Send him back! An ungodly bore from the UK and director Alan Bridges stars Alan Bates as an Army captain returning home from duty in World War I with his memory impaired (probably not an overused story function in 1918 when Rebecca West published her novel, but now a self-defeating cliché). Seems Bates remembers old flame Glenda Jackson but not current wife Julie Christie, which should be enough to set off some emotional sparks. Instead, this chilly adaptation by screenwriter Hugh Whitemore is simply a star-studded non-starter. There are less than a handful of strong scenes (it picks up whenever Jackson is around),Bridges' pacing is unrelievedly sluggish, and the dulled-out color from cinematographer Stephen Goldblatt is enervating. "Soldier" sat on the shelf for three years ("due to legal complications") and is best left forgotten. One BAFTA nomination: for Frank Finlay as Best Supporting Actor. *1/2 from ****

Julie Christie plays a negative wealthy character Kitty (created by novelist Rebecca West) with aplomb. Christie's Kitty is stunningly beautiful and yet is so snooty and possessive of her husband (Alan Bates). Glenda Jackson plays the intelligent, dowdy middleclass, caring, married woman who is the contrasting lover of Kittie's husband's past. Ms West cleverly designed the two characters to have lost a child each, both at the age of five. Both ladies are traumatized equally. However, I found Ann-Margaret, playing Kitty's sister-in-law Jenny, to be better than the other two ladies. Apart from the all round notable performances of all the characters, the casting of the main characters and the camerawork of Stephen Goldbatt (was director Alan Bridges also a contributor to the intelligent camera placing?) were notable. Not a great work, this film, but a delight to watch all the actors and actresses emote in their varied roles.

This is superb - the acting wonderful, sets, clothes, music - but most of all the story itself.

I am amazed there aren't more reviews of this movie - certainly one of the best of the 1980s.

It's also a wonderful movie to see in tandem with the great "Random Harvest" which has much the same opening crisis

-- a middle aged, unknown English W.W.I officer is in a hospital toward the close of the war, suffering from shell shock and complete amnesia without any idea of his name, origin, or anywhere he belongs - he proves to be a very wealthy established man - when he "recovers", he will not remember the years before the war --

But there the movies' resemblances end.

My warmest thanks to all who participated in the movie - particularly the actors Ian Holm, Alan Bates, Ann Margret (what a great and surprising casting choice),Glenda Jackson, Julie Christie.

This one stays with you forever.