A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries (1998)

Director:

James Ivory

Writers (WGA):

Kaylie Jones (novel)
James Ivory (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

18 September 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

The city of lights. A famous American author and the decade that changed a generation...forever.

Plot:

This fictionalized story, based on the family life of writer James Jones, is an emotionless slice-of-life story...

Plot Keywords:

Author | Adopted Son | Ambulance | Treehouse | Sexual Reference

Awards:

4 nominations

Cast

Kris Kristofferson	...	Bill Willis
Barbara Hershey	...	Marcella Willis
Leelee Sobieski	...	Charlotte Anne 'Channe' Willis, Age 14
Jane Birkin	...	Mrs. Fortescue
Dominique Blanc	...	Candida
Jesse Bradford	...	Billy Willis, Age 14
Harley Cross	...	Keith Carter
Isaach De Bankolé	...	Mamadou (as Isaac De Bankole)
Macha Méril	...	Madame Beauvier (as Macha Meril)
Nathalie Richard	...	Mademoiselle Fournier
Anthony Roth Costanzo	...	Francis Fortescue
Bob Swaim	...	Bob Smith
Virginie Ledoyen	...	Billy's Mother
Luisa Conlon	...	Young Charlotte Anne 'Channe' Willis, Age 7
Samuel Gruen	...	Benoit / Young Billy Willis, Age 7

Also Known As:

La fille d'un soldat ne pleure jamais (France)
Soldier's Daughter Never Cries (Australia) (TV title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

127 min

Country:

France | UK | USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color (Fujicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Netherlands:AL | Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | UK:15 | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:T | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | USA:R | Germany:6 (f)

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company:

Capitol Films

Goofs:

Continuity: Billy is shaving with shaving cream on his face while talking with Channe, but in the very next shot the shaving cream is gone.

Movie Connections:

References "Dinah's Place" (1970)

Soundtrack:

Rubber Bullets

A really original introspective about complex relationships.

"A soldier's daughter never cries" by James Ivory presents us with an interesting story about fine aspects of human relationships with really impressive acting. The film is divided into three segments - "Billy", "Francis" and "Daddy". Each containing the protagonist Channe's experiences with three men in her life - her adopted brother, her school friend and her father respectively. The film shows how these experiences let her become gradually mature... emotionally, sexually and also in terms of personality.

Acting is exceptional in this film. The first segment shows the time right after the brother, Billy, being adopted when he was 7 years old. Channe was also 7 at that time and the child actress who played her (Luisa Conlon) really deserves our praise. In the next two segments Channe (14 and 17 yrs respectively) was brilliantly portrayed by Leelee Sobeiski who is much responsible for the rather reserved nature of the character. Kris Kristofferson does a solid job as the father. His character is an unique one, as evident not only by the words he spoke, but also by Kristofferson's accent and expressions. Among the other actors Jesse Bradford is worth mentioning as Billy is last two segments. The actor who played Francis in "Francis" brings too much dramatic persona in my opinion. Though arguably that's one of the best things about the character. And there's also a nice extended cameo by Virginie Lledoyen as Billy's biological mother.

Now about the characters and screenplay. Though stated from Channe's point of view, her father is the major influential character in this film. It was always his decisions, his outlook towards life that affected his family. The character of Channe is somehow very interesting. Her experiences with womanhood and men are written in an unique manner. And how she develops into a warm, soft-spoken yet determined personality is clearly something that Ivory spent time on. On the other hand Billy is a rather shy and quite unimpressive character with no apparent personal feature that should be rendered as a quality. Now Channe's school friend Francis has all the unusual features - he's an opera singer, loves to dance puppets, has a really corky sense of humor and his mother is an existentialist. His relationship with Channe is one of the film's major assets. All the characters are quite multi-layered, even Billy. The script is also masterfully written. A nice example is the conversation between Channe's father and her High School boyfriend Keith. I don't understand French that well so can't comment about the French dialogues though.

Actually, it is a film that is bound to be enjoyed if seen in a special mood. I'm lucky that I had that mood when it was showing on TV. Also it is a film that grows wonderfully with time, segment after segment. It's a really good coming-of-age story that should be considered as Ivory's one of the best works.