BRAVO! Thanks to the outstanding performance delivered by the Great IAN REDFORD as the Publican who devoured the screen while sharing the loss of his son at Dunkirk to Sir Anthony Hopkins the movie will stand the test of time. Absolutely Brilliant !

a touching story of love. or about the life meanings. or , just, a story about past. the definitions are not useful in this case. because it is exploration of a world. its roots, its colors, its words and decisions. and hypocrisy. it is a film about innocence. and duty as the wall. and ignoring the essential. it is a form of wake up. about the things who are more than important but who are, for painful long time, only insignificant details. it is the film of Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins.. because each impeccable performance of theirs partners does the great frame for a story about lost of life in ordinary way.

Stevens is butler to Lord Darlington (as was his father before him) managing Lord Darlingtons stately home and large number of servants.He has been trained and brought up to 'serve' unquestioningly as a gentleman's gentleman. To be the perfect butler in service to his 'betters'. Miss Kenton is the new house keeper and tries to get him to at least question aspects of his work. Particularly when Lord Darlington decides to repatriate some young Jewish refugees (who had escaped Nazi Germany) back to Germany. It is Stevens struggle to sacrifice any love for Miss Kenton. To never question his 'betters' judgement on any matter. But to blindly serve his master and sacrifice any life he may have of his own. However, set shortly before World War II the world is changing and a life time 'of service' is becoming a thing of the past. A riveting and beautiful film, superbly acted by Thompson and Hopkins 8/10 Far better that Downton Abbey, and even (dare I say) Upstairs Downstairs (the latter was often let down by wobbly scenery)

A butler (Anthony Hopkins) who sacrificed body and soul to service in the years post World War I realizes too late how misguided his loyalty has been.This is a very interesting film. Maybe not historically accurate, but it raises some great themes. The butler is there, he sees the interaction of English and German, but it is not his place to speak up or speak out. His loyalty outweighs any personal opinion he may have. This is likely a realistic thing that happened throughout Europe, and could even be seen as a parallel to today's whistle-blowers. When does our conscience outweigh our loyalty? The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards, but won none. This is due in part to "Schindler's List", which ended up winning five of those. I guess that's fair. Both are World War II films and both discuss the Jewish situation... but one is the emotional superior.