nitzpitz I am usually a bit hesitant towards film versions of books I read and loved. Somehow not every story is fit for the silver screen. This movie however really catches the emotions of the book, without becoming annoyingly over sentimental. The acting is very good, the camera work and use of warm colors was beautiful, and the characters for me really came to life.I will not explain the story, go read the book and see the movie for yourself, or read some of the other comments on this site. One thing I missed on this site is the connection to the book. The adaptation of the book is done really well. Only two differences stand out, but these were well chosen and agreed with the movie format.*possible Spoilers*The fist is when Chaja and her best friend go out swimming and her friend finds out that Chaja is Jewish. After this their friendship ends in the book as well as in the movie. The difference is that in the movie both girls are naked, one can see how similar they are biologically, and the idea that it should matter what religion anyone of them is part of becomes totally insignificant. In the book the characters had much more time for development and for the movie the visualization of the human body says more than a thousand words.The other more major change is the end of the story. In the book there is much attention to philosophy and Chaja's difficulty with the choice of her study. She begins a new study, Physics, to start over again with new hope. Her father gives up his search for the past, and learns to live with his loss. The movie ends with Chaja helping her father in his search for the lost luggage. This change of ending was in my opinion necessary. In the movie we see little of Chaja's college life and her key problems concerning her own philosophy on life. In the book there is more space for these developments, and we understand the changes Chaja's goes through better. Keeping the original ending would have been cause for lack of understanding on behalf of the audience that has not read the book. I would recommend this movie to anyone. 9/10

dustpuppy Being Belgian, we always hate it when the Dutch do something better than us. Well, Jeroen Krabbe is both an actor and a director for which we have difficulty finding a match. Left Luggage is a movie about a girl (Chaya, played by the immensely beautiful Laura Fraser) that becomes a nanny in a ultra-orthodox family of Jews. Both her and the family need some adjusting to each other, but in the end they become very close and she is accepted into the family. Both her own parents as the father of the children she's supposed to watch have difficulties letting the past go, and the movie tells this in a subtle way.And of course, disaster strikes in the end, though in an unexpected way.I'm not going to tell you the content of the movie, but it is very emotional, very gripping.Try it. I give it an 8.

arcadyworks I have just seen this film (October 2001) and strongly recommend it to anyone. What this film offers is a sensitive post holocaust view of European (Belgian) society, particularly centred on the emotional and psychological "baggage" of the "survivors" which succeeding younger generations must sort out and come to terms with. The gradual revelations mostly unfold in the mind and experience of a young Jewish girl whose personal integrity and spunk bring to the viewer a warm and sensitive understanding of the human damage which continues to shape much of Europe today. This film is reminiscent of a similar film, based on Edwin Mulisch's "The Assault" (Dutch experience), which is both a fascinating human mystery story and a document of social realism.

kingstrad This movie looks like it was cooked up by some novice at film school who borrowed a script based on a twelve year old's homework entitled "tragedy".Stereotypical in every characterisation and with cliche oozing out of every line of dialogue, the film limps from one cringe to the next. By the end - during the weepiest scene, I could be found on my knees in the aisle, holdind my aching sides and mouthing "please stop" whilst my wife dabbed her eyes with a tissue. I have rarely seen anything more amusing.