"Cold Mountain" is a beautiful film. When watching it you have to admit that something is different about it that makes it a notch above the average fray...this may be for a lot of reasons actually! The story itself feels like a novel because narration is used to place the audience inside the heads of the characters. The timelines at first combine both past and present creating a narrative structure that challenges us to pay attention and put together context clues. The individual characters are not only well performed (by an incredible group of A-listers) but they all feel FULLY fleshed out. These characters all have their own distinct personalities, habits, morality, desires, prejudices and the writing works to make them all feel like they had a life before the story began. This may not seem like a rare thing but it truly is in most films today.
The cinematography is stunning with use of both warm colors (campfire/fog of war) against cool blue (mountain skies/snow). This visual juxtaposition is very effective because it creates tension within the visual layers of the film...fire against ice and war against love. "Cold Mountain" is like a novel but it is told in a visually striking way with individualistic characters and a challenging narrative structure that keeps us active until its thrilling climax.
BUDGET: 83 MILLION
