Cert 15
117 mins
BBFC advice: Contains strong threat, violence
While I admire the work of Jane Bown, an old school photographer whose biopic I watched earlier, I am in awe of journalists who work within war zones.
Thus, while I accept that A Thousand Times Good Night is fictional, it has the edge of authenticity to it.
And there should be no surprise about that - because it is directed and part-written by Erik Poppe, who covered conflicts in Africa, Asia and the Middle East as a photojournalist.
Here, he has chosen to alight upon the psychological effects on those taking the pictures rather than their subjects.
And his film demonstrates the personal cost to them and their families.
Juliette Binoche plays the movie's lead character, Rebecca - a highly reputed war photographer who prides herself on pushing boundaries to elicit the most powerful images.
The film begins with her following a female suicide bomber from village prayers as she is dressed in her explosive jacket through to detonation in a busy town square.
Rebecca suffers minor blast injuries but the brush with death sparks a confrontation with her husband (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and prompts her pledge to quit the frontline.
This vow is met with the approval of her daughters (Lauryn Canny and Adrianna Cramer-Curtis).
However, when temptation to return to photography is thrown her way, Rebecca finds it hard to resist and her next decision has even greater ramifications for her loved ones.
Binoche excels in the role as Rebecca, agonising over what she believes to be two righteous but separate paths. Meanwhile Coster-Waldau is an excellent sense-speaking foil (is this the same fella who played such a vacuous role in The Other Woman?).
What I particularly liked about A Thousand Times Good Night was its avoidance of cheese. There is sentimentality but it is well placed.
And if it was intended to rekindle my admiration of war-zone journalists, it certainly succeeded.
Laughs: none
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 8/10