Customer Reviews

Voyager [VHS]

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am a great fan of Julie Delpy, which was my main reason for purchasing this video. "Voyager" is a theatrical masterpiece, unlike any other that I have ever seen before. Ms. Delpy gave a stellar performance as Sabeth, in a very emotional and beautiful role.

I absolutely love this video, and I could not be more happier that I decided to purchase it. Yet, by the same token, I must admit I was not quite prepared for the ending... It struck me as sharply, as an unexpected bolt of lightning. Although it was heartbreaking, I must admit that you also are left with the profound feeling that it truly could not have any ended any other way.

A beautiful film, one to cherish for a lifetime. I am sure that, once you have watched "Voyager", one will never view their lives, in quite the same way, ever again. But be certain to have a box of tissues with you... By the time this movie has finished, you will need them.

"Voyager" has the look and feel of a foreign film, yet its dialogue is in English (chiefly because of Sam Shepard's lead role). All the more to make it accessible to viewers of very though-provoking cinema. It starts out as a look at the 1950s man-of-science, played by Shepard. An engineer of dams on a UNESCO project, he quickly steps into a series of coincidences that circle tighter and tighter into his past. Along the way he meets a beautiful, innocent young girl (Julie Delpy) and a love story develops, neatly but deftly, aboard a steamer to France and a car trip through Europe to Greece. The film's themes are coincidence and the final reckoning of life's events, be they random or chosen. The sometimes dizzying effects of what we call "destiny" ring out loudly in "Voyager", perhaps too harshly at times, but with skillful scene cutting and casting, it manages to offer a sobering ending without being maudlin. As with most non-blockbuster films, the score is understated yet touching. Delpy is just right for her role as Sabeth, the fresh girl away on adventures, yet adds a touch of melancholy that some of today's Hollywood actresses lack. I wish she'd have skipped things like "American Werewolf in Paris". And Shepard plays Walter Faber with expert detachment. He's the older man, devoted to all things proven by technology, whose world comes apart as he tries to find love with Sabeth.

I think that this movie is so good that it almost defies meaningful description. Sam Shepherd plays the disemotional professional Faber, seemingly childless and the detached manner of the Charles Aznavor role in "Shoot the Piano Player". Yet, he is forced into an emotional involvment (even prior to the realization that Julie Delpy is his daughter) by his need to protect such a delicate creature from the dangers of life, hitchiking across Europe and from less-pure young men. Every nuance seems thought out carefully, such as his picking the name of Sabet, which is close to Sabbath or the day of rest in several religions. The story, which is retold in other places in the reviews at this site, is simply amazing and reflects on the most personal basis how one person's strong will can affect the lives of so many.

Like Aznavor in "Shoot the Piano Player", Faber cannot remain aloof and the sadness cannot be alieviated by any human actions of which he could have taken to remain uninvolved. Yet, this is not an ultimately sad story, in my view. There is something so strong and uplifting in the short experience of Faber with his daughter, one believes he will go on to become more into life's experiences after the movie ends.

One final note, I don't think the movie really has a 1950's feel, the time that it takes place ; it is much more of a late 60's to 70's movie in how the characters act.

This is a movie that will stay with you [maybe forever?]--I first saw it on Bravo about 1994, recorded it and have shared it with lots of friends. It is possible to figure out the ending about halfway through but you hope that it is NOT what you think. You desperately want the couple to be happy because they both need each other. It proves that without the circumstances of the ending--a girl CAN be happy with a man 25 years older than her! This is common throughout Europe--it is only Americans who have a problem with it.

I've saw this movie few years ago,and yesterday I reviewed it. It impressed me even much more than I first watched it. What a sad but beautiful love can be ?? I do recommand this movie!! It worthes me watching for thounds times!

Ever since Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, Julie Delpy had became probably my top 10 European actresses. I have already seen some of her earlier works including Three Colours: White, An American Werewolf in Paris, and listened to her self-titled Album. Recently, I am tring to watch more of her pre-famous movies, and I ended up seeing her in Voyager, a film she starred opposite veteran American actor Sam Sherpard, and she was probably just 20 years old in it, looking beautiful, fragile, and vulnerable. Like her fellow French actress Juliette Binoche, one of the Divas of Three Colours, also made a disturbing sexual and love film called Damage(Jeremy Iron) more than a decade ago, a film which was far too heavy-duty for me digest at the time, Voyager will no doubt leave a strong mark to her fans whether they like it or not.

The story took place in the '50s, and it's the voyager of an American in Europe played by Sam Sheperd. In the begining, we see his flashbacks of some events and characters that involved him a few decades earlier. He meets a pretty young French girl(Julie Delpy) on a ferry, and they instantly established a strong conection that eventually lead to intimacy. Julie Delpy fell in love with him after a while without revealing enough details of her profile. The days and nights they shared were erotic, introspective, and happy, but the closer they got to each other, the shocking truth was inevitable to reveal itself to the unawared Shepard when he learned about her mother's identity, and the remain of the film's tone will be turned upside down from that moment on....

Delpy's signature ability as seen here and Before Sunset is that she looks vulnerable and she acts that way perfectly, that's why she's so real and captivating. This is a hard and tragic role to play, and to some viewers it might be disgusting, but things like this(unintensional incest) do happen in real life. I don't think she was anymore unlikeable here than White where she played a nasty newly wed. Being a victim of an unawared circumstance is purely innocent. OK, so she has a thing for father-figure and goes for older men, that's her right to chose.

Even though Sam Sheperd anchors this film from start to finish, and he was great especially near the end, it's Delpy who gave a more heartbreaking performance, and she was so young at the time!

One of prettiest histories of love and faith, that I have ever seen in my entire life. Strangely impressive it is indispensable to any person who thinks about love. A gorgeous film with a gorgeous girl.

A movie about karma, written by a Buddhist but having nothing overtly to do with Buddhism. The actors all play their roles well and the intensity of their emotions simply leaves one breathless. Having watched this movie about 10 times, I learn something new about myself every single time I watch it. This is one of the most traggic love stories ever written. It might leave you in tears but there is something about it that is undenyable true and real. The girl's character is uplifting and her realism is inspiring.

The book by Max Frisch (Homo Faber), latin for "Man the Maker", is the way to go here. Frisch was an existentialist, not a Buddhist, as someone earlier asserted. It is the story of modern man who believes in instrumental reason and has trouble with romantic or subjective feelings. Great book that can't really be made into an effective movie.

I saw this film a few years ago and have ever since been trying to find it again. It is touching in the most strangest way and the moment i finshed watching it i started again. It is wonderfully moving and deffinately worth a watch.