......... ........... ............ ............ ............. from Pasto,Colombia...Via: L.A. CA...and ORLANDO, FLDespite having seen A Thousand Acres in a theater 16 years ago, for some reason, I blocked it out and had little recollection of it. Funny how we humans often block things out. In fact, I'd like to call ACRES a "Human Flick"...(As opposed to...you know what!) Nothing compares to a movie that consistently refuses to follow your expectations. At least for me, from beginning to end, despite having seen it before, I just couldn't get it right! KUDOS to ACRES.Produced by, Based on a novel written by, Screenplay by, Directed by and Starring WOMEN! YES...They do it ALL!...A job exquisitely well-done, I might add! From the onset, it's obvious that patriarch Larry Cook (Jason Robards, Jr., in one of his last really meaty, showcase roles) together with his three daughters; played masterfully by Jessica Lange, Michelle Pfeiffer and Jennifer Jason Leigh (Stunning ensemble performance); form an utterly dysfunctional family. Apparently, the premature death of Larry's wife, the girls' mother, when they were all children, served as the defining event in all their lives, derailing each member and hurtling them into disparate realities; The operative word here being, "Apparently".Robards is inspired as the old-school, ironfisted farmer, who, because of his age, is beginning to show a few cracks, starting to lose his grip. Probably sensing this, the old-man pulls the rug out from everyone when he announces at a family dinner that he has decided to screw the government out of inheritance taxes on his choice Thousand Acres by forming a corporation where each daughter is an equal partner.All his daughters are stunned, but the two eldest go along with the idea. Caroline, the youngest, who happens to be a lawyer, exercising professional caution, says she'd like to think it over a bit. The old man is beside himself, causing him to set off a chain of events. There is a very deftly handled undercurrent that adds a potent dose of tension to the film throughout. Phenomenal ending, however, judging from the IMDb 5.9 Rating, it seems a lot of viewers don't agree!9*....ENJOY/DISFRUTELA! Any comments, questions or observations, in English or Español, are most [email protected]

Jessica Lange and Michelle Pheiffer were the reasons I watched the movie. I was pleasantly surprised to see Carradine, Robards and Hingle were also there, and none of them disappointed me.I was, however, disappointed that this is another one in the endless line of movies coping with incestuous abuse of children. This important and tragic theme became boring, because American movie makers can't imagine any other tragedy and dark secret a family might have. A thing that was a taboo for centuries became a top one subject in last two decades, abused as the children they show. Children abused for sexual, theme abused for commercial reasons. What's the worst, instead of waking us up and telling us, hey, these things happen, open your eyes, help children, help people - they make us yawn, say oh not again, I've seen it yesterday and the day, and week before, and we change the TV channel.In fact, if you don't give up, you'll be awarded by much better elaboration of this subject than average, due to great actors in great roles, and not to the director. I haven't read the book, so I don't know if this hate against male gender represents the attitude of writer or director, but even the radical feminists usually don't go that far. There is not a single male character who doesn't turn to be a rubbish in few minutes after appearing on screen. Women may not be perfect, but men are pure crap. If there was a spider in the movie, it would be a predator in ambush catching a (female) fly if it was a male spider, or a victim of a (male) bird if it was a female spider.Only a person who keeps so much hate in herself can create a character like Ginny. Her hate poisoned everyone's life, spreading sorrow and death. There is no excuse for her: Rose's childhood was no better than Ginny's yet she didn't devote her life to hurting others. You can't expect forgiving for what has been done to her, even Christian's forgiveness has limits. If she wanted to save other children or prosecute her father, no one would make an objection. Also, one would understand if she kept her destiny hidden and that caused her psychological problems, but she shared her secret with Pete (and that also brought misery to both of them). Finally, when her father was so senile that it was too late for revenge, even on her dying day she wanted to burden people who avoided being hurt and molested. Rose, however, understands that would do no good, and that hate destroys person who hates even more than the one who is hated.Michelle Pheiffer made a great performance: we don't approve what's Ginny doing, but we understand her. She simultaneously provokes sorrow and anger in us. Jessica Lange is good as always, and the fact that Rose's motifs often aren't clear enough is not her fault. Why is Carradine in the background and finally thrown away by Rose (and director) stays a mystery for me. Probably because he is male.Like former comments, I wrote some praises and some serious objections. The truth is in the middle: it is an average movie you probably won't regret if you watch it, but also shouldn't be sorry if you miss it.

Sadly a great opportunity to utilise a superb cast to bring King Lear up to date. However, instead, we got a contrived family drama that appeared to dip into Lear when the writer had run out of ideas, the cast worked hard but it just didn't gel. Recently Stephen Harrigan showed how to adapt and update the classics with his screenplay for the magnificent TV movie "King of Texas".

A Jane Smiley novel, loosely based on Shakespeare's KING LEAR about the Cook family and its dark secrets. Director Moorhouse seems tamed in her approach, allowing the characters to step forward and take a bow. And how could you go wrong with the talents of Pfeiffer, Lange, Leigh, Firth, Carradine and Robards?