In the present day, successful winemaker Frank de Rooy dies and three women are requested at his funeral. In 1953, a KLM flight breaks a record traveling from London to Christchurch. Frank meets Ada van Holland, Esther Cahn, and Marjorie Mullin who are three of the brides on their way to New Zealand. Frank lost his family in colonial Indonesia during the war. He falls for country girl Ada but she's already married by proxy to Calvinist Derk Visser. She goes on to live a loveless marriage in a bunker having several children. The only passion is the exchange of letters with Frank until he discovers them. Esther is an independent Jewish woman after losing everyone in the Holocaust. She refuses to live with ghosts from the past and charges forward making a career as a successful fashion designer. Marjorie marries Hans Doorman. After Esther gives birth, Marjorie adopts the baby as her own.It's an old-fashion romantic melodrama. Ada's quiet suffering is devastating and her life is worthy of any pulp romance. This is all very pulpy with Marjorie and Esther. The movie should stop flashing forward to the modern era so much. It should have stopped after Rutger Hauer died. Every time it goes modern, the movie grinds to a halt. The modern era should be tiny bookends. Otherwise, this is a good old fashion melodrama if one is inclined towards such things.

This film is amazing! It is so much more than what it at first seems to be. It's a heartbreaking, intricate film reminiscent of The Notebook. The movie follows the lives and entangling love affairs of three beautiful Dutch women (Marjorie, Ada and Esther) immigrating from post World War II Holland to New Zealand, where their respective fiancés await them. They meet the film's heartthrob, Frank, during their immigration flight. As the plot unfolds, passionate encounters between these four complicate the lives of each character. Yes, this movie an epic love story, but it also captures the historical moment through careful filming and acting to match. Alluring, sensual, quiet and complicated, this film also takes a careful smart eye to watch. By its end, you are left with a smile and a heavy feeling that you've just watched something full of depth and meaning.

Remember the old lady in Atonement? What if she led her life without regrets? What if she laid it all on the line before it was too late, before her sister died, before she grew old? Like the Oscar winning film, Bride Flight is about elders (we get three here) reflecting on their past when they reconvene at a funeral. The central elder, Ada, had a choice to make in her youth to either follow Frank (an Adonis of men, perhaps too good to be true, every woman's fantasy) or follow her husband Derk (essentially a Jerk, but represents stability, religion, and order). Ada chose to go with Derk, but in the third act of the movie she had an opportunity to undo her mistake. Where Atonement was about living with regret and sadness, Bride Flight is about living with regret, and then doing something about it. Ada runs off with Frank and puts it all on the line. This film should not go underneath the radar because it's not only a case study of human potential, but also a true cinematic feat.

Normally I'm not one to watch romance films, but I got the chance to see this one and I am so delighted I watched it. First off the characters were portrayed excellently by the actors. I felt the young and old versions of each character were synchronized with their counterpart. I especially enjoyed Waldemar Torenstra as young Frank, he had a charm that all the female characters (and I feel the female audience) grows an attraction for. The scenery in New Zealand is beautiful and a perfect setting for an intriguing and timeless tale. The plot is full of twist and turns that are subtle yet brilliant, that keep you hooked until the end. Even though it's just over 2 hours, you don't notice. All in all a wonderful film that I can't wait to add to my collection.