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The story of Cold Mountain reaches what is probably its lowest point some two-thirds of the way through the film. The scene takes place on a farm in the Blue Ridge Mountains in the autumn of 1864 and something unspeakable has just happened. Contemplating what has been done to her friend, Renee Zellweger’s character, Ruby Thewes, spits out the line: “This world won’t stand long. God won’t let it stand this way long.”
Based on the prize-winning best-seller by Charles Frazier, Cold Mountain is set during the American Civil War, half in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina - which is where the town which gives the film its title is to be found - and half on the road between the Battle of Petersburg (July 30, 1864) and Cold Mountain. It is an epic tale of romantic love, longing, human degradation, nobility and the battle to survive.
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WHEN ANTHONY MINGHELLA WAS FIRST SENT CHARLES FRAZIER’S NOVEL COLD MOUNTAIN, HE THOUGHT, ‘OH, NO: NOT ANOTHER ADAPTATION!’ AND THEN HE STARTED TO READ… SEVERAL YEARS ON, AFTER A FIVE-MONTH SHOOT AND ALMOST A YEAR IN POST-PRODUCTION, THE DIRECTOR REFLECTS ON MOVIES, WAR, HUMAN ENDURANCE AND
THE JOYS OF SHOOTING IN ROMANIA.
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There are horrors that happen long before Zellweger utters the line - from the apocalyptic battle of Petersburg to a string of betrayals along the road back to Cold Mountain - and there are horrors still to come after it. But that is the moment when the film’s worldview looks bleakest. And yet…
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