Praying for the Soldier

Author: Juan Ascencio
Location: Mexico

"Praying for the Soldier"

Directed by: Anthony Minghella
Screenplay by: Anthony Minghella and Gary Ross
Music by: Patrick Doyle
Cinematography by: Emmanuel Lubezki

Principal Cast:

Claire Petrie-Keira Knightley
Ephraim Scott-Patrick Wilson
Beatrice Rowland-Sienna Miller
Sister Louise-Judi Dench
George Sarsfield-Hayden Christensen

Tagline: "Her love has two owners: the soldier, and God"

Synopsis: Claire is a humble young woman, whose mother took her to live to a little parish in the south of England in order to protect her from the danger of World War I. There she meets Sister Louise, an old severe nun that inculcates her the religious principles in a hard punishing way, and George, a nice young boy in her same conditions that becomes her only friend. When war ends, the parish’s quiet life changes dramatically, because George finds a seriously hurt soldier that everyone is forced to care. The young soldier, Ephraim, doesn’t heal completely, because he can not walk, so he gets tired of living and wants to die. Claire, who is secretly in love with Ephraim, helps him by approaching him to spiritual renovation and getting contacted with his fiancée, a beautiful aristocrat called Beatrice. Ephraim tries to recover his life, but he can not forget Claire despite of the efforts of the devastated Beatrice. Ephraim returns to the parish and declares his love to Claire. Now, Claire must make the most difficult decision of her life : choose between the love of Ephraim or the religious life, which was until that moment her only aspiration.

What the press would say:

Praying for the soldier is one of the best pictures of the year, a real piece of art that succeeds in catching the audience because of its emotional content, truly sincere and full of contrasts in every character. Anthony Minghella makes an amazing job directing and co-writing this film, he gives a real air of the feelings people had during the World War I, specifically in England, he also captures social and cultural aspects with facility. We witness high level performances, beginning with the leading couple; Keira Knightley, who accepts the challenge of interpreting another girl from a past époque, without fearing typecasting, and offering an extraordinary performance, which makes us share the same confusion, fear and hope that her character feels; Patrick Wilson proves his versatility to play any kind of characters with originality, from a cocky gentleman in The phantom of the opera to the object of desire of an adulteress in Little Children, playing Ephraim we realize of his sensitivity to interpret an unhappy soldier. The supporting performances are also brilliant, Sienna Miller is impeccable as Ephraim’s hopeless fiancée, a emotionally though character; Judi Dench is wonderful as usual, there is nothing we can reproach of her performance in this movie; Hayden Christensen accomplish his best performance so far, playing George, the incarnation of friendship and hearth purity. Minghella is back in action, this time exploiting the talent of four young actors and using the experience of the great Judi Dench. We must also mention that the beautiful cinematography, poetic screenplay, delightful music and the rest of the elements make this story one of the biggest love stories in the history of movies.

Awards for consideration:
Best Picture
Best Director: Anthony Minghella
Actress in a leading role: Keira Knightley
Actor in a leading role: Patrick Wilson
Best supporting actress: Sienna Miller and Judi Dench
Best Supporting actor:
Cinematography
Original Score
Art Direction
Costume Design
Editing
And some other techniques