Tess

In nineteenth century England the daughter of a poor family is sent to relatives said to be of noble descent. After that no part of her life is her own choice. The film does not keep the pace of the novel; the narrative is deliberately slow and long, moving through seasons and field work. That slowness turns her lack of options into the form of the telling. Roman Polanski directed, with Nastassja Kinski. It is adapted from Thomas Hardy's novel and won Oscars in several technical categories. A real warning: the film starts from a rape and she carries its consequences throughout. It runs close to three hours.