Nel bel mezzo di un gelido inverno

I selected this movie from the video shelf because the title seemed consonant with my mood. My girlfriend had just dumped me, my best friend had just broken off with me, and it was raining. The realisation that it was black and white throughout seemed to be perfect. Yet the story, of a struggling actor's frantic attempts to mount a benefit showing of Hamlet to save a church, along with Branagh's comedic editing, begins as a farce, sails along with Coward-like snippets of conversation (along with the use of Coward's song "The Show Must Go On") and develops facilely and elegantly into a moving portrait of the camaraderie of an acting company without one noticing. I didn't realise I wasn't unhappy and in love with all these people until the movie was over and I was beaming quite sunnily (who needs friends and girlfriends anyway when you've got movies?). Julie Sawalha's reading of the line "Let's face it, we're all depressed" may very well have saved my life.

Cliches be damned, this is a wonderful movie, all about transformations, change, and deciding what is really important. Everyone in this movie becomes a real person, moving away from the stereotypes presented in the beginning, and the comic timing is impeccable. (Don't buy the hype that Jennifer Saunders is a star of this movie, though; she's in it for maybe five minutes. Spend your time watching Richard Sessions' magnificently funny performance instead.) Branagh's Hamlet is dull, dull, dull; Branagh's movie -about- making Hamlet is another shade of wonderful entirely.

This was a film that I wanted to see from the very second that I heard about it. Unfortunately (for one reason and another) I missed it at the cinema and was forced to trawl the depths of video stores to find it. It is a beautifully shot, subtly hilarious piece of cinematic history. Anyone who has ever worked in theatres or have met "theatre types" will empathise with the characters immediately...and anyone who has never experienced the backstage "goings on" of theatres should watch this film to experience the endearing qualities of theatre in its extreme.

Quite simply this film is wonderful and has made me a huge fan of Kenneth Branagh's writing and direction.

My only complaint about this film is that it is impossible to find!! Why can't we buy it on DVD yet??!

This was really good. The coming together of a number of people who create a 'family' is so positive in an, at present, negative world. They support each other and offer positive strokes So much film and tv portrays our planet's inhabitants as violent and unpleasant. Children must have a strange idea of the environment in which they are to grow. This did have witty dialogue and no special effects because it had things to say and slightly exaggerated characters who were different from each other. Although it is British it is about eternal values of persistence, commitment which is not financially motivated and thinking about others beside self and therefore applicable to humanity generally. It certainly wouldn't do any harm in our modern world. It did no damage to the image of theatre and film either. No guns or knives, no car chases, no police or ambulances, how quaint, how rare but harder to write.

My wife and I saw this film a week after we completed a production of A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS.( I directed and she was Meg). We had experienced the disasters of Actors who couldn't remember lines,Tech problems, an Vain Egotist causing problems etc. What A joy it was to enter the theatre as see this Branagh gem. the script,acting and Direction were all flawless. ( for those who said the characters were cliche' youve obviously never delt with actors!) the high marks were scored by Richard Briers as the older no-nonsense character actor, John Sessions as the "queen" gertrude , and the Highly underated Michael Maloney in the lead. Maloney has long been a favorite supporting actor of mine and its good to see him as the protaganist for a change. I cannot speak high enough of this film...and to answer Noel Coward's question "why must the show go on?" because if it didn't we would be robbed of this films suberbly directed ending! BRAVO BRANAGH, BRAVO!!