bio-pic - film studios must love 'em - serious bums on seats
i'm a sucker for them too - a great way to get some education
particularly as in this case about a previously unknown subject
christina noble - an irish lady drawn to helping vietnamese children
the film opens in 1955 with her as a young girl singing in a hall
some kind of competition and a drunken crowd singing along
she's from a large and poor family - her 'da' a violent drunk
her mother falls ill and dies leaving christina as the main carer
they live in squalor and social services soon catches up with them
at a hearing the judge orders the kids are sent to separate institutions
christina ends up in a convent with the expected harsh treatment
she routinely sneaks out and on one occasion is brutally raped
falls pregnant, has the child (thomas) and loses it to adoption
phew - not a happy life - and all the while she talks to god
then fast forward to 1989 and christina arriving in vietnam
not clear why she is there but she is soon befriending streetkids
seems a bit invasive to me but she stays good with the authorities
an attempt at some humour - what's your name - desk receptionist
a very serious chap too - she - i'll make you smile before i leave here
and streetfood - is that dog - no we run out - you want some dog lady?
kind of patronising really and the acting in general is pretty average
my fellow patrons are enjoying it though and talking it up - grrrrr
me - slumping in the seat as the predictability also then cranks up
back in time to ireland and christina meets mario and hits it off
he buys a fish 'n' chip shop for her to run and unveils it as 'marios'
but then his crooked, womanising, abusive ways ends the marriage
crikey - she does it tough - and still she is seen talking to her god
back to vietnam - a fellow ex-pat now a pedophile is hunted down
christina befriends gerry the british head of a large oil company
and before long there's an interval of real documentary footage
carpet bombing, agent orange, napalm all shown - poor people
it's sledgehammer stuff - a reminder of the nightly news then
and it does segue with christina watching it on tv in the shop
with a promise to god to go and help in vietnam when she can
she has 3 children to raise first explaining the large time gap
back in the modern day in vietnam she gets money from gerry
and happy days - we then see christina running a new orphanage
this with coldplay's 'in my place' booming out - more slumping
then the mandatory facts and figures running to wrap it all up
quite impressive stuff really about how much she did achieve
hundreds of projects assisting hundreds of thousands of kids
photos and actual footage showing the real christina noble
the main thing in common with the actor - blonde hair
she appears to be well-loved, very kind and happy
attractive actor deirdre o'kane not doing her justice
to me coming across as a bit aloof and disconnected
thus more aligned to the audience than the vietnamese
a documentary could have been better to dispel that
and provide a real sense of understanding of the lady
though that would appeal to quite a different audience
and with that less bums on seats - not what they want
still - lesson learnt - just not in a very engaging way...
