnosed but she proceeds to deal with it in her own terms. Little did she know that her marriage to Martin would turn into the nightmare it did. How do you stop loving and doing for that person you thought about spending the rest of your life with?The Alzheimer turns Martin into a vegetable. His mind is gone. From the brilliant composer and director, he becomes another person completely different from the person we met at the beginning of the film. Most critics in New York keep comparing this film with Iris. It is very unfair, because obviously all Alzheimers cases are different and don't have to reflect in this case, what went in Iris Murdoch's mind. I have to give credit to the director, Mr. August, who has not taken the easy approach and documents the progress in a very dignified manner. All the performances are on key. The extended families of these couple are very strong behind the parents, which is something very rare to find these days.

Serva Despite not doing well at the theaters and not-so-enthusiastic critic response, this movie was nominated for best picture at the Swedish equivalent of the Oscars, Guldbaggegalan. Sadly I think this tells more about what a slow year 2001 was for Swedish films than what a great film this is. Because in my humble opinion it certainly is not anything special at all. Where should I start. It is based on a book and unfortunately this REALLY shows through... Several lines sound as if they were taken straight from a book. And they use words you simply never use in spoken language. The story itself is about an old man who obviously is a composer. He falls in love with a woman in his orchestra and they move together but he gets Alzheimers and it gets really bad very fast. Sounds like fun and games to you? Well I can tell you it sure isn't. It gets really predictable very quickly and what's worse it really doesn't end anywhere surprising. Not good or satisfying in any way. The acting is pretty awful actually. Sven Wolter does a good job portraying someone with Alzheimers, but others like Viveca Seldahl delivers her lines without even trying to put some emotion into it. But worst of all for me, having played in an orchestra for several years, was the silliness of trying to cover up that Viveca and Sven really have never been close to such a thing. They stand out awkwardly clear against the people who know how to play an instrument, and it really ruins those scenes for me. No, get your act together Swedish film industry. We need more movies like Fanny och Alexander. My rating: 2/10.