Talk:Isabelle Eberhardt (film)/GA1

GA Review

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Reviewer: SuperMarioMan (talk · contribs) 22:52, 1 January 2017 (UTC)[reply]

This is my first GA review in some years.

Is it reasonably well written?
A. Prose is "clear and concise", without copyvios, or spelling and grammar errors:
I am completely unfamiliar with both Eberhardt and the work of Ian Pringle but found nothing confusing.

B. MoS compliance for lead, layout, words to watch, fiction, and lists:
As it isn't long, I wonder whether the "Accolades" section could simply be combined with "Release and reception". However, there is nothing wrong with the current layout.
Is it factually accurate and verifiable?
A. Has an appropriate reference section:

B. Citation to reliable sources where necessary:
"Plot": is this section complete? It seems to end on a cliffhanger. I note that the film isn't available on any home video format and that you've had to use secondary sources to write a summary – do any of them say how the film ends? (With the death of the main character? It's a biopic.) As the film isn't publicly accessible one or more citations to secondary sources should be added in accordance with WP:FILMPLOT.

C. No original research:
But see above.
Is it broad in its coverage?
A. Major aspects:

B. Focused:
Is it neutral?
Fair representation without bias:
Is it stable?
No edit wars, etc:
Article developed by Freikorp over a period of approx. 14 months. Very few edits from other users.
Does it contain images to illustrate the topic?
A. Images are tagged with their copyright status, and valid fair use rationales are provided for non-free content:

B. Images are provided if possible and are relevant to the topic, and have suitable captions:
Non-free film poster in infobox allowable by precedent. Article's current content does not really warrant any additional images.
Overall:
Pass or Fail:
"Themes" section: book titles should be italicised.

For consistency, could we have the location for "Damned Pub." (for the third item in the bibliography)?

The article could be added to other categories, e.g. Category:Films set in the 19th century.

An impressive amount of material for what appears to be a very obscure film. Well done. If you can add sources for the plot I believe that the GA standards will have been met. Super Mario Man–Talk 22:52, 1 January 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for your review SuperMarioMan. I believe i've addressed every concern, with the possible exception of the plot issue. You're absolutely right. It does, unfortunately, end on a cliffhanger. The plot i've written is entirely a paraphrase of the overview at Allmovie, which I have now included as an inline citation. Presumably Eberhardt dies at the end of the film as it is based on a true story, but I have no idea what is actually shown in the film after Eberhardt faces her 'ethical dilemma', as this source is the only thing I have found that gives me any indication of what the plot actually is. I have gone to exhaustive lengths to try and obtain a copy of the film, even tracking down and emailing the company that now owns the rights to the film twice (I never got a reply). It's most undesirable to leave the plot open-ended, and to be quite honest I was concerned the nomination would fail the GA accordingly. But as there's nothing can be done about it at present, I was hoping that would be taken into consideration. Let me know what you think. Despite my considerable experience with GA I honestly don't know what should be done when such a vital piece of information pertaining to the subject simply cannot be found. Freikorp (talk) 09:43, 2 January 2017 (UTC)[reply]

@Freikorp: I've been reading some of the French-language websites that discuss the film (I'm a French speaker) and have some good news! A Region 0 DVD (English audio with Greek subtitles) is currently selling on the French eBay here. There are five days left to buy and the seller is able to ship worldwide. Costly but would this be something you'd be willing to get?

It seems that the film has also had a VHS release in France (though this is sadly unavailable on the French Amazon).

(On a side note, as the film is a French co-production it may be helpful to have some French critical commentary in the article. There's a contemporary example here – "Critique lors de la sortie en salle". Not essential for the purposes of a GA assessment but worth considering if you're thinking of expanding the article further.) Super Mario Man–Talk 01:08, 3 January 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Note: eBay Australia link here. Super Mario Man–Talk 01:31, 3 January 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Hi SuperMarioMan. Thank you so much for this unexpected find! I've already ordered the copy. I just checked my source which states the film did not get a home media release and the source is from 1996, so it would have been true at the time. As well as updating the plot i'll now also be able to update the release section regarding this DVD with the details on the DVD cover when it arrives. Thanks also for finding the French commentary. I will definitely utilise this source, via a bing translation of course since I myself do not speak French.

So where do we go from here? Are you happy to keep the nomination open until the DVD arrives (which will be at least a couple weeks postage time), or do you want to pass the nomination on good faith that I will expand the plot as soon as I can? I can assure you I am very much looking forward to watching this film and expanding the article. It's your call though. Freikorp (talk) 07:30, 3 January 2017 (UTC)[reply]
All major aspects of the topic are accounted for and I'm happy to pass in the knowledge that the plot summary will soon be complete. It's a shame about the expense but I'm not sure that the article could keep its GA status if there were no way of finding out the full plot. Maybe it'll turn out that the ending is very true to life, but still... Again, well done! Super Mario Man–Talk 05:45, 4 January 2017 (UTC)[reply]