A strong-willed Dutch woman recalls her life in this uplifting picture that won the 1996 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Antonia (Willeke van Ammelrooy) is an elderly woman who wakes up one morning and realizes that this is the last day of her life. She begins to tell her story in flashback, beginning with her arrival home to the family farm after World War II with her daughter, Danielle (Els Dottermans). For the next fifty years, a variety of colorful characters come and go on the farm. Danielle becomes a painter, and decides she wants a child but no husband, so Antonia arranges the proper donation. Danielle giving birth to Therese (Veerle van Overloop), who laters has her own child, Sarah (Thyrza Ravesteijn), also without virtue of a husband. Antonia and her descendants come to symbolize the freedom of independent females, with little need for men in their lives. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
Review by All Movie Guide
All Movie Guide
liked it.
A lively, robust look at 50 years in the life of a remarkable Dutch woman, Antonia's Line is equal parts laid-back comedy and perceptive social commentary. The film is built on character development, thanks to the strengths of director
Marleen Gorris and her actors, particularly Willeke van Ammelrooy as Antonia. van Ammelrooy is quite convincing as she ages from 30 to 85, and even more convincing is Gorris' complete belief in the values espoused by the film's characters, and her refusal to question the decisions made by Antonia and her descendents. Theirs is an open-minded, independent existence, free of the need for male protectors or male approval. Although many viewers praised the film's feminist slant, others labelled it one-dimensional male-bashing. Antonia's Line does at times come across as a little too self-satisfied, as if Gorris were hesitant to allow her philosophy to suffer the weight of even mild criticism. Even so, the film remains a delightful paean to independent women, and to the power of carving one's own path instead of merely following someone else's. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide