The Handmaid's Tale

This film deserves a comparison with the much more famous later film Children of Men. That excellent sci-fi had a weaker literary source, but Cuarón managed to extract the most from the material and created a colorful fresco from the post-apocalyptic world, which had a tremendous atmosphere, style, and tension. The Handmaid's Tale is an adaptation of a novel by the excellent Canadian author Margaret Atwood, and this novel belongs among her best works. If Volker Schlöndorff had succeeded in conveying the idea and placing it in a thrilling adventure story, it would have been a great hit. However, he approached it too academically, and spiced it up too little, so a dull spectacle was created. The budget may be responsible for many things, but the director's fault is undeniable. Natasha Richardson is not bad, but I could imagine a more charismatic actress in the lead role. On the other hand, Faye Dunaway and Elizabeth McGovern are very good in the supporting roles. Schlöndorff made a European film that could not do that well on the American market and so it kind of fizzled out. Overall impression: 70%. (18/06/2006)