The Light Between Oceans - Liebe zwischen den Meeren

For some, this movie is a romantic epic but for me, the absolute literality in all respects, which also caused its abnormally long runtime, was incredibly stultifying. Of course, I admit that the acting performances are great and the premise isn’t bad at all. On top of that, the locations are amazing, because I really didn’t feel as if I was in Australia. But rather as if the wind blew me to the Northern Hebrides. So I have to admit that the movie really had an atmosphere. On the other hand, Michael Fasbender and Alicia Vikanderʼs relationship seemed very far-fetched. I am not saying that it wasn’t true but I just feel that the movie modified it a lot to get the most out of it. The fact that neither of them was acting rationally was obvious from the beginning. But the way they approached it really surprised me. And after Rachel Weisz got mixed in, it became clear that this movie simply wouldn’t be shorter than 2 hours. And even though I was very curious about the finale I have to say that I have not seen such a long romantic drama in a very long time. Both literally and perceptually. (16.01.2017)

I have a somewhat ambivalent feeling about it. On the one hand, it's admirably slow, when you really feel all those past years (it definitely looks much longer than it really is, but in a good way), on the other hand, it only takes those key moments from the original without the padding around that it acts as an outline of melodramatic bitter clichés full of Sophia's choices to be used in a Mexican soap opera, so you simply won´t stop laughing. Not to mention the ending that looks like from another movie/genre. Why it works so well in the end is how it´s directed, the genius loci of the dreary locations (who else than their master Arkapaw) and, above all, emotionally tense melodrama subdued by performances. (26.12.2016)

Exactly what you expect if you know the work of Derek Cianfrance, the master of relationship dramas: a touching, poignant and hauntingly minimalist period piece. The social and moral dilemmas set 100 years in the past give the film a certain refinement and grace of yesteryear that is hard to do in modern films and usually needs to mature a bit. It is expectedly heartbreaking in places and scripted very well; it gets under the skin. You understand everyone involved, and yet you cannot say unequivocally what is good and what is not. After Minghella, those classically told, old-school stories have almost run their course, and it's great that Cianfrance is picking up the baton and moving on. With his directorial virtuosity and sense of emotion, we have much to look forward to in the future. Cut 10 or 15 minutes of overloaded shots of the sea and rocks and it could have been almost perfect. And I hope Vikander gets another Oscar for this. (19.12.2016)

Alice, Rachel und Michael könnte ich zwei Stunden lang anschauen, auch wenn sie Kartoffeln schälen oder Möhren kleinschneiden würden, trotzdem denke ich, dass Liebe zwischen den Meeren eine halbe Stunde kürzer hätte sein können, ohne dass es jemandem geschadet hätte. Doch das ist wohl der einzige Vorwurf, den ich diesem Film machen kann. Als Liebhaber von Realismus und Naturalismus in der Literatur hatte ich das Gefühl, als sähe ich die filmische Verarbeitung eines berühmten Romans aus dem 19. Jahrhundert. Und was das Wichtigste ist - so ein Film erfordert absolut genaue und überdurchschnittliche schauspielerische Leistungen, also braucht man zwei Oscar-Schauspielerinnen, die darüber hinaus bildschön sind, und ein Chamäleon, das bisher keinen Oscar bekommen hat und sich auf eine breite Skala von Emotionen und Figuren von den zärtlichsten Positivgestalten bis hin zu wahnsinnigen, rauen Negativhelden versteht. Ich stimme der Ansicht zu, dass es sich um einen der besten Filme des Jahres handelt und dass die außerordentlichen schauspielerischen Leistungen aller drei zentralen Darsteller eine feste und unverzichtbare Basis dieses Erfolgs bilden. (25.12.2017)

The premise wasn't bad at all, the acting was decent, but the running time was awfully long. I understand that when you’re a lighthouse keeper, the days do get long, but the film didn't need to be so literal about it. It's possible that I was influenced by the fact that I'd seen another film before this one with a running time of 137 minutes, but I still think a cut would be in order. (27.01.2018)

A film I wasn't expecting much from and was hoping to just be pleasantly surprised by, mainly because it brought together a very pleasant central pairing of Fassbender and Vikander. I wanted to see these two together. It was interesting. They didn't disappoint, and neither did the story, it just turned out that sometimes justice and what we consider it to be are quite peculiar. (06.02.2017)

A slow-paced romance, where you know right from the start that nothing will be as rosy as it first seemed. Fortunately, there are so many fateful twists and turns that it's not easy to predict how the story will unfold. I completely drifted away while watching the loving relationship between Alicia Vikander and Michael Fassbender at the lonely and windswept lighthouse. Then I willingly let myself be moved by the heartbreaking drama full of obstacles they had to overcome on their life journey together. (80%) (27.06.2021)