"Emotional Arithmetic" based on a novel by Matt Cohen (a Jew?), begins with an astounding remark "If you ask me if I believe in God, I am forced to answer does God believe in us?" The film is not about atheism. It reflects on the terrible scars left by war on orphans, on individuals who stand up and protest when wrong is done, on relationships forged in times of stress, pain and loss.The charm of Paolo Barzman's film rests considerably in the hands of the capable actors—-Susan Sarandon, Max von Sydow, Chistopher Plummer and Gabriel Bryne—-all who have a maturity to carry off their parts in the film with grace. Ms Sarandon has matured into a formidable actress in recent films and this one showcases her talent.Screened at the 12th International Film Festival of Kerala, India, the film forced this viewer to compare the contents of "Emotional Arithmetic" with those of a Swiss documentary "A Song for Argyris" also shown at the festival. Both films underlined the difficulties in forgetting tragic events in our lives and moving on. Both films indirectly discuss the bonding of survivors of tragic events. As I watched the film I could not help but note the growing interest filmmakers in family bonds—in "Emotional Arithmetic" it is merely a subplot balancing a "virtual" family that suffered during the Nazi rule with that of a real family comprising three generations living in idyllic conditions in Canada.This film would offer considerable material to reflect on for the viewer, beyond the actual events shown on the screen.

This is a little gem of a film with superior acting and breathtaking visuals. It does not appeal to a wide audience and never got wide distribution. I'm not even sure it was ever shown commercially in the United States. It is the type of film that causes fans of good acting and production to be grateful for DVD's.The story and the characters may be a bit exaggerated, but that can be forgiven because the viewer is offered insight into some extremely interesting personalities.In 1942, Melanie Lansing was the pubescent daughter of American Jews living in France. It is not fully explained in the film, but Melanie has been separated from her parents and sent to Drancy. Drancy (Link) was a transit camp not far from Paris where those unwelcome in the Nazi world were prepared from shipment to concentration camps. At Drancy, Melanie meets Christopher Lewis who is an Irish lad about her same age. Christopher introduces Melanie to Jakob Bronski who is a young Jewish scholar in his twenties. Jakob is able to bribe the officials so that Melanie and Christopher are not sent to concentration camps in Germany. Just as Jakob is being packed off to a concentration camp, he gives Melanie a book with the obligation to record all who pass through Drancy. These events exist as Melanie's memories in the film that takes place in 1985.Melanie Lansing Winters lives on a small farm in an idyllic setting in Eastern Canada with her husband David who is a semi-retired college professor. Also at the farm for a momentous event in Melanie's life are her son and grandson. It seems that Melanie has spent her life in support of oppressed groups of people and she has tracked down Jakob who was first sent to a German concentration camp and then to a Russian camp. In both he suffered unspeakable tortures both physical and psychological. Melanie has invited Jakob to her home offering him a place to stay for the rest of his life. It is clear from the beginning that her husband is not as enthusiastic about this plan as Melanie for reasons that will be exposed as the story continues.Jakob arrives at the airport with a somewhat unsettling surprise for Melanie. He has brought Christopher with whom Melanie had lost contact. Christopher has nurtured his love for Melanie for over forty years and hopes that she returns his feelings.The action in this tale takes place during one weekend and at a welcoming dinner for Jakob that Melanie has arranged. During that time we gain insight into Melanie, her husband, David, their son Benjamin, Christopher, and Jakob. The story revolving around this forty-three year old encounter is a bit weak, but the characters are solid as concrete as their emotions can be applied to anyone, anywhere, at any time.A powerhouse of actors bring these characters to life.Christopher Plummer is husband, David who appears first as an unfeeling lunk but emerges as a complex man whose life has been shaped by his love for an obsessive woman.Roy Dupuis is solid as a son who has had to endure a life dominated by two opposite poles of overwhelming parents.Dakota Goyo is beautiful as the grandson who is able to touch the innocence still contained in all of the wounded adults around him.Gabriel Byrne is perfect as Christopher, a successful man still gripped by a love that began almost a half century ago.Max von Sydow gives a hypnotic performance of a man who has suffered unimaginable tortures and has survived to live the last of his life in a peace created by his own mind.The unstable and fanatical Melanie is played by Susan Sarandon. Has she ever given a bad performance? In this film, she gives us a woman who is basically unlikable, but her considerable acting talent forces us to care and emphasize with the emotionally damaged Melanie.From the description, you may think that this is a tragic tale about a group of lost souls, but the DVD title is a spoiler to the conclusion of the film. This is a beautiful story of lost souls found, and it is solid, solid entertainment.

With the all of the big names in this film I was expecting a real experience. I could not have been more wrong. I wanted to take the DVD out after 10 minutes but my 18 year old son said we should give it a chance. We watched through to the end because none of us could summon enough energy to stand up and walk to the TV. Not only was the pace too slow for words but the acting (except for Max von Sydow) was excruciatingly bad. The flashbacks did not do enough to show the supposed life long ties between the characters. It was like watching six characters with no relationship to each other wandering around the set gnashing their teeth and wringing their hands. The symbolism was so in-your- face that it might as well have had flashing captions saying "pay attention to this-it is symbolic!" A most disappointing movie. At least the scenery was nice to watch.

What an amazing cast this film has, an amazing cast, an amazing story, a beautiful setting and wonderful performances by every one of the actors (even the young boy). I am shocked that these actors in this good of a film and I hadn't heard a word about it until a good month before it came out on DVD, then imagine my surprise when it is a measly 5.6 on IMDb, what a joke that is. I can't say enough about his cast everyone plays their roles perfectly, the writing is fantastic, even going places and touching on subjects that other movies have been afraid to tackle. I'm not going to go into any details hoping that anyone that sees this film goes in cold turkey like I did knowing nothing about it, I think that made it even better for me. The location where this film was shot is beautiful, the film uses a recurring color scheme through out that really makes the audience not just see it but feel it as well. The same can be said for the style and camera work in the flashback scenes, scenes that are not over used and that could easily be the emotion of the film but wisely in my opinion the director doesn't go that route and leaves the emotion in the here and now. Summed up this film was easily my biggest surprise film of this year, which is my favorite kind of film, one that I expect nothing and am rewarded with some thing truly great. Because this film is from Canada I do believe and may be some kind of mad for TV movie or so I've heard, I'm not sure of it's Oscar eligibility but if it is for some reason not eligible or is snubbed by either it's release date or just plain stupidity it would be a shame.