I should start by noting that I've never read the novel on which Anthony Minghella's "Cold Mountain" is based. Seeing the movie on its own, I can say that it's a good movie. The gist of it is that war damages all sides involved. Inman (Jude Law) and Ada (Nicole Kidman) have vastly dissimilar experiences in the US Civil War but they both get affected by it. Even after the war, the effects will take years or even decades to heal.The most interesting character in the movie is Ruby (Renée Zellweger). From a background unlike Ada's, she always has something to say. But she, like the other characters, won't remain untouched by the events surrounding her.One of the points made with the movie is that not every southerner at the time was a slave-owning racist. Plenty of them rejected the plantation system and simply wanted to live their lives. It was unfortunate that the events of the ten years following the Civil War resulted in the old Confederates rising to power again and establishing the Jim Crow Laws, resulting in almost a century of institutionalized racism.Anyway, it's worth seeing. Zellweger deserved her Oscar for her role.

Cold mountain is a film that addresses big issues like romance, friendship and the harsh effects of war. It shows these things in a very open and raw way. The film's best thing that it has going for it is the excellent performances by the A list cast. Nicole Kidman is an extremely talented actress and she turns in a great performance as Ada. Jude Law also stars as Ada's love interest, even though he rarely shares the screen with Kidman, the majority of the film focuses on them living apart longing to see one another again. And that journey to return to each other is really what makes the romance great here. We also have Renee Zellweger. This is the performance that earned her an academy award. Zellweger is wonderful here, she plays a very blunt, country girl that helps out Ada with the farm. The movie's best acted moments are by Zellweger. She truly makes the viewer feel the raw emotion in her performance. The script is very well written. I love how it isn't melodramatic but it still manages to create emotion. Seeing these characters and the tragic events they go through will make you care deeply for them. But it isn't just that they go through junk, it's how they survive and the connections they have in one another. That's really what Cold Mountain is all about. It's about connections with people and learning how to keep going. 8/10. I recommend this one!

Most Civil War movies have a tendency to overly dramatize the war scenes and ignore the day-to-day struggle of the common people caught in the middle. Not so with Cold Mountain, a movie that explores the individual lives of a preacher's daughter, her farm hand and her lover as their world spins out of control.Renee Zellweger delivers a tremendous performance, while Nicole Kidman and Jude Law are strong in their roles as well. This is a movie about memory and destiny. The conclusion will leave you with conflicting emotions but there's satisfaction from a story well told.I hope that producers learn from COLD MOUNTAIN and start making more era dramas that give you a connection with the characters and their times, as opposed to overly glorifying battlefield scenes. The lone battle scene in COLD MOUNTAIN was the battle of "The Crater" during the Siege of Petersburg, Virginia. It is done with attention to the facts and illustrates the battle in all it's goriness. You felt like you were right there in the thick of the smoke, dirt and blood.The rest of the movie explores how the people of the 1860's coped with the savagery of their existence, how some remained in tune with their humanity and others devolved to murderous animals. Just an excellent movie all the way around. I've seen it twice and will watch it again!

Why are Anthony Minghella's films so plodding? I remember seeing THE English PATIENT at cinemas back in the day and being astonished at how long it felt. Okay, TRULY MADLY DEEPLY was acceptable but still could have been shortened a little. COLD MOUNTAIN is the worst yet, as what should be a Civil War epic turns out to be a lengthy and often routine melodrama with little to recommend it.Perhaps the novel was at fault too, although as I haven't read it I can't comment. The film is told from the point of view of Jude Law, a wounded soldier whose sole purpose is to get back home to the woman he loves (Nicole Kidman). The film chronicles Law's journey throughout, so why then do we get all the needless boring scenes of Kidman pining for him back home? Just when you thought things couldn't get any worse, in comes Renee Zellweger with a supposedly comedic character and proceeds to reduce it to pantomime level.There are elements to enjoy in COLD MOUNTAIN, not least the battle sequences which are well mounted. Law comes into contact with various characters as the story progresses, some of them engaging (Philip Seymour Hoffman), others less so; Ray Winstone seems particularly underdeveloped in a supporting role. But after a couple of hours or so it all gets rather repetitive, and you wish they'd just get on with it instead of dragging things out so much. The ending is particularly anticlimactic.