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The Year of Living Dangerously Customer Reviews (16 - 18 of 27 Reviews)

Beautiful and Exotic Film That is Well Acted and Directed!
This is one of those rare films that is difficult to categorize. It could easily be mistaken for a political thriller but it is not, it could have worked as a romance but Weir went for the big picture. So it is basically a political drama that is very heavy on mood and atmosphere. Peter Weir and Mel Gibson had successfully teamed up two years earlier with 'Gallipoli' and created one of the most powerful war films of all time. They re-teamed with this film creating a lesser film than 'Gallipoli' but still a very worthy effort. The film is very heavy on political issues but it doesn't really matter if you're informed on the subject. Linda Hunt stunned almost everybody when in 1983 she was nominated in the 'best supporting actress' category for the Oscars. This was because he played a man in the film so convincingly that nobody even noticed. But upon repeated viewings one begins to notice the femininity in her character. But still she delivered a mesmerizing performance, the best gender-switching performance since Jack Lemmon in 'Some Like It Hot'. Peter Weir is a very unique and talented director and he is an expert when it comes to expressing mood as we would see two years later with his American debut 'Witness' the critically acclaimed Harrison Ford vehicle that put him in the spotlight. But this film is one of the most intoxicatingly exotic movies ever filmed. Mel Gibson is excellent as an Australian correspondent who is thrown into the turmoil of political upheaval in Indonesia. Sigourney Weaver exudes much needed sex appeal, but her character was underdeveloped and her performance was unfocused. Some of the scenes linger in the mind long after the first viewing. A fascinating exotic drama that succeeds on many levels. From a scale of 1-10 I give this film an 8!

Great Movie, more people should see it
This is perhaps the most serious and socially redeeming film that Mel Gibson has done, it is up there with Braveheart on my list of favorite Gibson films would probably fall in the top 100 of my favorite all time films if I ever made such a list.. Real magic in acting is the performance given by Linda Hunt as she plays the part of a man most convincingly. Her portrayal of an Indonesian insider is very good. I am a big Gibson fan, and like almost all his films, but this movie is more than just a good movie well acted.
Up until just recently this movie was banned in Indonesia and for good reason, well, at least for good reason if you happen to be part of a corrupt government. It shows the darker side of revolution and reveals what most governments in backwards and corrupt parts of the world would like to remain hidden; their policies usually result in a huge class of very poor.
Gibson plays a British reporter freshly arriving in Indonesia, he meets some other reporters doing the usual reporting but he gets on an inside track that takes him into the seat of power and also into the country to meet the other side. It really isn't a story about the setting and times so much as it is a story about the people, friendship, loyalty and the terrible realization that life isn't fair or kind to most of the earths inhabitants but that friendship and love between people are enduring.
Even though the film is somewhat dark, I don't feel like it is a "downer" kind of movie, but it is definitely a "thinking/feeling" movie and not at all like the action/adventure/thriller type of movies that Gibson later becomes famous for. I highly recommend this film.

took my breath away
I saw it on the big screen when it first came out, and i distinctly recall that breathing required a conscious effort for at least a couple of hours afterward. That was another time, and i don't promise all or even any will have a similar reaction, but I sure was moved. A bit claustrophobic at times, but I think that was the point. It features a wonderful Jessye Norman performance of Strauss' Four Last Songs, which is about as exquisite a piece of music as this sordid little species has ever produced.

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