Savannah

This is a movie which leaves you with a multitude of conflicting emotions. The scenery and setting is beautiful and the acting is impressive. The two main characters have a complex relationship, marked by the constraints imposed by the society they lived in. Though their friendship was deep, there were barriers they did not erect nor want, but were there nonetheless. Though the movie focused on Ward's story of love and tragedy, Christmas' story was one of equal tragedy, as he witnessed his father being dragged away and his Mom following her husband, with neither one returning.This was a rather quiet movie, a story being told, a snapshot of history which allows us a glimpse into the past. Every epoch in human history has its triumphs and tragedies, an though we look back and judge or condemn, it is hardly our place. Anyone of us could have been born at another time in history, and we would have lived and believed the same things as the current modes would dictate. Looking at our world today, we surely have not advanced much in interpersonal relationships, as well as on a global scale. Wars, strife, mayhem, violence, hate are just as prevalent today as they were throughout human history, and even more so now, with the rapid development of technology. Mankind has always managed to especially inventive with means to eliminate each other, and we are getting closer and closer to that final day of self destruction.I recommend watching this movie without any preconceived notions or prejudices.

I was lucky enough to first see this great movie at the Charleston Film Festival in March 2013. I was completely entranced with it. The setting was my hometown which is what originally caught me eye. Finding out that the lead was played by Jim Caviezel from Person of Interest on CBS drew me in. Having read that this role was completely different from his other roles, I knew I had to see it. The crowd seemed to enjoy the movie and a standing ovation was given the director who was in attendance. She was present for a Q&A and seems to still hold this movie close to her heart, and it had been filmed 2 years earlier!I attended the Savannah premier in August. It was a packed house. Since I'd seen the movie once, I was able to watch & observe the other patrons to check their reactions. Everyone laughed at all the right places, clapped in the right places and there were certainly many wiping away tears at the end. At the end of the movie the entire audience applauded loudly and for a lengthy period of time. Since most people in attendence were FROM Savannah....that was high praise indeed.I have pre-ordered my copy and can't wait to get it. Jim Caviezel did a very good job with his southern accent. I felt it was a little more like the accents in Charleston than Savannah, which may be because the director was from Charleston. Caviezel is known for his strong dramatic roles and this was quite a departure for him. Ward Allen was a scallywag and Caviezel played that to the max. He was smug when he needed to be, flippant when he had to be and intensely earnest when it was called for. You felt like he was a man you would like to call friend.The relationship between Allen and Christmas Moultrie was well written and well acted. Strong friendships between a white man and a black man in the early 20th century was rare. Between an aristocrat and a freed slave was even more rare. Chiwetel Ejiofor & Jim Caviezel meshed well as close friends who loved and respected each other. The care and compassion that Christmas showed toward Allen in the end brought tears to my eyes.I felt that there WAS chemistry between Jaimie Alexander and Jim Caviezel. They are two very different styled actors, playing very much against type. Their differences were believable. The attraction and love for each other was palatable. They were far apart in temperment but their love kept them together. The love scenes were perfect.....because they were that............LOVE SCENES.......not sex scenes. You could imagine what went on behind the closed door.I have recommended this movie to all my friends and even my customers at work. It is a little movie that could and did.

This is the true story of Ward Allen, a romantic and a highly educated man who rejected his plantation heritage for the freedom of life on a river. During the years after the turn of the last century, he teams up with an ex-slave and friend, Christmas Moultrie, to hunt ducks for a living on the Savannah River marshes. These were days when market hunting was legal and hunters could scratch out a living selling ducks to restaurants. Having duck hunted for most of my life and having come from a family of duck hunters, including a grandfather who was a market hunter, this film - which treats duck hunting much the same way "A River Runs Through It" treats fly fishing - was special to me. Starring one of my favorite actors, Jim Caviezel, as Ward Allen; Chiwetel Ejiofor, as Christmas Moultrie; and Jaimie Alexander, as Allen's wife, Lucy, the performances are all superb. The cinematography along the Savannah River marshes is breathtaking; and the music score, especially the use of old black spirituals, perfectly sets the mood. The film is not without its faults - primarily because it is a bit too ambitious in its scope - but on balance it is highly entertaining...especially if you have a hunting background.

To me this seemed like a documentary. I missed the theme or message was emphasized. What was the movie trying to tell us? I don't think Ward was able to change or learn from his experience? He wasn't able to accept not being to hunt. I find this movie to sad and heartbreaking. This movie could have been shorter. The acting was good. But I missed who the man was who was talking to Christmas. How did they meet? And why he was helping Christmas? Also what happened to Ward's wife? How did Ward die? Perhaps they didn't tell us, because the movie would have been more heartbreaking. The plot was good. But I think the story could have been told differently. The characters were realistic, but I would like more a background about them, about all of them really. Especially Christmas and his family. And why he didn't get married and have a family? This movie seemed like just slice of Ward's life and doesn't go into depth about why he did what he did, and again how he did. I have many questions after looking at this movie. I could see this as being a Documentary series. Perhaps something like Ken Burns would make.

Was für ein schöner und melancholischer Film, der von der großartigen schauspielerischen Leistung der drei Hauptdarsteller getragen wird, aber auch von den faszinierenden Landschaftsaufnahmen. Die Natur ist hier die treibende Kraft, die Zivilisation will sie unterwerfen und in der Mitte ist die Figur des Ward Allen, der nach seinem Tod zur Legende wird. Er ist ein unabhängiger Geist, der trotz seiner guten Bildung und vermögenden Herkunft sich seine Freiheit zu erhalten weiß. Zusammen mit seinem Freund Christmas, einem befreiten Sklaven, versucht er dem Wandel der Zeit zu trotzen, auch den gesellschaftlichen Konventionen zwischen Weißen und Schwarzen. Wenn dies in der ersten Hälfte des Filmes noch sehr gutgelaunt im Gerichtssaal und in der Kneipe wortgewandt ausgefochten wird, so kann der Wandel doch nicht aufgehalten werden, als sich die Natur als trügerischer Verbündeter erweist, der blind und erbarmungslos zuschlägt.So zweifach beraubt, nämlich seiner Familie und seines Berufes, bleibt dem stolzen Geist nur der Freitod. Die Geschichte wird mit einer Rahmenhandlung ca. 40 Jahre später erzählt, die Handlungstränge verweben sich mühelos und alles endet mit einem Ausblick auf die neue Generation.Jim Caviezel, der sonst eher durch seine zurückhaltende schauspielerische Art bekannt ist, kann hier zeigen, dass er auch einen äußerst extrovertierten Charakter überzeugend darstellen kann ohne die leisen, empfindsame Zwischentöne zu verlieren.Dies ist ein Film weitab vom Blockbuster-Kino und leider zu Unrecht zu wenig bekannt.

I read all the reviews and decided to buy the DVD and I am so glad I did as I really enjoyed watching Savannah. I found the story very intriguing and the relationship and true friendship between Ward and Christmas.I thought it was so sad that both Ward and his wife's life's were hurting when she lost their son through childbirth. both suffered in different ways.I do however wish they would have explained Ward's death a little more and not left it to the viewer.I really enjoyed this film and say if this interests you then you too will like it.

film tendre et émouvant qui dépeint une société en déclin juste avant la révolution technologique Américaine. Jim Caviezel a un rôle taillé pour lui ! il y est génial de sensibilité et d'éloquence un superbe film surtout en VOST

Excellent film. Belles images, humour sympa, excellent comédiens, poésie, humain.

Jim Caviezel est un acteur surprenant de talent!Il pourrait tout jouer à la perfection!Son coeur est immense!Il explose ses joies et ses douleurs d'une telle force!