Grade: A

“The Painted Veil” is a beautiful movie – the cinematography is spectacular.  The acting is wonderful – Naomi Watts and Edward Norton star and also produce.  The story, set in 1925, is that Edward Norton’s character is a scientist specializing in diseases and he falls in love with Naomi Watts.  Naomi doesn’t love him, but marries him anyway to get away from her parents.  When she has an affair, Edward freaks out and volunteers for a job helping out with a cholera epidemic in China.  He insists that Naomi come with him.  Of course she’s miserable there, but the experience, and the people, have a profound effect on her.  And as these two people are forced to live and work together for their own survival, they get to know who they really are, and what they really love about each other.  Mesmerizing, romantic.