The Return of the King

That's me by the way. I'm the king and I'm back. I've just returned from a stunning film, a tale that unfolds in front of your eyes and a beautiful and lamenting episode; Cold Mountain. The stars depicted in the marketing posters are not shown in the same way in the film where there is no aura of 'star vehicle' like some of the other films of the moment. On an unrelated note, I have no plans to see S.W.A.T - starring Samuel L. Jackson and Colin Farrell. Meanwhile in Cold Mountain, Ruby Thewes (Zellweger) accompanies Ada (Kidman) in a struggle to keep a home together whilst the her friend waits for sweetheart Inman (Law) to return home from the Civil War. The film is mainly set in the Blue Ridge Mountains of the 1860s though shot in Romania's Carpathian Mountains. "Cold Mountain" recounts the pilgrimage of a wounded Confederate deserter who slogs across North Carolina toward the promise of love waiting in the hills of home. There are poignant moments but little mopping of tears - the dramatisation appears real and elegant - something Kidman seems to be specialising in. Go see it.