★Jude (1996) DVD★

Director : Michael Winterbottom                                  

actors : Christopher Eccleston, Kate Winslet, Liam Cunningham

Subtitles : English, Korean

【Storyline or Review】

# 5 wins & 6 nominations.

A stonemason steadfastly pursues a cousin he loves. However their love is troubled as he is married to a woman who tricked him into marriage and she is married to a man she does not love. Living out of wedlock, the two are rejected by the townspeople leaving them to struggle in abject poverty.

# Jude (1996) User Review

Jude Fawley(Christopher Eccleston) lives in a small agricultural town. He is a stonemason who aspires to a higher education level and to go to the university. He marries his childhood sweetheart, but it soon appears that it was wrong from the beginning. She had tricked him into the marriage thinking she was pregnant. They split, he goes to a nearby city and she goes elsewhere. In the new city, he meets his cousin Sue(Kate Winslet), with whom he becomes enthralled with. They both know the relationship is impossible, so they arrange a marriage to a professor(Liam Cunningham) at the university Jude hopes to go to. Within 6 months, the marriage is over and Sue asks for a divorce so she can be with Jude. Her husband says, no. Sue leaves him anyway and she and Jude begin to live together. Their life is the life of abject poverty. At one point they have to auction off their possessions to pay the bills. When people find out they aren't married and have 3 children, he loses his job and they must move on. In the end due to a terrible tragedy, Jude and Sue are separated permanently, though they are still in love and still married to each other's hearts.

This is a brutal, realistic film. Thomas Hardy wrote it in the 19th century, but the topic is relevant today. I think just about everyone knows someone or a family that is homeless, had to go bankrupt, had cars repossessed, had to hawk their possession, had to take on 2 or more jobs. I think I've made my point. Having children would have made all of the above worse.

All the actors were brilliant, but I must pick two out especially. Christopher Eccleston plays Jude simply as though he knew him. That, in his mind, Jude may have lived down the street from him. The second is also called Jude played by Ross Colvin Turnball. He played Jude's son of the woman he married. She had gotten pregnant after they were married. Jude never knew he had a son with her. This young actor has tremendous presence. Turnball also played his character simply. He could have been the boy he pretended to be.

BEWARE: Because it is very realistic, it has an "R" rating with nudity, sexual situations and an adult subject matter. I wouldn't recommend this film for anyone below the age of 17. 

[Jude (1996) DVD Spec]

Language: English

Menu: English

Subtitles: English / Korean

Aspect Ratio: 16:9 Letter Box

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1

Region: All Regions 

Length: 124mins