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I'm wary of even mentioning the U.S. Civil War, one of the bloodiest and most wasteful conflicts in human history. That is because Cold Mountain, more like Gone With The Wind and less like films such as the stalwart Gettysburg or the failed Gods And Generals, does not dwell on the battles. Instead, it is a human saga behind the lines, set among people profoundly affected by, but not actually in, the war.
Cold Mountain opens in theatres tomorrow.
There certainly are scenes of battle, including one of the most horrific ever devised for film. We see Confederate troops decimate Union soldiers caught in a huge mudpit that runs brown-red with blood. There are no heroes, and no villains, this sad day. There are only victims.
If Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan accurately shows the nightmare of landing on the beaches of Normandy in World War II, then Cold Mountain accurately shows how tragic and stupid was the war between the states when it was reduced to its essentials on the killing fields.
Still, that is not the point of Cold Mountain. Far from it. Instead, the war is a crucible. Mix terror, blood and death and you produce an unusually resilient man -- the Confederate soldier played so magnificently by Jude Law.
As a result of his near-death experiences there in the mudpit, and because of his yearning for his bucolic lifestyle back in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, Law sets out on an epic quest to return to his home.
Waiting there -- he hopes -- is the woman he loves. They shared only iced tea, longing glances, few words and one passionate kiss on the day he left for war three years earlier, but he knows she is the one true love of his life.
Because Minghella intercuts between Law and the village, the audience already knows that his love -- played with aching simplicity by Nicole Kidman -- really is waiting. She shares his passion, although she fears his death.
The entire film, based on Charles Frazier's 1997 novel -- which was inspired by the true exploits of members of his own family ancestors in the 1860s -- chronicles the parallel adventures of our two heroes.
Law, whose performance is subtle, muscular and beautifully wrought, faces dangers on the road as a deserter. Kidman, never flashy in her acting, must deal with the vagaries of village life, including the predations of the corrupt home guard, men who dare to exploit the vacuum of leadership.
The film, adapted from Frazier's novel by Minghella, has an epic feel as it jumps through time periods to give us pre-war sequences that properly set up the in-war period. As expected, he populates the screen with an exceptional cast that also includes Donald Sutherland, Ray Winstone, Brendan Gleeson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Giovanni Ribisi, Kathy Baker and Natalie Portman (in her most mature role).
Special attention is due Renee Zellweger, who plays a hard-edged farmgirl who shows up at Kidman's house to hire on as the Jill-of-all-trades.
Her splendid, robust performance will garner an Oscar nomination, perhaps the award itself.
For that matter, Cold Mountain should show up all over the Oscar nominations next month. In the meantime, immerse yourself in this unsparing, unsettling, yet gorgeous film.
(This film is rated R)