“Changeling” runs a total of 141 minutes, which may seem a bit too much, especially for those viewers who are not that fond of period pieces.

As a matter of fact, this seems to be the only thing going strong for this film, as the story in itself often seems one-dimensional, as also do the characters, who are so flawless that it’s as if Eastwood intentionally made them that way.

Granted, Angelina is stunning in her portrayal of a desperate mother who would fight anyone tooth and nail to resume the search for her lost boy - were one to draw a parallel between her acting and her personal life, it was only normal that she be that brilliant in this film.

Sadly, other than Angelina’s take on Christine, and the beautiful settings, there is not much to speak in favour of “Changeling.”

John Malkovich, a brilliant actor who here plays the part of Reverend Gustav Briegleb, the only one to stand by Christine in her plight, is either not given enough screen time or put in second because the focus is all on Jolie.

The Good

“Changeling” has got Angelina Jolie an Academy Award nomination in the Best Actress category.

For this reason alone it deserves praise, since it offers Jolie plenty of room to put all her motherly experience into play, to make of Christine a desperate woman who would walk through fire for her little lost cub.

The Bad

The consensus is that “Changeling” is a movie that only the Academy could love. While it’s beautifully rendered, it lacks emotion and substance, up to the point of creating the impression that it’s just a series of sequences played one after another, with nothing binding them together.

The Truth

If only for its depictions of a long forgotten era and Jolie’s performance, “Changeling” is a must see.

If viewers can overlook the lack of individuality of the leading characters, as well as the poignant theatricality of certain scenes, then they will undoubtedly get to appreciate the vivid exactness of the atmosphere it creates.

Nevertheless, as critics have also pointed out, by the time the final credits run and viewers are already out in the street, they will be hurriedly checking their watches.

The major blunder of misinterpreting India as Gautham Buddha’s birth place by the makers of the `Chandni Chowk To China’ finally gave strength to the Nepal Film Development Board (NFDB) and has made their proposals legitimate.

The several protests against Akshay Kumar’s flick have made the rulers of Nepal look into the past proposals of NFDB more seriously and pass a gazette notification.

In the past, NFDB had recommended that the foreign films should go through strict pre-release monitoring procedures as in other parts of the world. From now onwards the makers of all the foreign films will have to get the clearance from NFDB also.

Earlier only the Censor Board of Nepal had the sole authority to scrutinize the films before giving the go ahead signal.

According to the new rule not only the films but the subject on which the movie is based, the details of the actors, technicians, the producers and the entire screenplay also has to be given to the film clearing bodies in Nepal.

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