Noble (2015)

Truly Dreadful Film

good back-story, and good acting

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Christina Noble is rebellious and loves to sing in the pubs. She had a tough upbringing in Ireland. Her mother died when she was young. Her father (Liam Cunningham) was a drunk. She was raised by abusive nuns. She leaves the orphanage and finds a friend in Joan (Ruth Negga). She gets raped and the nuns trick her out of the ensuing child. She marries an abusive husband and escapes with her children. She then has a vision of the ongoing Vietnam war. In 1989, she visits Ho Chi Minh City to fulfill her God given mission for the street kids. She battles pedophile, bureaucracy, and prejudice with the help of Madame Linh and businessman Gerry Shaw.It's all very sincere and I dare not rate it any lower for the kids... For the Kids! Her life growing up in Ireland is rather interesting. There are intriguing actors. This is obviously a passion project for everybody. Despite some lesser elements, the movie holds together. The Vietnam story could use a bit more drama. It would have been helpful to have more professional help in the writing and directing.

This is based on the real life of Christina Noble. She is an Irishwoman who hails from Dublin. The film chronicles her life in flashback form. But we start in Vietnam in 1989; the terrible wars are over but never forgotten I fear. The scars are everywhere including in the many street children, some of whom have been orphaned and others have trauma that has left them fending for themselves in a country that is trying to rebuild itself with scant resources.Enter Christina and she immediately knows that she has to help, not so easy in a country that has had enough interference from foreigners. We also see what happened to her when she was growing up in Ireland and the abuse and suffering she had to endure. Some of her experiences would be enough to make the strongest give up, buy she seems made of very rare stuff indeed.To say this is inspirational is an understatement and I stumbled on this as it stars Deidre O'Kane who played the mother in the great 'Moone Boy' series. She is simply superb in this as indeed are the entire cast. Special mention to Liam Cunningham who plays her alcoholic father and puts in a brutal but convincing performance. I had few expectations of this but once it got started I was blown away. This is one you will want to recommend to your friends.

This film is definitely worth seeing for a life story that is so incredible it seems like fiction.I had heard about Christina Noble at school, but I can see now that my teachers left out some of the horrors of her early life. She was clearly a very religious person and that comes across strongly in the film. However, the film also shows the darker sides of religious orders.All three actresses are absolutely superb.Emotionally, I think this is a hard film to watch not only because of the hardships the lead faces, but also the children in Vietnam. Having said that, I think it is also an important film for a lot of people. It is going to speak to people who grew up disadvantaged and people who experienced all kinds of traumas and hardships. It has a lot to say about how a victim can become powerful.Deirdre O'Kane has great presence as the older Christina.I definitely recommend this film. It touches on some shameful parts of Irish and world history, but it also has a lot to say about courage, perseverance and hope.

I had the pleasure of seeing a screening of Noble in London a few days ago and this film really blew me away. I had read Christina's book 'A Bridge Across my Sorrows' and I was excited to see how the book translated to film. Christina is played by three wonderful actresses at different stages in her life. Gloria Cramer Curtis who plays the younger Christina was a delight to watch. Sarah Greene who plays teenage Christina was incredible, and she really pulls you in with her terrific performance. Lastly, Deirdre O'Kane who plays the grown up Christina gives an outstanding performance that will make you laugh and cry. Supporting actors are also impressive including Ruth Negga, who provided many laughs from the audience, and the Vietnamese children were surprisingly good, especially the boy playing Lam.I liked the pacing of the film, although I feel the film could have benefited with a few more scenes of Christina's childhood. If you have read Christina's book, you will notice a lot of things are not shown in the film. I can understand why the filmmakers did this, as the flashbacks needed to relate to Christina's strength and key events in her childhood.The cinematography by Trevor Forrest was beautiful, and shot incredibly well. Another great thing about Noble is the score by Ben Foster and Giles Martin which is one of the best scores I have heard in a long time.I am thankful for director Stephen Bradley, his wife Deirdre O'Kane and the producers for getting this film made. It's an incredible story and a film people need to see.