Veronika decides to die (3 Stars)

When I first started writing this blog in 2010 it was a very personal thing. I had no pretensions that it would be a film review site. I'm no Roger Ebert. It was simply meant to be a film diary, telling my friends what I've been watching and whether I like it. The emphasis is on the word friends. In the early days my blog was almost exclusively read by my friends. I had about 10 readers a day, and it was easy for me to figure out who they were because they talked to me about what I'd written. Now things have changed. I have 80 to 150 readers a day, and I have no idea who they are. They're complete strangers who stumble on my site when they're googling to find information about a film. I don't mind the popularity, but I'd like to get the personal touch back. I'd like to get to know my readers. I'd like this blog to be a way to make new friends. So please, become followers and leave comments. Tell me a bit about yourselves, what films you like, etc.

Now to the film. I very rarely watch films online. It's not because of the question of legality; I want to experience films in the best possible quality. "Veronika wants to die" is an exception for the simple reason that it hasn't been released on DVD. I found it on the web site http://www.watchfreemovies.ch. I don't have much experience with online film sites, but it seems to be reasonable quality. There were a few annoying popups at first. I was presented with nine links to watch the film. The first few links were broken, but I eventually found a working link.

The film stars Sarah Michelle Gellar as the successful daughter of Slovenian immigrants in New York. She has a top job at an advertising company, but she's lonely and decides to commit suicide. Sadly she wakes up from her overdose and finds herself in a mental hospital. Even worse, she's told that the suicide attempt damaged her body and she only has a few weeks left to live. The prospect of a short life shocks her into making the most of every day she has left, so the film should more accurately be called "Veronika decides to live". The film then shows how Veronika's motivation changes the lives of not just the other patients, but also of Dr. Blake, the mental home's head psychiatrist. On the surface this is a depressing film, but in truth it's a very motivating film about the beauty of life.

Click here to view the trailer.