Spikeopath Directed by Jon Amiel, Sommersby is adapted from the historical account of 16th Century French peasant Martin Guerre. It was previously filmed as The Return of Martin Guerre in 1982. It stars Richard Gere, Jodie Foster and Bill Pullman. Music is by Danny Elfman and cinematography by Philippe Rousselot. In simple terms the film is about a man (Jack Sommersby) who went off to war and was presumed dead by his wife (Laurel) and the village folk of the village where he lived. Some 9 years later he returns a changed man, back in the marital bed and a hero to the village. But then questions start to crop up and it becomes a possibility that this man may not after all be who he claims to be. Sounds bizarre for sure, yet it's a true story, and a fascinating one at that.For this American version we get top line production values across the board, with the film propelled with grace and skill by Gere and Foster in the lead roles of Jack and Laurel Sommersby. Director Amiel rightly uses the slow burn approach, a consideration to the art of story telling. This draws the viewer firmly into the post Civil War period and lets us get to know the principal players and their surroundings.The core narrative thrust is a moving romance, one consistently under pressure of a mystery to be proved or disproved. But there's also economic issues to hand, very much so, and the vile stench of racism still hangs in the air. There's a lot going on in Sommersby and it never sags because of it. Also refreshing that in spite of some critical grumblings in some quarters, the ending is potent and not very Hollywood at all. It's not flawless and although it's based on a true story, some suspension of disbelief is needed as regards physical appearance of Jack and his means and motives. Yet this is a lovely film, simple in story telling structure, beautifully photographed and performed, it very much feels and plays like a classic era period piece. 8/10

MartinHafer This is an okay film romance set in the South just after the Civil War. A husband returns from the war but he doesn't seem "right"--he looks a tiny bit different and acts too nice to be the same man. Eventually, this all comes to a head in a confrontation that might lead to the man's incarceration or execution. The sad thing is, his wife prefers this new man and would rather have him than the man who left for the war.Technically, this is a pretty good film but certainly not a great film. The problem I have with it, though, is that this is a remake of the French film THE RETURN OF MARTIN GUERRE--a TRUE account of a story like SOMMERSBY that occurred several hundred years ago. This Gérard Depardieu film is better acted and written, but also less "glossy". I recommend that if the story sounds interesting, why not just see the original since it is the better film.

mensley-1 Regarding the use of a Black Judge..During "Radical Reconstruction: the USA put Black's in power to point out the South lost..This backfired and led to the Jim Crow laws and to the racial strife lasting longer..A gentler and milder form of reconstruction would have work better.. I believe the film was able to obtain its goal of suspended belief...The part which I found most difficult was his giving up his life..he must have felt it is better to die for something good than to live with something bad..Of course, if applied to the war itself this fits assuming the South winning the Civil War would fit something bad as an outcome. Thus, the movie conveyed the times even to the clothing which in the case of Foster was done quite well. My only minor concern was the War was only 4 years long which does not fit with Jack being gone 6 years and dying in 1867..

vitaleralphlouis Almost every time Hollywood cribs from foreign classics to make a bad imitation with an American setting it's like making French gourmet cuisine with a Mickey Dee mentality. Not as much of a disaster as Paul Newman in THE OUTRAGE, it's just simply that the remake lacks the gusto that made the original special. The same rule applies to current remakes of Hollywood classics. THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN is highly respected only because almost nobody back then had the chance to see Kurasawa's original SEVEN SAMURAI; high on the list of 250 all time great films. Anticipate disaster with this year's release of the KING KONG "remake."