This movie is the most artistically excellent film I've ever seen. The frames in this movie could be stopped and transferred to oil on canvas and mounted in an art museum. The photography was flawless as were the performances. (My one criticism was Ewan's total change of personality when he came home on furlough. You'd think he would be eager to be with his loving wife -- but he went off his head and raped her. Their idyllic life was torn apart.)Also -- who was that twit in the pulpit pushing political coercion and calling young farmers "cowards" if they didn't enlist? So much for separation of church and state.This movie was lovingly photographed. It made me want to move to Scotland.

Sunset Song, directed by Terence Davis, is the meandering story of a young woman coming of age in the early 20th century in Scotland. I want to use this film to make a point about why I think modern cinema, though as fascinating as ever, just isn't quite as good as previous decades for cinema. People blame blockbusters for ruining cinema, even though loads of genuinely good blockbusters are released every year. Why do people go and see blockbusters? Because the alternatives are usually sub-par dramatic films. Boring indie flicks, Oscar bait and mediocre dramas which are made for critics and critics alone. So, while blockbusters could be better, people go to see them because the alternative isn't good enough either. This film is a perfect example. With its use of voice-overs, slow pace, thematic depth and character based narrative, this is not a mainstream film at all. It's something critics will enjoy, but audiences may find it more difficult to relate to thanks to its self indulgence.Sunset Song is visually stunning, with many great shots of the Scottish landscape. The film starts out well with some family related story lines for Chris, the young woman at the centre of the story. This stuff is reasonably moving and has a sense of a soul. Peter Mullan is very good as her brutal father. The middle section of the film completely sags, as it drones on and on with nothing really happening aside from her getting married. Then the final third involves the First World War and its effects on her. When you're actually relieved that World War I happens so that something interesting is finally going on, you know you're in trouble. In this final third, the film finally finds its feet but too little, too late. It's well directed, has some occasionally powerful moments and it's overall well acted, but unfortunately the main actress, Agyness Deyn, is awful and completely unconvincing. Add in an overindulgent runtime, a monotonous script and a general lack of energy, settling instead for conveying its messages with loads of pretentious voice-overs performed terribly by the lead actress who murders the Scottish accent. Not a terrible film, and a moderately interesting watch but it's too superficial to truly satisfy.6/10

I suspect this movie will review better the further away from its location you go. If you live close by you'll despise it, if you live in Scotland you'll hate it. It probably gets better as you go further away. The problem is that it's just not Scottish in any sense at all. This is especially true in the wedding scene which is so dull and depressing it's almost offensive to the people of the area. The whole movie lacks any kind of energy or dynamics. Yes, strictly speaking the accents are all completely wrong because everyone seems to be from the west coast but that's not such a big deal for me. I thought Agyness Deyn's on- screen accent was OK but they obviously recorded the voice-over later because she is truly horrendous at that - think Dick Van Dyke and cockney. She utterly fails with the classic shibboleth "loch". In general Deyn's lack of training and experience undoes her here - she looks like she's acting. That combined with the overwhelming lethargy undermines the performances of the rest of the cast which are well delivered. Peter Mullan as usual shines with authenticity. So go and see it if you are in California and want a gentle breeze of early 20th century rural life in Europe. If you are in Scotland don't go without your headphones and blindfold - a nice two hour sleep in a comfy seat will be better than watching this dreary annihilation of a much loved book.

Who were the "North Highland Regiment"? No "ladies from hell" that I've ever heard of. And why the Latin shoulder numerals "IXI"? That's not even a real or feasible Latin number.Is my sight failing, or did the soldiers' shoulder insignia say "Brecknock"? Wasn't that a battalion of the South Wales Borderers, as in "wrong Celtic country"? Did someone just find a bundle of WW1 shoulder badges on a market stall and decide to use them, without bothering to Google what regiment or even what country they were from?Laura Hollins (let's use your real name, not your gibberish fantasy one) gives birth to a baby several months old. Next thing we know, the boy is a few years old but Laura looks exactly the same age. Other reviewers have already noted other discontinuities with which this film is riddled.The slow, linear narrative is likable enough. Whether Hollins' Doric is credible is for Scots to judge. But botching basic details breaks the spell. I don't feel cheated of my ticket money. Just disappointed that such basic authenticity was botched by lazy and ignorant prop-buying and film-making.