This film is an 1988 adaptation of Pope John Paul II's play (written before he was pope) "The Jeweller's Shop". Starring Burt Lancaster, with appearances by Olivia Hussey and Ben Cross, the film follows three married couples in the joys and struggles of marriage. While noble in its aim to capture the complex, profound, and sometimes fragile relationship between husband and wife, the film's over-sentimentality and weak script instead resulted in a tepid portrayal of unlikely characters and less likely circumstances. The tragic effects of war, pain, guilt, and neglect weigh heavily on the film's characters, but the disjointed and underdeveloped plot (not to mention the strange appearance and musings of the shop keeper and some very cheesy lines) don't create the realism that would be necessary for the film to make a real impact with the audience. That being said, the acting was very decent and I have to give credit to the film makers who did very well with a small budget. I wanted to like it more, but I couldn't. Two out of five stars.
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