A Thousand Times Goodnight
A wife and mother must choose between devotion to her family and devotion to her work (exposing the ugliness of world conflict via photojournalism). After she is seriously injured in a suicide bombing in Kabul her husband and two young daughters demand consideration.
Morocco stands in for Afghanistan and Ireland (the family home) plays itself in this Norwegian/Irish co-production.
It’s a straightforward but moving story given much extra depth by the central performance of Juliet Binoche. Can’t she act! Phew!
Director Erik Poppe was a news photographer himself in the eighties, covering wars on four continents, and this provides authenticity to the film’s atmosphere. But his direction also shows the typical photographer’s desire to capture the ‘arresting image’, and sometimes shots are lingered over for too long – but these are minor criticisms.
Like British actress Virginia McKenna, Juliet Binoche seems to become more beautiful the older she gets. (MMu)
3.5/5
Written by Michael Muir
