wmstrome
This was a very interesting story, and I would have rated it very much higher had it not contained so much completely gratuitous profanity which really detracted from the movie. I find it especially grating on the nerves when people use the "F" word so much, when it only detracts from the dialogue and spoils the whole mood of the film. The beginning of the movie really grabs your attention. From there, the story is really interesting, and also quite unique. The quality of the acting is good for the most part. I would love to watch a version of this movie edited to be suitable as family entertainment, or rated G. It would be so much more enjoyable. There were also some sensual scenes which did not add anything at all to the story.
George Parker
"Julie Walking Home" is about a woman coping with a rocky relationship with the father of her children, her son who has cancer and may or may not be healed by a faith healer, and her feelings for a man who believes he has mystical healing powers. Though the film's storyline is nothing new, the sheer reality of the drama, the wonderful performances Holland wrests from some relatively unknown actors, and Otto's tour-de-force makes this film eminently worthy. Not unlike "Behind the Red Door" (2002), "Hysterical Blindness" (2002), or "Unfaithful" (2002) this film is a "sleeper" which will be of greatest interest to the discerning drama enthusiast into film's about women in turmoil. (B+)
Hot Potato
The stuff matinees are made of. It's not the artsy fartsy stuff it seems to sound like. Luckily, I saw it in the afternoon.There may be something to say for faith healing, but this doesn't say it.
mrchaos33
Director Agnieszka Holland is an intelligent art house filmmaker who makes interesting, layered movies like Europa, Europa, for people who like to exercise their minds at the cinema. With her newest film, the Canadian / German / Polish co-production Julie Walking Home, she may have outsmarted herself. There are simply too many ideas and dangling story lines thrown into the mix. Julie, nicely played by Miranda Otto, comes to a cross roads in her life when she discovers her husband with another woman. Then her cute son is diagnosed with cancer which can't be treated because he is allergic to the chemotherapy drugs. Pretty depressing stuff, but it gets worse. As her personal troubles mount she does what any caring mother would do to save her child - she runs to Poland and finds a faith healer. The charismatic Alexei (played by Canadian Lothaire Bluteau in a riff on his Jesus of Montreal role) lays his hands on the boy and in the process also wins Julie's heart and follows her back to Canada. IN the third act story threads are left to sway aimlessly in the wind, while the tone of the film grows bleaker and bleaker. Holland frequently examines issues of faith in her work, and had she stuck to just the faith healer's plot line this could have been a great film. Bluteau is terrific and could have easily carried the emotional weight of the story. As it is we are left with unanswered questions about where this film stands on almost every topic it tackles from faith to medicine to ethics.
AD
