A grieving doctor is being contacted by his late wife through his patients near death expereinces. Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 08/01/2006 Starring: Kevin Costner Linda Hunt Run time: 104 minutes Rating:... more » Pg13 Director: Tom Shadyac« less
Decided to revisit this one and this is one of those movies that gets better with age. Kevin Costner, Kathy Bates and others do not disappoint in this. A must for the non-believers!
Shelley N. (shelleyn) Reviewed on 4/13/2012...
Awesome, awesome movie. I've seen it a few times and have it in my "collection" to keep forever! May seem sad, but great ending!
2 of 2 member(s) found this review helpful.
Veronica S. from IRVINE, CA Reviewed on 5/11/2010...
One of my favorite movies.
1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Gail H. from POTTSBORO, TX Reviewed on 10/1/2008...
I loved it! I believe there are forces we can't we can't prove or disprove scientifically and this was a wonderful story. cghewett
0 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Beth Y. (comet9443) from STANLEY, VA Reviewed on 12/27/2007...
I was looking forward to this movie, I thought that I would really enjoy it from the description. I did not enjoy it, and by about 1/3 of the way through wanted to simply fast forward to the end to see what happened. I was watching with other people, however, and couldn't do that! The ending was a nice surprise (not what I expected), but I don't feel it was worth the time wasted to watch the whole movie.
2 of 5 member(s) found this review helpful.
Movie Reviews
Slowing moving but genuinely spooky
Kali | United Kingdom | 12/28/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Kevin Costnor finally in a movie that shows you that he can act, a reminder of the days when he did films like "Dances with Wolves" and "The Bodyguard".
Dragonfly is like neither of the above, some people have compared it with "The Sixth Sense" and found it wanting, however that is a little unfair as this is not a movie about ghosts as such, rather it is about belief, life after death and the power of love.
When his wife is killed in a freak accident in South America, Dr. Joe Darrow is left only with memories for her body was not recovered from the wreckage of the bus that claimed her life and that of her fellow Red Cross workers.
But Joe finds that he is getting signs, he is seeing things in the house he once shared with his wife not to mention the children who have had near death experiences talk about his wife Emily and a rainbow, along with an odd little wavery cross they keep drawing when they come back to the land of the living.
Joe thinks he is going mad, his friends think he is going mad but eventually Joe finds himself following what he soon realises are clues to a puzzle that he must unravel if he is ever to have peace of mind.
A visit to a remote village in South America reveals the truth about Emily's death and the surprising legacy she left behind.
An excellent cast with Kath Bates in a tough but soft centred cookie role as Dr Darrow's friend Mrs Belmont and a short but sweet showing of the brilliant and often understated actress Linda Hunt as the nun Sister Madeline who makes Dr Darrow realise that there is more to life and death than heaven and earth can ever explain.
There are no spectacular special effects in this film though there are some genuinely spooky moments which will make you jump and though the ending is a little bit syrupy for my taste it doesn't make the film any less watchable.
Not a film I would have gone to the movies to see but one I enjoyed watching on DVD."
Enjoyable Film... worth watching
03/01/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Ok..lets get this out right up front...Dragonfly is not comparable to The Sixth Sense... with that said I found it to be a well crafted movie, that while not suspenseful is still good storytelling. It is more of a love story than a ghost story and the ending is one of the best in a recent film. Kevin Costner is unfairly lambasted by critics, and while his choice in movies can be questioned, his acting skills remain sharp. He was believable in his part as the grief striken doctor. Ignore the critical bashing this movie has been getting, it is an enjoyable, if somewhat under developed film."
Dragonfly delves into the ultimate mystery of life and death
David Thomson | Houston, TX USA | 03/16/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The death of Dr. Joe Darrow's (Kevin Costner) pregnant wife Emily brings him face to face with perhaps the most troubling existential question of all time. Is there a life after death? Was the morose Macbeth right to describe life as nothing more than "a tale, told by on idiot, full of sound and fury signifying nothing?" Emily (Susanna Thompson) was also a doctor and devoted much of her efforts to saving the poverty stricken people of the destitute areas of the world. She dies in a mud slide that pushes her bus over a waterfall. Joe is an avowed atheist convinced that Emily's personality has been utterly extinguished. He will mourn her passing, but life must go on.A friend of the family Miriam (Kathy Bates) tries to console Joe and help him to adjust to the reality of Emily's death. Joe, however, is confronted with unexplained occurrence which hint that Emily is reaching out to him from her unknown grave. A young boy Ben who suffers from a severe heart aliment undergoes countless alleged near death experiences. Ben informs Joe that Emily has a message for him. Should Joe take the youngster seriously? Might not after death experiences merely be the tricks the brain plays on a human being as they are slipping away from this world? Joe repeatedly comes across a figure appearing to be a dragonfly. What does it mean? Does it have any real significance, or is it added proof that Joe might be going off the deep end? Joe even seeks out Sister Madeline (Linda Hunt) who has studied this most unconventional academic subject matter. Sister Madeline shares her insights that seemingly contradict official Catholic teaching. Nonetheless, they sound somewhat plausible and offer Joe further hope that Emily still exists in some sort of fashion. We travel with Joe to an unnamed Central American country. Will he unravel the meaning behind the mysterious dragonfly looking symbol? Is Emily attempting to lead Joe to a greater truth? Is the possibility of life after death empirically provable? Are we able to somehow communicate with those who have left this vale of tears? Do the indigenous natives possess profound insights alien to our Western philosophical traditions? Director Tom Shadyac does fairly well in putting together a good story that probes the awkward and uneasy topic of death. I think it's worth seeing. It doesn't quite earn a five star recommendation, but it deserves a very strong four."
Ahh Kevin you did it!
Brent Hilton | Layton, Utah USA | 10/10/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I can't believe this movie is excellent , because it stars kevin costner. this guy is probably a good actor but has made wrong script choices in past which made me a little hesitant to rent this film from my local blockbuster , but i thought why not give kevin another chance i mean come on don't we all, so i did was'nt dispointed . the story use the temporal & spritual plain as compass suggests that we use both to gain where we are & where were going . i wish i would have seen this one in the theater it's a gem i think the director ought to stay in genre rather than dabble in comedies i was'nt happy with the nutty professor or too thrilled with liar , lair it was ok but this was one of his better ones . the cast was great & believable such moving picture, i'd recommended this one if you like m night stuff this is in the same vein sort of.. i'd rent or buy it."
Incredible and touching
Janet Morris | Huntsville, AL USA | 10/03/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I had heard really bad things about this film, but I decided to give it a chance anyway. It was definitely worth that chance! This movie was the story an emergency room doctor who finds out that his pregnant wife has died while she was in Venezuela on a humanitarian mission. He begins to receive messages from his wife in the form of symbols drawn by little kids who've gone "halfway to Heaven" and talked to her, and from various other methods. He begins to question if his wife even died. It's a little confusing in some points, but in the end everything falls into place, and you'll be either in tears or near tears because it is just so sweet and kinda sad. A definite must-see, though!"