Promised

source: Promised

Many cultures and religions continue to arrange their children's marriages, regardless of the offspring's age: Italians, Greeks, Jews, yada yada. You're kidding yourself if you think these women are weak or always submissive. This movie is a realistic view into those traditions. It is a sweet love story about negotiating the social complexities and expectations of family and self, whether or not the marriage is arranged. I rated it an 8 because the dramatic characterizations and emotional dynamics seemed narrow in range-too underdeveloped and somewhat bland in the promised couple. Considering the situation and period of this piece, the characters were understated and the cinematography lacked richness of place. Maybe that's Melbourne? Certainly not like the NYC Italians in my family, but I still enjoyed the actors and a glimpse into this story world. It's as old as time.

The beginning was somewhat confusing - I THINK it started with two Italian families and their "promised" marriage tradition involving one's son and the other's daughter, but was played out in the country of Australia. That said? I thought the lead actors "father" actors were very good and kept to their "Italian" heritage. A little disappointed in the mothers/wives however, not quite as well played as the fathers. The son was a fine actor though showing the patience and tolerance of a "saint" and perhaps? Not as much backbone as I would have assumed he had. Angela, the daughter, performed gracefully BUT with a greater "voice" and that made the prospective union far more interesting - that she had a voice yet went along with Daddy's wishes - even over the threats/abuse/investigation made regarding her former boyfriend. The plot moved along nicely and I guess the best you could say about this archaic tradition of other cultures (including Italian) was that it played out against all odds. Charming. Entertaining. Interesting leads.

The movie was somewhat enjoyable, but frustrating because the ending was predictable. I knew how it was going end, with the couple falling into each other's arms. Watchable but that's about it.

I'm about a third of the way in, and I have to agree with some of the other comments. 1. The dialogue has quite a bit of Italian, which is not translated in captions, and totally ignored in closed captions. So far, it's not a deal-breaker, but I wonder what I'm missing. 2. While I think it's more of a description of slice of society that existed in the 70s, and probably has echoes today, I can see the point of those disappointed in the lack of internal strength in the main couple by not standing up to their fathers. It is more a tale of picking your battles, that life is not fair, and that sometimes parents and children have differing understandings of love and parental guidance. 3. As a period piece, the writer/director gives us a wonderfully detailed view into their concept of this societal expectation. I look forward to finding time to finish it. Thanks.

This was a wonderful film The only reason why I had to give it an 8 out of 10 is because the characters accents were so deep and thick that I had to struggle to understand what they were saying and they were talking so fast and so low at times so I had to rewind several several times and rewatch parts but other than that it's a beautifully written and beautifully executed movie directed fantastically.

I thought given the low ratings that this was a boring movie. But on a rainy day when I had nothing to do I started this one on Tubi and this movie completely charmed me! Very lovable characters and what a sweet story! Don't go by the bitter feminist's review here, go take a look, this movie will supervise you too in a living way! Promise!!

I would have prefered if the couple were more the focus of the film...but I liked the low key tone and the two leads are refreshing... not every culture will understand the concept of ( promised ) but I come from a culture that has arranged marriages ...my fav thing was the first time female lead...what a lovely lady..she looks like a young tina arena.....I will wait to see her in more projects

This movie plot has a striking resemblance with a poem I wrote back in 2018 called 'her' which I published in Wattpad. I saw it the other day and I could not stop wondering if it was adapted from that poem without my knowledge. Generally I enjoyed the film.

Thank you for making this amazingly pleasant movie. I felt so happy while watching it. The background music brought life to every scene. The background art and set pieces were just so heartwarmingly soothing. The actors were just perfect. The actress looked so beautiful. The guy playing Robert brought the innocence & turmoil within the character to his face (especially during the silent moments). I loved how it was directed. Quite unique! It totally made me dive into the story. Above everything, I loved the brilliant message.