VHS : A Walk On The Moon [1999]

Rating: - an intelligent,moving and memorable film
Diane Lane feels as though she's walking on the moon after riding in Viggo Mortensen's bus and falling for his charms.But then she finds she's treading on her family and has to decide what she cares about most.There are some very moving scenes in this film and all the best ones involve Anna Paquin (acting as Lane's daughter)who has lost none of her skill as an actress since winning an oscar for her role in The Piano in 1993.I love the cinematography in A Walk On The Moon and the whole film looks and feels as though it was set in the 1960s.But all the life-decisions that have to be made and the problems that the main characters have to deal with are relevant to people today.Liev Schreiber (who plays Diane Lane's husband)puts in the best performance in the movie as his world falls apart around him.

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Rating: - Like Walking on the Cloud with Millions of Sighs
Life does sometimes do cruel thing.
As a housewife with kids of 15 and 6, similar situation to Pearl (Lane)�fs, and with my favourite actor Viggo Mortensen�fs hippy man, I was, and still am, intoxicated by this film about different kind of loves that have shaken my heart tenderly.
It reminded me of my another favourite actor/director, Clint Eastwood�fs romantic film Bridges of Madison County as a devoted wife of good man in a calm marriage, if not a little bit short of thrills, but happy with two children in its own way, meets a man; her potential Prince Charming. What do you do? You are already in the quick stream of passion with inconceivably pleasant but devilish bliss that you know would make you fall down to psychological hell after the festival ended.�@
A Walk on the Moon is set in �gthe�h 1969, the year two major events on Earth happened. The first step of the mankind on the Moon and the Woodstock. Maybe that is why things went wrong with Pearl and her husband, Marty, and also her newly-became-a-woman daughter, Alison. Unlike in Bridges of Madison County, Marty and, oh my god, fourteen year old Alison found out Pearl�fs passionate love affair with the �gBlouse Man�h. The painfully beautiful �glove in freedom�h causes severe devastation first to Marty, and then to Pearl herself, and everybody.
Which would you choose between two different kind of loves; one that melts your heart with a sweet sigh but with acceptance of lasting guilt, the other one that is less passionate or romantic, but after the hard rain, would turn more secure like mountain?
In any case, I know the �gBlouse Man�h (with Viggo�fs face) never comes into my life.
That is most cruel thing happening to my life now. Well, can�ft be helped. Let�fs just watch this film again and again with millions of sweet sighs.

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Rating: - A rites of passage story - for a mother and a daughter
Set in the summer of '69, coinciding with Neil Armstrong's first steps on the moon, this delicate and moving film centres around Pearl (Diane Lane), who heads off on the regular family holiday with her two children, leaving behind her loving husband Marty (Liev Schreiber), who cannot escape his work commitments and must follow later. Content, but emotionally trapped and suffocated by an early marriage as well as the middle-class restraints of the era, she is seduced by a wandering salesman (Viggo Mortensen) and the physical and emotional freedom his lifestyle offers. Through him she manages, fleetingly, to live a life dreamt of but never lived. But real life is not a dream, and infinitely more complex.

The story is simple, and one that has been told many times, exploring a stultifying and ordinary life which is rendered extraordinary by the entrance of a mysterious and charismatic stranger. What makes this film special is the attention paid to characterisation. All the performances are superb, imbued with a wistful melancholy and a sharp humour culled from a sympathetic script and sensitive direction. Anna Paquin is uncomfortably believable as Lane's troubled and troublesome daughter Alison struggling her way through adolescence. The one slightly hackneyed aspect is Marty's mother, who accompanies them on holiday. Although Tovah Feldshuh is a powerful actress, the character as written is a borderline stereotype of the all-knowing, all-seeing, hard-working Jewish mother. What is most impressive, however, is the way the film succeeds in eliciting sympathy for all its characters. Pearl's emotional confusion rings real and true. Mortensen's contribution is like the cherry on top of the icing on the cake. Handsome, cool and mysterious, he is the perfect fantasy made flesh. Yet by the end of the film, sincere in his affection for Pearl, he becomes more than a mere symptom or symbol. But it is Liev Schreiber's performance that is the real tour-de-force here; as the cuckolded husband determined to support and protect those he loves, he is portrayed so sympathetically and so tenderly that his presence not only underscores the entire film, but somehow manages to make Pearl's plight even more heartfelt.

This film certainly deserved more of an outing than a trip into local video stores, and I for one wish it were also available on Region 2 DVD. It's a film to re-watch and enjoy during quiet and pensive moments.

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Rating: - It had me hooked
I was sceptical about viewing this film as my only reason for purchasing it was the presence of Viggo Mortensen. What can I say.....I was blown away!
Diane Lane was fantastic as the bored and (unintentionally) neglected housewife. Married very young to her first love she feels old before her time and is curious about just what is 'out there'.
Anna Paquin was heartbreaking familiar as Diane Lane's teenage daughter on the cusp of womanhood and mortified when she realises that her mother wasn't just 'Mom'.
Viggo's character, Walker, sells womens wear from a converted bus. He is charming, kind and, obviously, devastatingly handsome. He's not a shallow heartbreaker, you feel that he really falls for her and wants to be with her. All in all it's a great movie, the characters all have their flaws but they are well rounded and very likeable.
PS The waterfall scenes are a real treat.

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Rating: - An Excellent Review for an Excellent Film!
This film is a wonderful eye-opener and a must-see. I recommend anyone to buy it. I was lucky enough to stumble across it whilst watching TV and since then I have bought it and watched it repeatedly. It stars Viggo Mortensen, who now has one of the leading roles in the lord of the rings trilogy, and Diane Lane, who has been in many films such as The Perfect Storm. The title is given as it is set during Neil Armstrong's walk on the moon. Lane plays Pearl Kantrowitz, a housewife in the late 60's who falls for the local 'blouse man' (Mortensen). Whilst Pearl's husband has to leave her for a while due to business her and the blouse man elope in a steamy affair. As in all films her husband returns and finds out yet he is willing to take her back as they have two children and a responsibility. Now Pearl must choose.