Broken Lullaby (1994)

This film was only worth watching for the beautiful locations, which earned my 2 star vote. The story was totally unrealistic. I know it's a bit of a fantasy mystery/romance, but it just lacked little touches that would have made it so much better. Everybody that the heroine met with spoke English perfectly, 9 times out of 10 with an American accent! The arriving/living/researching in a strange country seemed to go remarkably smoothly, no trying to find her way about, struggling with unfamiliar money or language. Every time they went to the train station the train was there! No difficulty trying to work out the timetable. Public phones were within a few yards whenever one was needed (pre-mobile phone days....). The genealogical research was accomplished relatively easily - none of the paperwork was illegible, or in a difficult Cyrillic script, so the heroine found what she wanted within a few hours of searching (yeah right.... like that would happen!). The characters were 2 dimensional rubbish and not at all realistic. Yes, I know it's fantasy, but you need decent acting and lifelike emotions to draw you into the story. 3 people have been strangled - no sign of stress or fear from Jordan and Nick. They get shot at while on the balcony of their hotel - they don't move to a different hotel or anything - a few hours later they're back on the balcony, not a care in the world! Twice Nick tackles the gunman when he knows he's armed and dangerous - foolhardy heroics from an art expert, methinks. And did I say that the acting is more like a first read through? Very poor direction..... it could have been a good film, but sadly it fell far too short.

The plot was quite interesting, with the Russian revolution background. I also enjoyed seeing Budapest as the movie was partly filmed there. Sadly, there was zero chemistry between the 2 main characters so it was hard to believe the love story between them. The love scenes were forced and mechanical. Jordan kirckland was really stiff, almost icy. Rob Stewart was quite charming and boyish, so she looked like his older sister rather than his girlfriend. The ending, when we finally figure out who was actually after them, was quite weak and made no sense whatsoever. I think I would have enjoyed this movie a lot better if the relationship between the 2 actors was slightly more credible.

LMN has revived "Broken Lullaby" as one of their featured movies this week. As a family genealogist myself, I find it troubling that this story leaves such a huge hole by not clearly defining the relationship between Jordan (Mel Harris) and her "Aunt Kitty" (Vivien Reis) and more troubling still, that genealogist Jordan could be so wrong in what her own relationship to Nicholas is.Commenter Verenka above states "Her aunt (by marriage we are left to presume), is trying to track down her long lost family in Europe." After a huge part of this family puzzle is solved, however, Jordan supposedly alleviates the concerns of her love interest, Nicholas (Rob Stewart), by stating that she and he are fourth cousins, indicating that it is therefore OK for them to pursue a relationship.If they were only cousins by marriage, Jordan should have stated so at that time, but since she goes so far as to try to define their NATURAL relationship, this leaves us with the never addressed question as to how did Jordan's mother/father end up being the sister/brother of the believed orphan Kitty? Even after Kitty's true family background is revealed, there is no room for Jordan's mother or father in the picture. This supports the theory that Kitty is Jordan's Aunt only through a marriage by Kitty to Jordan's natural Uncle. Again, if that were the case, why did Jordan not alleviate Nicholas' concerns with the fact that they are only related by marriage instead of stating they are fourth cousins? They are NOT, however, fourth cousins, either by marriage or through natural relationship, rather FIRST COUSINS ONCE REMOVED (by marriage, if that's the case). Jordan and Nicholas's mother would be first cousins (or first cousins by marriage). One would think that any genealogist worth her salt would get a relationship THAT close to home right! Nevertheless, if they are NOT related by marriage, this is a problematic relationship - much too close for comfort!

I originally had no interest in the plot when I read it. I only watched Broken Lullaby because the DVD was available in my library and I wanted to see what Harlequin TV movie was like since I bought Diamond Girl and So Hard to Forget (which I am still waiting for and will review as soon as I watch it.) POSSIBLE SPOILERS First off I thought the heroine was a little too hard looking for me. She had a tough girl/strong woman to her. The hero was definitely good loooking and charming however I didn't feel any romantic chemistry between the two. The love scenes just seemed forced. And like I said, the heroine just seemed too "strong" for the hero. I guess the characters in A Matter of Marriage had more of a chemistry (even though I didn't think so at first) than Broken Lullaby. The pacing once again was fast/not boring which was great. I had no problems there. Otherwise, I am STILL glad I watched this movie because I love/used to love Harlequin romance novels when I was a kid. So when my other two dvds arrive, I'll definitely (Id better!) be blown away. As usual, will review Diamond Girl and So Hard to Forget as soon as it comes.