NBC’s Transplant season three’s premiere introduced a new key player – Rekha Sharma as Dr. Neeta Devi – and answered the “will they or won’t they” question about Mags and Bash. That newly confirmed relationship will be further explored in season three episode two, “Baggage,” airing on Thursday, October 19, 2023 at 9pm Et/Pt.
Hamza Haq leads the cast as Dr. Bashir “Bash” Hamed and Sirena Gulamgaus stars as Amira. Rekha Sharma plays Dr. Neeta Devi, Laurence Leboeuf is Dr. Magalie “Mags” Leblanc, and Ayisha Issa stars as Dr. June Curtis. Jim Watson plays Dr. Theo Hunter, Torri Higginson is Claire Malone, and Gord Rand is Dr. Mark Novak.
Joseph Kay created the series and serves as showrunner and executive producer. Additional executive producers include Rachel Langer, Josée Vallée, Jocelyn Deschênes, Bruno Dubé, and Stefan Pleszczynski.
“Baggage” Plot: Bash and Mags take a big step forward in their relationship. Mags...
Hamza Haq leads the cast as Dr. Bashir “Bash” Hamed and Sirena Gulamgaus stars as Amira. Rekha Sharma plays Dr. Neeta Devi, Laurence Leboeuf is Dr. Magalie “Mags” Leblanc, and Ayisha Issa stars as Dr. June Curtis. Jim Watson plays Dr. Theo Hunter, Torri Higginson is Claire Malone, and Gord Rand is Dr. Mark Novak.
Joseph Kay created the series and serves as showrunner and executive producer. Additional executive producers include Rachel Langer, Josée Vallée, Jocelyn Deschênes, Bruno Dubé, and Stefan Pleszczynski.
“Baggage” Plot: Bash and Mags take a big step forward in their relationship. Mags...
- 10/16/2023
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
Chloé Robichaud's Boundaries (2016) is exclusively showing July 31 – August 30, 2018 on Mubi in most countries in the world as part of the series Canada's Next Generation.Politics use to be a men-only territory, but women are now sharing a piece of it. Statistics, however, show that there are still less women than men who chose the political path. It is this rarity that first drew me to these women characters. Furthermore, I was interested by the fact that women, taken by the heavy tasks inherent to the profession of mediator or politician, must revisit the classic family stereotype, only recently deconstructed. And it is precisely this deconstruction of pre-established ideals that challenges and interests me in my work. The idea quickly imposed itself on me because of my interest for politics, and politicians. I must be gaining in maturity and I position myself more strongly as a woman, citizen and film director.
- 7/25/2018
- MUBI
The Summer Is GoneOne of the greater pleasures of New Directors/New Films, the yearly collaboration in New York between the Film Society of Lincoln Center and Museum of Modern Art, is reveling in the mystery of emerging directors. Of course, many and most festivals have offerings from first (and second and third time) directors, but at none is this explicitly the point. When a minimum of information is offered, save for a brief bio, relinquished is the burden of pre-viewing research and any expectations that may arise from it. More prominent titles have been covered by the Notebook already, but here are highlights from around the globe, from directors not-yet-known, though hopefully for not much longer. The Summer Is Gone echoes the ghosts of Edward Yang by locating drama in a particular moment in history, wedding personal histories to political ones. Set in inner Mongolia, the film throws back to the ever-receding 90s,...
- 3/14/2017
- MUBI
Dedicated to the discovery of new works by emerging and dynamic filmmaking talent, this year’s New Directors/New Films festival will screen 29 features and nine short films. This year’s lineup boasts nine North American premieres, seven U.S. premieres, and two world premieres, with features and shorts from 32 countries across five continents.
The opening, centerpiece, and closing night selections showcase three exciting new voices in American independent cinema that all recently debuted at Sundance: Geremy Jasper’s “Patti Cake$” is the opening night pick, while Eliza Hittman’s “Beach Rats” is the centerpiece selection and Dustin Guy Defa will close the festival with “Person to Person.”
Read More: 2017 New Directors/New Films Announces Full Lineup, Including ‘Patti Cake$,’ ‘Beach Rats,’ ‘Menashe’ and More
Now in its forty-sixth year, Nd/Nf has played home early films from such heavy hitters as Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Chantal Akerman, Pedro Almodovar,...
The opening, centerpiece, and closing night selections showcase three exciting new voices in American independent cinema that all recently debuted at Sundance: Geremy Jasper’s “Patti Cake$” is the opening night pick, while Eliza Hittman’s “Beach Rats” is the centerpiece selection and Dustin Guy Defa will close the festival with “Person to Person.”
Read More: 2017 New Directors/New Films Announces Full Lineup, Including ‘Patti Cake$,’ ‘Beach Rats,’ ‘Menashe’ and More
Now in its forty-sixth year, Nd/Nf has played home early films from such heavy hitters as Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Chantal Akerman, Pedro Almodovar,...
- 3/14/2017
- by Chris O'Falt, Eric Kohn, Jude Dry and Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
The Museum of Modern Art and the Film Society of Lincoln Center has today announces their complete lineup for the 46th annual New Directors/New Films (Nd/Nf), running March 15 – 26. Dedicated to the discovery of new works by emerging and dynamic filmmaking talent, this year’s festival will screen 29 features and nine short films. This year’s lineup boasts nine North American premieres, seven U.S. premieres, and two world premieres, with features and shorts from 32 countries across five continents.
The opening, centerpiece, and closing night selections showcase three exciting new voices in American independent cinema that all recently debuted at Sundance: Geremy Jasper’s “Patti Cake$” is the opening night pick, while Eliza Hittman’s “Beach Rats” is the centerpiece selection and Dustin Guy Defa will close the festival with “Person to Person.” Other standouts include “Menashe,” “My Happy Family,” “Quest” and “The Wound.”
Read More: The Sundance Rebel:...
The opening, centerpiece, and closing night selections showcase three exciting new voices in American independent cinema that all recently debuted at Sundance: Geremy Jasper’s “Patti Cake$” is the opening night pick, while Eliza Hittman’s “Beach Rats” is the centerpiece selection and Dustin Guy Defa will close the festival with “Person to Person.” Other standouts include “Menashe,” “My Happy Family,” “Quest” and “The Wound.”
Read More: The Sundance Rebel:...
- 2/15/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
After a promising initial line-up, the Toronto International Film Festival has delivered more titles with their full Canadian slate. Among the line-up is Xavier Dolan‘s It’s Only the End of the World, Bruce MacDonald‘s new feature Weirdos, Deepa Mehta‘s Anatomy of Violence, as well as Two Lovers and a Bear, starring Tatiana Maslany and Dane DeHaan, which we have the first trailer for today.
We said in our review from Cannes, “Kim Nguyen’s Two Lovers and a Bear is a film that suffers from a bit of an identity crisis. Like an indie playlist stuck on constant shuffle, unapologetically reveling in a sort of manic unclassifiable genre. This isn’t always necessarily a bad thing, but, for some reason, Nguyen’s scattershot tonal shifts — which hop between a romance on the rocks; a self-serious study of grieving; and a surreal buddy comedy — can prove quite jarring.
We said in our review from Cannes, “Kim Nguyen’s Two Lovers and a Bear is a film that suffers from a bit of an identity crisis. Like an indie playlist stuck on constant shuffle, unapologetically reveling in a sort of manic unclassifiable genre. This isn’t always necessarily a bad thing, but, for some reason, Nguyen’s scattershot tonal shifts — which hop between a romance on the rocks; a self-serious study of grieving; and a surreal buddy comedy — can prove quite jarring.
- 8/4/2016
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
An invention, the tangible result from an idea constructed in the human imagination, represents a piece in the puzzle that is the course of progress whether it means advancement through bellic endeavors, the simplification of tasks, or the preservation of life. Modern civilization is the result of a sequence of inventions and discoveries that evolved through the efforts of tireless men and woman dedicated to science and technology; however, as it’s always the case, mankind has been know to use its most creative minds for selfish and power-hungry pursuits.
Setting these concepts and preoccupations in an alternative steampunk reality based on the graphic novel by Jacques Tardi, Christian Desmares and Franck Ekinci’s “April and the Extraordinary World” navigates the curious possibility of a world where innovation stalled and in which humans must deal with the ramifications of this occurrence and adapt their lifestyles to the available practices. What emerges from this concoction of brilliant notions inspired by the source material and the filmmakers’ input is a highly ingenious and sumptuously designed tale anchored to an assertive, intellectual, and unconventional heroine. This delightfully sophisticated charmer firmly establishes itself as a visual marvel and one of the most originally confected animated films ever made.
Distancing its premise from similarly themed science fiction escapades, which work under the pretense that audiences must accept the universe at hand without much insight into its inner workings and origins, the film commences with a brief introduction that singles out a historical event responsible for the retrograde state of development. In this whimsical revision set in the mid-1900s Napoleon's lineage still reigns, as a major conflict with France's major enemy to the east was avoided. The consequential outcome for this deviation is a world in which coal, rather than oil, becomes the preferred fuel leading to massive deforestation and smog substitutes air. Scientists are perceived as a commodity whose brilliance must benefit the empire in its pursuit of new lands with forests to harvest. Fighting a war with the Us over Canada’s natural resources to fulfill its power needs is France’s priority while another threat develops under its surface.
Academically gifted an empowered by an audacious spirit, April (Marion Cotillard) is a young woman whose perpetual mission is to find her parents, Paul (Olivier Gourmet) and Annette (Macha Grenon), and grandfather Pops (Jean Rochefort), all of whom are scientist that disappeared 10 years prior under mysterious circumstances after being persecuted by the authorities just as they were about to test a serum that would make any living creature immortal. Now, April, whose chemistry knowledge is unparalleled, is attempting to recreate said formula and reunite with her singular pack.
Given that her venture and those of her immediate family have such immeasurable stakes, there are a few less than friendly figures seeking to capture her. Pizoni (Bouli Lanners), a robust, arrogant, and insanely persistent officer, wishes to use her as a vehicle for discovering where Pops is. Enlisting Julius (Marc-André Grondin), a scrawny young man willing to do the dirty work to avoid punishment for his deeds, to follow her, Pizoni hopes to regain the status he lost because of April’s folks. Thankfully, the brave girl has her talking cat Darwin (Philippe Katerine) as her most valuable comrade. Talking animals have never been so unforgettably enchanting and comically joyful as April's pet. Romantic and irreverent, Darwin is a scene-stealer that keeps one grinning continuously due to his amusingly tongue-in-cheek one-liners.
An array of characters like this pair with astoundingly intelligent writing makes for a framework that is taken to its greatest possible potential for wonder via the gorgeously crafted animation in display. Add a large portion of explosively candid humor to the mix, and the formula for a perfect work of wondrous art is created. From Einstein playing in a band, to a visual gag on what the Statue of Liberty would like if France wouldn’t have been friendly towards Americans, to its mesmerizing reimagining of Paris with two Eiffel Towers and uniquely appropriate public transport and infrastructure, “April” grabs hold of cell animation and dips it in a potion distilled from the works of iconic Japanese masters and considerable influence from other successful graphic novel adaptations into the medium.
Its genre-bending aspects are so fabulously calibrated, that is hard to pinpoint an exact designation for the spell the film casts other than how deliciously twisty it is. Near its final act, “April” introduces a group of villains directly extracted from a deranged fable, in the most authentically surprising manner. This coincides with the sensibilities of a film that isn’t afraid to fully experiment with the freedoms that fiction in this vein permits. Desmaeres and Ekinci’s leading lady, voiced with grace and chutzpah by Academy Award-winner Marion Cotillard, comes from a long line of male scientists, but though the fact that she is the first female born in the family to also pursue the field, her gender is never observed as an impediment or particularly special trait. It’s never about whether she can do it not based on her being a woman, but about how her unquestionable abilities can be used for good. When so much of current media glorifies instant fame or content about exploiting physical beauty for financial gain, to see an intrepid role model focused on the significance of using one’s hard work for the greater good utterly reinvigorating.
Power corrupts, especially in the hands of temperamental beings, and that’s a crucial point that “April” tackles from a thoroughly enjoyable perspective. Since selfish pursuits are common occurrences in our past and present, it’s clear humanity can’t be trusted with its own treasures. Therefore, erudite thinkers are recruited as pawns in a new intergalactic plan to save Earth’s beautiful vegetation. The uncompromising ambition of the film’s scope is as captivating as the detailed cinematic frames that convey it, and in that sense, the exuberant journey it follows from its opening sequence to the riveting conclusion feels like a natural progression. Not a single contrived or even lightly forced plot point in sight.
As the pages reminiscent of comic books from a much more artistically driven bygone era grace the screen in their moving iteration, “April and the Extraordinary World” transcends the constraints of steampunk literature and embraces traditional animation is if the two had been in perfect symmetry from the beginning. What “April” argues underneath the aesthetically extraordinary frames and its thrilling action is that science is magic at human reach, which takes our perseverance and purpose as a metaphorical wand. Choosing to use each newly found incantation for benevolent causes and not malevolent desires is the real battle.
"April and the Extraordinary World" is now playing in New York and Los Angeles. The film is being released by Gkids, the 8-time Academy nominated independent animation distributor.
Setting these concepts and preoccupations in an alternative steampunk reality based on the graphic novel by Jacques Tardi, Christian Desmares and Franck Ekinci’s “April and the Extraordinary World” navigates the curious possibility of a world where innovation stalled and in which humans must deal with the ramifications of this occurrence and adapt their lifestyles to the available practices. What emerges from this concoction of brilliant notions inspired by the source material and the filmmakers’ input is a highly ingenious and sumptuously designed tale anchored to an assertive, intellectual, and unconventional heroine. This delightfully sophisticated charmer firmly establishes itself as a visual marvel and one of the most originally confected animated films ever made.
Distancing its premise from similarly themed science fiction escapades, which work under the pretense that audiences must accept the universe at hand without much insight into its inner workings and origins, the film commences with a brief introduction that singles out a historical event responsible for the retrograde state of development. In this whimsical revision set in the mid-1900s Napoleon's lineage still reigns, as a major conflict with France's major enemy to the east was avoided. The consequential outcome for this deviation is a world in which coal, rather than oil, becomes the preferred fuel leading to massive deforestation and smog substitutes air. Scientists are perceived as a commodity whose brilliance must benefit the empire in its pursuit of new lands with forests to harvest. Fighting a war with the Us over Canada’s natural resources to fulfill its power needs is France’s priority while another threat develops under its surface.
Academically gifted an empowered by an audacious spirit, April (Marion Cotillard) is a young woman whose perpetual mission is to find her parents, Paul (Olivier Gourmet) and Annette (Macha Grenon), and grandfather Pops (Jean Rochefort), all of whom are scientist that disappeared 10 years prior under mysterious circumstances after being persecuted by the authorities just as they were about to test a serum that would make any living creature immortal. Now, April, whose chemistry knowledge is unparalleled, is attempting to recreate said formula and reunite with her singular pack.
Given that her venture and those of her immediate family have such immeasurable stakes, there are a few less than friendly figures seeking to capture her. Pizoni (Bouli Lanners), a robust, arrogant, and insanely persistent officer, wishes to use her as a vehicle for discovering where Pops is. Enlisting Julius (Marc-André Grondin), a scrawny young man willing to do the dirty work to avoid punishment for his deeds, to follow her, Pizoni hopes to regain the status he lost because of April’s folks. Thankfully, the brave girl has her talking cat Darwin (Philippe Katerine) as her most valuable comrade. Talking animals have never been so unforgettably enchanting and comically joyful as April's pet. Romantic and irreverent, Darwin is a scene-stealer that keeps one grinning continuously due to his amusingly tongue-in-cheek one-liners.
An array of characters like this pair with astoundingly intelligent writing makes for a framework that is taken to its greatest possible potential for wonder via the gorgeously crafted animation in display. Add a large portion of explosively candid humor to the mix, and the formula for a perfect work of wondrous art is created. From Einstein playing in a band, to a visual gag on what the Statue of Liberty would like if France wouldn’t have been friendly towards Americans, to its mesmerizing reimagining of Paris with two Eiffel Towers and uniquely appropriate public transport and infrastructure, “April” grabs hold of cell animation and dips it in a potion distilled from the works of iconic Japanese masters and considerable influence from other successful graphic novel adaptations into the medium.
Its genre-bending aspects are so fabulously calibrated, that is hard to pinpoint an exact designation for the spell the film casts other than how deliciously twisty it is. Near its final act, “April” introduces a group of villains directly extracted from a deranged fable, in the most authentically surprising manner. This coincides with the sensibilities of a film that isn’t afraid to fully experiment with the freedoms that fiction in this vein permits. Desmaeres and Ekinci’s leading lady, voiced with grace and chutzpah by Academy Award-winner Marion Cotillard, comes from a long line of male scientists, but though the fact that she is the first female born in the family to also pursue the field, her gender is never observed as an impediment or particularly special trait. It’s never about whether she can do it not based on her being a woman, but about how her unquestionable abilities can be used for good. When so much of current media glorifies instant fame or content about exploiting physical beauty for financial gain, to see an intrepid role model focused on the significance of using one’s hard work for the greater good utterly reinvigorating.
Power corrupts, especially in the hands of temperamental beings, and that’s a crucial point that “April” tackles from a thoroughly enjoyable perspective. Since selfish pursuits are common occurrences in our past and present, it’s clear humanity can’t be trusted with its own treasures. Therefore, erudite thinkers are recruited as pawns in a new intergalactic plan to save Earth’s beautiful vegetation. The uncompromising ambition of the film’s scope is as captivating as the detailed cinematic frames that convey it, and in that sense, the exuberant journey it follows from its opening sequence to the riveting conclusion feels like a natural progression. Not a single contrived or even lightly forced plot point in sight.
As the pages reminiscent of comic books from a much more artistically driven bygone era grace the screen in their moving iteration, “April and the Extraordinary World” transcends the constraints of steampunk literature and embraces traditional animation is if the two had been in perfect symmetry from the beginning. What “April” argues underneath the aesthetically extraordinary frames and its thrilling action is that science is magic at human reach, which takes our perseverance and purpose as a metaphorical wand. Choosing to use each newly found incantation for benevolent causes and not malevolent desires is the real battle.
"April and the Extraordinary World" is now playing in New York and Los Angeles. The film is being released by Gkids, the 8-time Academy nominated independent animation distributor.
- 3/25/2016
- by Carlos Aguilar
- Sydney's Buzz
Most writing on Christian Desmares and Franck Ekinci‘s April and the Extraordinary World speaks as though they’ve adapted one of revered Frenchman Jacques Tardi‘s graphic novels. This isn’t quite the case. What they’ve actually done is bring his unique “universe” to life with help from previous collaborator Benjamin Legrand (writer of Tardi’s Tueur de cafards) instead. Legrand and Ekinci crafted this alternate steampunk version of Paris as something inspired by the artist’s work rather than born from it. Tardi in turn helped by drawing original work later brought to life by Desmares’ animation team. The whole is therefore a culmination of its six-year production schedule populated by multiple creative minds working in tandem throughout. It may look familiar, but it’s very much brand new.
Their world is built on steam and coal because the best scientific minds have disappeared. Electricity wasn’t...
Their world is built on steam and coal because the best scientific minds have disappeared. Electricity wasn’t...
- 3/24/2016
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
While Canadians are days away from hitting the polls to determine the next government, Chloé Robichaud, the filmmaker who broke out with her Cannes Un Certain Regard selected Sarah Prefers to Run is trading the athletic podium for….the political one. Among the new generation of French Canadian female filmmakers, her sophomore effort entitled Pays has its cast in place and is ready to roll. First-timer Nathalie Doummar is joined by Macha Grenon, Yves Jacques, Rémy Girard and Alexandre Landry (Louise Archambault’s Gabrielle) are among those to join the project. To be readied for 2016, the pic is produced by La Boîte à Fanny’s Fanny-Laure Malo (Sarah préfère la course), Item 7’s Pierre Even et Marie-Claude Poulin (Brooklyn) and Morag Loves Company’s Barbara Doran (The Grand Seduction).
Gist: Not imagining herself as a candidate in the federal election, 25 year-old Félixe (Nathalie Doummar) has more difficulty coming to terms after winning her riding.
Gist: Not imagining herself as a candidate in the federal election, 25 year-old Félixe (Nathalie Doummar) has more difficulty coming to terms after winning her riding.
- 10/7/2015
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
If you have been wondering what Dolly Parton has been doing in the recent days, your question has been answered. Apparently she has been allowing for her music to be used in the indie film “The Year Dolly Parton Was My Mom,” starring Macha Grenon (“Barney’s Vision”), Gil Bellows (The Shawshank Redemption”) and Julia Stone, who is described in the release as being “a revelation” in the film. Also a big part of the film is the music of one of the icons of country music, Dolly Parton. The film will be released on DVD January 24 by Osiris Entertainment. “The Year Dolly Parton Was My Mom” follows a young...
- 11/22/2011
- by monique
- ShockYa
This is the Pure Movies review of Barney's Version, directed by Richard J. Lewis and starring Paul Giamatti, Macha Grenon, Paul Gross, Atom Egoyan, Mark Camacho, David Pryde, Paula Jean Hixson and Mark Addy. Barney's Version is exactly what it claims to be, at least as far as the title goes - a highly partial 'version' of a life. What unfolds on-screen (or in the trailer, which gives away almost every plot point) is the self-justification of a maudlin, chauvinistic man who imaginatively recasts himself as both a hero and a victim. The film is billed as a heart-warming comedy, but perhaps this description only applies if one happens to be a male approaching his autumn years.
- 1/28/2011
- by Suki Ferguson
- Pure Movies
Mongrel Media, a film distributor, has just released the trailer of the Canadian film The Year Dolly Parton Was My Mom. The film will be in Canadian theatres on March 4.
In this film shot with a budget of $3 million, we're brought in 1976 in a suburb of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Elizabeth Alison Gray (Julia Stone) is an average girl of eleven years old. She finds out that her current mom, Marion (Macha Grenon), is her adoptive mom in actuality. While she lets herself being guided by a Ouija board, Elisabeth runs away from her house in order to find her real mom. Obviously, Marion will strive to find Elisabeth, but she'll have to eventually face the truth.
Other members of the cast include Rebecca Croll (The Business), Rebecca Windheim (Family Biz), Mung-Ling Tsui (The Bridge), Trevor Hayes (The Phantom), Rebecca Windheim, Will Woytowich, Brian Edward Roach, Luca Palladini and Chantele Francis.
For the moment,...
In this film shot with a budget of $3 million, we're brought in 1976 in a suburb of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Elizabeth Alison Gray (Julia Stone) is an average girl of eleven years old. She finds out that her current mom, Marion (Macha Grenon), is her adoptive mom in actuality. While she lets herself being guided by a Ouija board, Elisabeth runs away from her house in order to find her real mom. Obviously, Marion will strive to find Elisabeth, but she'll have to eventually face the truth.
Other members of the cast include Rebecca Croll (The Business), Rebecca Windheim (Family Biz), Mung-Ling Tsui (The Bridge), Trevor Hayes (The Phantom), Rebecca Windheim, Will Woytowich, Brian Edward Roach, Luca Palladini and Chantele Francis.
For the moment,...
- 1/26/2011
- by anhkhoido@gmail.com (Anh Khoi Do)
- The Cultural Post
Sony Pictures Classics' "Barney's Version" dramedy has two new posters up. The Richard J. Lewis film opens on January 14th next year and stars Paul Giamatti, Dustin Hoffman, Rosamund Pike, Minnie Driver, Rachelle Lefevre, Scott Speedman, Bruce Greenwood, Macha Grenon, Jake Hoffman and Anna Hopkins. Michael Konyves, a TV writer with credits like "Earthstorm" and "Descent," wrote the screenplay, based on the Mordecai Richler prize-winning comic novel. "Barney's Version" is the warm, wise, and witty story of Barney Panofsky (Paul Giamatti), a seemingly ordinary man who lives an extraordinary life. A candid confessional, told from Barney‘s point of view, the film spans three decades and two continents, taking us through the different ?acts? of his unusual history. There is his first wife, Clara (Rachelle Lefevre), a flame-haired, flagrantly unfaithful free sprit with whom Barney briefly...
- 12/9/2010
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Sony Pictures Classics' "Barney's Version" dramedy has two new posters up. The Richard J. Lewis film opens on January 14th next year and stars Paul Giamatti, Dustin Hoffman, Rosamund Pike, Minnie Driver, Rachelle Lefevre, Scott Speedman, Bruce Greenwood, Macha Grenon, Jake Hoffman and Anna Hopkins. Michael Konyves, a TV writer with credits like "Earthstorm" and "Descent," wrote the screenplay, based on the Mordecai Richler prize-winning comic novel. "Barney's Version" is the warm, wise, and witty story of Barney Panofsky (Paul Giamatti), a seemingly ordinary man who lives an extraordinary life. A candid confessional, told from Barney‘s point of view, the film spans three decades and two continents, taking us through the different ?acts? of his unusual history. There is his first wife, Clara (Rachelle Lefevre), a flame-haired, flagrantly unfaithful free sprit with whom Barney briefly...
- 12/9/2010
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Sony Pictures Classics has acquired all American distribution rights for the Canadian film Barney's Version, which was produced by Robert Lantos (Eastern Promises). This film directed by Richard J. Lewis and based on a novel by Canadian writer Mordecai Richler is currently being screened at the Venice International Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival. The film will be released in Canada in winter 2010.
We follow Barney Panofsky (Paul Giamatti), an English-speaking Jew from Montreal, who feels in love for the first time of his life. However, it appears that he'll be married three times. Clara (Rachelle Lefevre), Barney's first wife, is a beautiful writer, but she's mentally ill. The second wife (Minnie Driver) left Barney at the time Boogie (Scott Speedman), Barney's best friend, disappeared. Miriam (Rosamund Pike), the third wife, left Barney for another man and he hopes that she'll come back to him.
The film is...
We follow Barney Panofsky (Paul Giamatti), an English-speaking Jew from Montreal, who feels in love for the first time of his life. However, it appears that he'll be married three times. Clara (Rachelle Lefevre), Barney's first wife, is a beautiful writer, but she's mentally ill. The second wife (Minnie Driver) left Barney at the time Boogie (Scott Speedman), Barney's best friend, disappeared. Miriam (Rosamund Pike), the third wife, left Barney for another man and he hopes that she'll come back to him.
The film is...
- 9/11/2010
- by anhkhoido@hotmail.com (Anh Khoi Do)
- The Cultural Post
Telefilm Canada, a Canadian federal funding agency, announced ([1] and [2]) that three Canadian films will be screened at the 67th Venice International Film Festival, which will take place from September 1 to 11.
The first film is Denis Villeneuve's Incendies, an adaptation of a play written by Canadian playwright Wajdi Mouawad. It tells the story of Jeanne (Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin) and Simon (Maxim Gaudette), two twins, who travel to Lebanon. After they had read their dead mother's (Lubna Azabal) will to find a father they thought dead and a brother they've never heard of with the help of Lebel (Rémy Girard), a notary. The film will be presented during the Venice Days, a parallel section of the festival
The second film will be Richard J. Lewis's anticipated film Barney's Version, an adaptation of Mordecai Richler's acclaimed novel. We follow Barney Panofsky (Paul Giamatti), a Jewish from Montreal during his adventures in Europe.
The first film is Denis Villeneuve's Incendies, an adaptation of a play written by Canadian playwright Wajdi Mouawad. It tells the story of Jeanne (Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin) and Simon (Maxim Gaudette), two twins, who travel to Lebanon. After they had read their dead mother's (Lubna Azabal) will to find a father they thought dead and a brother they've never heard of with the help of Lebel (Rémy Girard), a notary. The film will be presented during the Venice Days, a parallel section of the festival
The second film will be Richard J. Lewis's anticipated film Barney's Version, an adaptation of Mordecai Richler's acclaimed novel. We follow Barney Panofsky (Paul Giamatti), a Jewish from Montreal during his adventures in Europe.
- 7/31/2010
- by anhkhoido@hotmail.com (Anh Khoi Do)
- The Cultural Post
Fans of Mordecai Richler, the adaptation of his novel Barney's Version will be released in winter 2010. Other than that, the teaser of the film has been online since four days.
The film tells the story of Barney Panofsky (Paul Giamatti), an English-speaking Jew from Montreal, who feels in love for the first time of his life. However, it appears that he'll be married three times. Clara (Rachelle Lefevre), Barney's first wife, is a beautiful writer, but she's mentally ill. The second wife (Minnie Driver) left Barney at the time Boogie (Scott Speedman), Barney's best friend, disappeared. Miriam (Rosamund Pike), the third wife, left Barney for another man and he hopes that she'll come back to him.
The film is a co-production between Canada and Italy. Besides, it was made with a budget of $28 million. As for the shooting locations, the cast and the crew went to Montreal, Austin, the Laurentian region (all in Quebec,...
The film tells the story of Barney Panofsky (Paul Giamatti), an English-speaking Jew from Montreal, who feels in love for the first time of his life. However, it appears that he'll be married three times. Clara (Rachelle Lefevre), Barney's first wife, is a beautiful writer, but she's mentally ill. The second wife (Minnie Driver) left Barney at the time Boogie (Scott Speedman), Barney's best friend, disappeared. Miriam (Rosamund Pike), the third wife, left Barney for another man and he hopes that she'll come back to him.
The film is a co-production between Canada and Italy. Besides, it was made with a budget of $28 million. As for the shooting locations, the cast and the crew went to Montreal, Austin, the Laurentian region (all in Quebec,...
- 5/17/2010
- by anhkhoido@hotmail.com (Anh Khoi Do)
- The Cultural Post
Toronto -- Macha Grenon, Gil Bellows and Julia Stone have jumped on board Tara Johns' debut feature "The Year Dolly Parton Was My Mom," from indie producers Palomar and Buffalo Gal Pictures.
The $3 million Canadian coming-of-age movie, shooting in Montreal and Winnipeg, portrays newcomer Stone as an 11 year-old girl running away and being pursued by her adoptive mother, played by Quebec actor Grenon.
The ensemble cast includes Rebecca Croll, Rebecca Windheim, Mung-Ling Tsui and Trevor Hayes.
"The Year Dolly Parton Was My Mom" will be released in Quebec by Metropole Films and in the rest of Canada by Mongrel Media.
Barbara Shrier and Liz Jarvis share the producer credits.
The $3 million Canadian coming-of-age movie, shooting in Montreal and Winnipeg, portrays newcomer Stone as an 11 year-old girl running away and being pursued by her adoptive mother, played by Quebec actor Grenon.
The ensemble cast includes Rebecca Croll, Rebecca Windheim, Mung-Ling Tsui and Trevor Hayes.
"The Year Dolly Parton Was My Mom" will be released in Quebec by Metropole Films and in the rest of Canada by Mongrel Media.
Barbara Shrier and Liz Jarvis share the producer credits.
- 5/11/2010
- by By Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
A few weeks ago, The Cultural Post indicated that Macha Grenon was attached to the upcoming film The Year Dolly Parton Was My Mom. Now, some informations have surfaced about the identity of the other members of the cast.
Besides Macha Grenon (L'âge des ténèbres), Gil Bellows (Ally McBeal) and newcomer Julia Stone will join her to be the leading characters. While Grenon and Bellows will play a couple, Stone will play that couple's adoptive child.
In this film shot with a budget of $3 million, we're brought in 1976 in a suburb of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Elizabeth Alison Gray (Julia Stone) is an average girl of eleven years old. She finds out that her current mom, Marion (Macha Grenon), is her adoptive mom in actuality. While she lets herself being guided by a Ouija board, Elisabeth runs away from her house in order to find her real mom. Obviously, Marion will strive to find Elisabeth,...
Besides Macha Grenon (L'âge des ténèbres), Gil Bellows (Ally McBeal) and newcomer Julia Stone will join her to be the leading characters. While Grenon and Bellows will play a couple, Stone will play that couple's adoptive child.
In this film shot with a budget of $3 million, we're brought in 1976 in a suburb of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Elizabeth Alison Gray (Julia Stone) is an average girl of eleven years old. She finds out that her current mom, Marion (Macha Grenon), is her adoptive mom in actuality. While she lets herself being guided by a Ouija board, Elisabeth runs away from her house in order to find her real mom. Obviously, Marion will strive to find Elisabeth,...
- 4/22/2010
- by anhkhoido@hotmail.com (Anh Khoi Do)
- The Cultural Post
Apparently, the production crew of the upcoming Canadian film The Year Dolly Parton Was My Mom, which was directed by Tara Johns, is looking for a look-alike of the American singer Dolly Parton. You don't believe me? Here's the press release. You don't understand French? Don't worry, I'll explain the details to you.
All you have to do is to make yourself available for a filming day on April 22 in Montreal, Quebec. Moreover, you must send a head-to-toe picture of yourself and other information (phone number, address) to this e-mail address: info@palomarfims.com.
The story of the film takes place in 1976. Elizabeth Alison Gray is just your average suburban 11-year old waiting for adolescence to arrive when she finds out her current mom isn't her real mom. With only her imagination and a Ouija Board to guide her, she runs away to find her real mom.
So far, only...
All you have to do is to make yourself available for a filming day on April 22 in Montreal, Quebec. Moreover, you must send a head-to-toe picture of yourself and other information (phone number, address) to this e-mail address: info@palomarfims.com.
The story of the film takes place in 1976. Elizabeth Alison Gray is just your average suburban 11-year old waiting for adolescence to arrive when she finds out her current mom isn't her real mom. With only her imagination and a Ouija Board to guide her, she runs away to find her real mom.
So far, only...
- 4/4/2010
- by anhkhoido@hotmail.com (Anh Khoi Do)
- The Cultural Post
Alliance Vivafilm, a film distributor, announced ([1] and [2]) that L'enfant prodige (aka André Mathieu - Le dernier des romantiques) will have a world premiere on May 9 in Shanghai during the Expo 2010 Shanghai. Afterwards, L'enfant prodige will hit theatres in Quebec on May 28, 2010.
The biopic about Canadian pianist André Mathieu (1929-1968) was produced with a budget of $6 million by Daniel Louis (Les invasions barbares) and Denise Robert (Maurice Richard). It was directed and written by Luc Dionne.
The story follows André Mathieu (Guillaume Lebon plays the child and Patrick Drolet, the adult), a Montreal-born pianist who was described as the "Canadian Mozart" during his childhood. Because of his talent, he will travel in Europe in order to study piano with different great teachers like Arthur Honneger (Marc Béland) and Jacques de la Presle (Patrice Coquereau) just to name a few. Moreover, André Mathieu will also come across Russian pianist Sergei Rachmaninov (Itzhak Finzi...
The biopic about Canadian pianist André Mathieu (1929-1968) was produced with a budget of $6 million by Daniel Louis (Les invasions barbares) and Denise Robert (Maurice Richard). It was directed and written by Luc Dionne.
The story follows André Mathieu (Guillaume Lebon plays the child and Patrick Drolet, the adult), a Montreal-born pianist who was described as the "Canadian Mozart" during his childhood. Because of his talent, he will travel in Europe in order to study piano with different great teachers like Arthur Honneger (Marc Béland) and Jacques de la Presle (Patrice Coquereau) just to name a few. Moreover, André Mathieu will also come across Russian pianist Sergei Rachmaninov (Itzhak Finzi...
- 3/31/2010
- by anhkhoido@hotmail.com (Anh Khoi Do)
- The Cultural Post
Many Quebeckers probably remember that screenwriter Fabienne Larouche and sport columnist Réjean Tremblay used to form a couple. Together, they penned Scoop a TV series that ran for five seasons on Radio-Canada. Now, this TV network had announced that the first season, which was broadcasted in 1992, will come out on DVD on February 29, 2010.
The show takes place in the world of journalism and often shows it under an unfavourable day. Things are not going well for The Express, a newspaper in Montreal. Two young reporters try to make a name for themselves by working with The Express and by seeking the latest scoop on any given thing tat matters. Stéphanie Rousseau (Macha Grenon) doesn't get along with her dad (Claude Léveillée), who is the newspaper's owner. As for Michel Gagné (Roy Dupuis), he's sick of being stuck in the general news section.
Moreover, the show also stars Rémy Girard,...
The show takes place in the world of journalism and often shows it under an unfavourable day. Things are not going well for The Express, a newspaper in Montreal. Two young reporters try to make a name for themselves by working with The Express and by seeking the latest scoop on any given thing tat matters. Stéphanie Rousseau (Macha Grenon) doesn't get along with her dad (Claude Léveillée), who is the newspaper's owner. As for Michel Gagné (Roy Dupuis), he's sick of being stuck in the general news section.
Moreover, the show also stars Rémy Girard,...
- 1/31/2010
- by anhkhoido@hotmail.com (Anh Khoi Do)
- The Cultural Post
Alliance Vivafilm has released online the trailer of L'enfant prodige (aka André Mathieu - Le dernier des romantiques), a biographical drama about the Canadian pianist André Mathieu. The latter will be played by Patrick Drolet (Le grand départ).
The film is shot with a budget of Cdn$6 million and is directed by Luc Dionne (Monica la mitraille).
It follows the life of the Montreal-born André Mathieu (1929-1968) who was referred to as "the little Canadian Mozart". Given that he composed his first musical work at three years old and had an obvious talent in piano, his father, Rodolphe Mathieu (Marc Labrèche), will be his first teacher. Furthermore, as he gets older, André Mathieu will travel to Europe to study the art of playing piano with the greatest masters such as Jacques de la Presle (Patrice Coquereau) or Arthur Honnegger (Marc Béland) just to name a few. However, Mathieu died at...
The film is shot with a budget of Cdn$6 million and is directed by Luc Dionne (Monica la mitraille).
It follows the life of the Montreal-born André Mathieu (1929-1968) who was referred to as "the little Canadian Mozart". Given that he composed his first musical work at three years old and had an obvious talent in piano, his father, Rodolphe Mathieu (Marc Labrèche), will be his first teacher. Furthermore, as he gets older, André Mathieu will travel to Europe to study the art of playing piano with the greatest masters such as Jacques de la Presle (Patrice Coquereau) or Arthur Honnegger (Marc Béland) just to name a few. However, Mathieu died at...
- 1/7/2010
- by anhkhoido@hotmail.com (Anh Khoi Do)
- The Cultural Post
Here are some brief film news you shouldn't miss on July 17, 2009:
• While David Yates' "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" collected $58.1 million domestically, the sixth installment in the popular series picked up a solid $45.9 million on the international circuit. That brings the one-day total for "Prince" to a huge $104 million. (Variety)
• Scott Speedman, Bruce Greenwood and Macha Grenon are the latest to join Paul Giamatti, Dustin Hoffman, Minnie Driver, Rosamund Pike and Rachelle Lefevre in Richard Lewis' "Barney's Version," based on the book by Mordecai Richler. The film follows a man who's been through three marriages, had two kids, and seems to be involved in the disappearance of one of his buddies. (THR)
• Ed Helms from "The Hangover" is set to star in Miguel Arteta's "Cedar Rapids." Helms plays an insurance agent heading to a convention to save his colleagues' jobs. Phil Johnston wrote the script.
• While David Yates' "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" collected $58.1 million domestically, the sixth installment in the popular series picked up a solid $45.9 million on the international circuit. That brings the one-day total for "Prince" to a huge $104 million. (Variety)
• Scott Speedman, Bruce Greenwood and Macha Grenon are the latest to join Paul Giamatti, Dustin Hoffman, Minnie Driver, Rosamund Pike and Rachelle Lefevre in Richard Lewis' "Barney's Version," based on the book by Mordecai Richler. The film follows a man who's been through three marriages, had two kids, and seems to be involved in the disappearance of one of his buddies. (THR)
• Ed Helms from "The Hangover" is set to star in Miguel Arteta's "Cedar Rapids." Helms plays an insurance agent heading to a convention to save his colleagues' jobs. Phil Johnston wrote the script.
- 7/17/2009
- by Franck Tabouring
- screeninglog.com
Scott Speedman, Bruce Greenwood and Macha Grenon are joining the cast of Richard Lewis' "Barney's Version," which begins principal photography Aug. 17 in Rome.
Based on the Mordecai Richler novel, adapted for the screen by Michael Konyves, "Barney's" stars Paul Giamatti, Dustin Hoffman, Minnie Driver, Rosamund Pike and Rachelle Lefevre in the tale of a man (Giamatti) suffering from Alzheimer's as he recounts his turbulent life.
Speedman will play Boogie, Barney's best friend who mysteriously disappears. Greenwood has been tapped to appear as Blair, Barney's rival in love. Grenon will play Solange, another close friend of Barney's.
Serendipity Point Films' Robert Lantos is producing. Co-producers are Lyse Lafontaine, Domenico Procacci and Ari Lantos. Mark Musselman is exec producer.
Based on the Mordecai Richler novel, adapted for the screen by Michael Konyves, "Barney's" stars Paul Giamatti, Dustin Hoffman, Minnie Driver, Rosamund Pike and Rachelle Lefevre in the tale of a man (Giamatti) suffering from Alzheimer's as he recounts his turbulent life.
Speedman will play Boogie, Barney's best friend who mysteriously disappears. Greenwood has been tapped to appear as Blair, Barney's rival in love. Grenon will play Solange, another close friend of Barney's.
Serendipity Point Films' Robert Lantos is producing. Co-producers are Lyse Lafontaine, Domenico Procacci and Ari Lantos. Mark Musselman is exec producer.
- 7/16/2009
- by By Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Scott Speedman, Bruce Greenwood and Macha Grenon have joined the cast of the indie drama "Barney's Version" alongside Paul Giamatti, Dustin Hoffman and Minnie Driver.According to Variety, principal photography starts in Rome on Aug. 17, with Richard J. Lewis directing Michael Konyves' screenplay, based on the novel by Mordecai Richler. Robert Lantos produces.Story's title character has led a reckless life highlighted by three marriages, two children and status as a "person of interest" in the mysterious disappearance of his buddy, portrayed by Speedman. Greenwood's character is Barney's rival in love."Barney's Version" is a co-production of Serendipity Point Films and Italy's Fandango. Co-producers are Lyse Lafontaine, Domenico Procacci and Ari Lantos, while Mark Musselman is executive producing.
- 7/16/2009
- by Adnan Tezer
- Monsters and Critics
Scott Speedman, Bruce Greenwood and Macha Grenon have joined the cast of "Barney's Version," an indie drama starring Paul Giamatti, Dustin Hoffman and Minnie Driver. Richard J. Lewis, producer/director of 49 episodes of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," directs the film. Michael Konyves adapts the screenplay based on the novel by Mordecai Richler. Robert Lantos produces. Principal photography starts in Rome on Aug. 17th. "Barney" focuses on a title character who has led a somewhat reckless life which includes being involved in three marriages...
- 7/16/2009
- Upcoming-Movies.com
PARIS -- The Secret, Vincent Perez's remake of Yojiro Takita's Himitsu (1999) transposed to small-town America, is a variation on the afterlife dramas in such films as Ghost (1990) and Birth (2004). The success of such movies suggests this mainly French production could generate moderate ticket sales.
The premise is that, on the point of death after a horrendous road accident, a mother is able, in order to remain close to her husband, to transfer her soul into the body of her teenage daughter.
Samantha (newcomer Olivia Thirlby), or Sam to family and friends, is a typical 16-year-old -- bright, outgoing, but occasionally surly toward her parents, particularly her mother Hannah (Lily Taylor) whom she accuses of treating her like a child. It is her peevishness that distracts Hannah while she is driving, causing the accident that sees both rushed to a hospital in critical condition.
Hannah dies. Sam lives, but with Hannah's memories and consciousness. Hannah's distraught husband Ben David Duchovny) is incredulous when his wife speaks to him through Sam's lips, but is finally persuaded that Hannah is still around though located in his daughter's body.
A close, loving couple, they decide that Hannah should resume her daughter's studies so that when and if her daughter returns from whatever limbo she finds herself in, she may be able to slot back in as she was before.
This means her having to mix in with, and in the case of the testosterone-driven young males Justin (Corey Sevier) and Ethan (Brendan Sexton) face amorous advances from, Sam's college friends. Meanwhile Sam's guidance counselor Tara (Macha Grenon) starts taking a sympathetic and then distinctly friendly interest in Ben, triggering a bout of jealousy in Hannah.
The complications set in, not the least of them being the issue of conjugal relations. Ben makes it clear to Hannah early on that sex is out because it would be dangerously close to incest. As the frustrations mount, she complains: "I can't get laid." Ben responds: "I know the feeling". The filmmakers decide to play story of thwarted romance straight, but at times like these the dialogue smacks of Woody Allen.
As the movie gears up for the inevitable bittersweet ending, we feel briefly for Ben and the confusion he faces in his dual role as husband and father to two women apparently inhabiting the same body. Duchovny's playing of Ben is too wooden, the screenplay's handling of the life-and-death issues too prosaic and the ending too contrived and sentimental for the movie to be truly affecting.
On the plus side, Thirlby does an excellent job in the mother-daughter role, one minute a graceless schoolgirl, the next a mature, married woman stuck inside a teenager's body. Cinematographer Paul Sarossy adds the requisite sheen, while Perez, an actor making only his second feature, knows enough not to overdo the sugar coating.
THE SECRET
EuropaCorp.
Credits:
Director: Vincent Perez
Screenwriter: Ann Cherkis
Producer: Virginie Besson-Silla
Director of photography: Paul Sarossy
Production designer: Serge Bureau
Music: Nathaniel Mechaly
Costume designer: Francois Barbeau
Editor: Yves Beloniak
Cast:
Ben: David Duchovny
Hannah: Lily Taylor
Sam: Olivia Thirlby
Ethan: Brendan Sexton
Justin: Corey Sevier
Ian: Ashley Springer
Amelia: Laurence Leboeuf
Maggie: Jane Wheeler
Lindsay: Millie Tresierra
Tara: Macha Grenon
Running time -- 93 minutes
No MPAA rating...
The premise is that, on the point of death after a horrendous road accident, a mother is able, in order to remain close to her husband, to transfer her soul into the body of her teenage daughter.
Samantha (newcomer Olivia Thirlby), or Sam to family and friends, is a typical 16-year-old -- bright, outgoing, but occasionally surly toward her parents, particularly her mother Hannah (Lily Taylor) whom she accuses of treating her like a child. It is her peevishness that distracts Hannah while she is driving, causing the accident that sees both rushed to a hospital in critical condition.
Hannah dies. Sam lives, but with Hannah's memories and consciousness. Hannah's distraught husband Ben David Duchovny) is incredulous when his wife speaks to him through Sam's lips, but is finally persuaded that Hannah is still around though located in his daughter's body.
A close, loving couple, they decide that Hannah should resume her daughter's studies so that when and if her daughter returns from whatever limbo she finds herself in, she may be able to slot back in as she was before.
This means her having to mix in with, and in the case of the testosterone-driven young males Justin (Corey Sevier) and Ethan (Brendan Sexton) face amorous advances from, Sam's college friends. Meanwhile Sam's guidance counselor Tara (Macha Grenon) starts taking a sympathetic and then distinctly friendly interest in Ben, triggering a bout of jealousy in Hannah.
The complications set in, not the least of them being the issue of conjugal relations. Ben makes it clear to Hannah early on that sex is out because it would be dangerously close to incest. As the frustrations mount, she complains: "I can't get laid." Ben responds: "I know the feeling". The filmmakers decide to play story of thwarted romance straight, but at times like these the dialogue smacks of Woody Allen.
As the movie gears up for the inevitable bittersweet ending, we feel briefly for Ben and the confusion he faces in his dual role as husband and father to two women apparently inhabiting the same body. Duchovny's playing of Ben is too wooden, the screenplay's handling of the life-and-death issues too prosaic and the ending too contrived and sentimental for the movie to be truly affecting.
On the plus side, Thirlby does an excellent job in the mother-daughter role, one minute a graceless schoolgirl, the next a mature, married woman stuck inside a teenager's body. Cinematographer Paul Sarossy adds the requisite sheen, while Perez, an actor making only his second feature, knows enough not to overdo the sugar coating.
THE SECRET
EuropaCorp.
Credits:
Director: Vincent Perez
Screenwriter: Ann Cherkis
Producer: Virginie Besson-Silla
Director of photography: Paul Sarossy
Production designer: Serge Bureau
Music: Nathaniel Mechaly
Costume designer: Francois Barbeau
Editor: Yves Beloniak
Cast:
Ben: David Duchovny
Hannah: Lily Taylor
Sam: Olivia Thirlby
Ethan: Brendan Sexton
Justin: Corey Sevier
Ian: Ashley Springer
Amelia: Laurence Leboeuf
Maggie: Jane Wheeler
Lindsay: Millie Tresierra
Tara: Macha Grenon
Running time -- 93 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 10/10/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Screened at Locarno International Film Festival In Competition
Louise Archambault's "Familia" is a refreshing and insightful look at the relationships of two sets of three generations of women that contemplates the question of whether or not women are genetically bound to be like their mothers.
Steering well clear of soap opera, the film offers a slice of life that women will surely recognize and men would no doubt benefit from seeing. Only the lack of a clear point of view may keep it from having wide appeal.
Flighty aerobics instructor Michele (Sylvie Moreau), a single mother with a 14-year-old daughter, has a bad gambling habit that leaves her broke and homeless so she turns to her old friend Janine for help.
Janine (Macha Grenon) is an accomplished interior designer who has a beautiful home that she manages impeccably; overseeing her two children while her broadcaster husband is frequently away.
Michele's daughter Marguerite (Mylene St-Sauveur) is a free spirit like her mom while Janine's daughter Gabrielle (Juliette Gosselin) maintains a straight-laced demeanor to please her mom.
As Janine's brother is Marguerite's father and Michele's mother has a new boyfriend of her own, family gatherings are always an adventure but the kids calmly explain to their friends who's who.
Janine gives Michele a job and allows her old friend and her daughter to stay with her, but Michele's gambling habit gets worse and Janine's fussiness increases as she comes to believe that her husband is having an affair.
When the two daughters start to behave as adolescents will, Michele and Janine react in ways not dissimilar from how their own mothers respond when they turn to them for help.
The storyline is held together by a neat, if cruel, act of vengeance and there is much biting wit along the way. The acting is outstanding and the film suffers only from being book-ended by a speculative narration that leaves the drama unfulfilled.
Louise Archambault's "Familia" is a refreshing and insightful look at the relationships of two sets of three generations of women that contemplates the question of whether or not women are genetically bound to be like their mothers.
Steering well clear of soap opera, the film offers a slice of life that women will surely recognize and men would no doubt benefit from seeing. Only the lack of a clear point of view may keep it from having wide appeal.
Flighty aerobics instructor Michele (Sylvie Moreau), a single mother with a 14-year-old daughter, has a bad gambling habit that leaves her broke and homeless so she turns to her old friend Janine for help.
Janine (Macha Grenon) is an accomplished interior designer who has a beautiful home that she manages impeccably; overseeing her two children while her broadcaster husband is frequently away.
Michele's daughter Marguerite (Mylene St-Sauveur) is a free spirit like her mom while Janine's daughter Gabrielle (Juliette Gosselin) maintains a straight-laced demeanor to please her mom.
As Janine's brother is Marguerite's father and Michele's mother has a new boyfriend of her own, family gatherings are always an adventure but the kids calmly explain to their friends who's who.
Janine gives Michele a job and allows her old friend and her daughter to stay with her, but Michele's gambling habit gets worse and Janine's fussiness increases as she comes to believe that her husband is having an affair.
When the two daughters start to behave as adolescents will, Michele and Janine react in ways not dissimilar from how their own mothers respond when they turn to them for help.
The storyline is held together by a neat, if cruel, act of vengeance and there is much biting wit along the way. The acting is outstanding and the film suffers only from being book-ended by a speculative narration that leaves the drama unfulfilled.
- 8/11/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Louise Archambault's Familia is a refreshing and insightful look at the relationships of two sets of three generations of women that contemplates the question of whether or not women are genetically bound to be like their mothers.
Steering well clear of soap opera, the film offers a slice of life that women will surely recognize and men would no doubt benefit from seeing. Only the lack of a clear point of view may keep it from having wide appeal.
Flighty aerobics instructor Michele (Sylvie Moreau), a single mother with a 14-year-old daughter, has a bad gambling habit that leaves her broke and homeless so she turns to her old friend Janine for help.
Janine (Macha Grenon) is an accomplished interior designer who has a beautiful home that she manages impeccably; overseeing her two children while her broadcaster husband is frequently away.
Michele's daughter Marguerite (Mylene St-Sauveur) is a free spirit like her mom while Janine's daughter Gabrielle (Juliette Gosselin) maintains a straight-laced demeanor to please her mom.
As Janine's brother is Marguerite's father and Michele's mother has a new boyfriend of her own, family gatherings are always an adventure but the kids calmly explain to their friends who's who.
Janine gives Michele a job and allows her old friend and her daughter to stay with her, but Michele's gambling habit gets worse and Janine's fussiness increases as she comes to believe that her husband is having an affair.
When the two daughters start to behave as adolescents will, Michele and Janine react in ways not dissimilar from how their own mothers respond when they turn to them for help.
The storyline is held together by a neat, if cruel, act of vengeance and there is much biting wit along the way. The acting is outstanding and the film suffers only from being book-ended by a speculative narration that leaves the drama unfulfilled.
Steering well clear of soap opera, the film offers a slice of life that women will surely recognize and men would no doubt benefit from seeing. Only the lack of a clear point of view may keep it from having wide appeal.
Flighty aerobics instructor Michele (Sylvie Moreau), a single mother with a 14-year-old daughter, has a bad gambling habit that leaves her broke and homeless so she turns to her old friend Janine for help.
Janine (Macha Grenon) is an accomplished interior designer who has a beautiful home that she manages impeccably; overseeing her two children while her broadcaster husband is frequently away.
Michele's daughter Marguerite (Mylene St-Sauveur) is a free spirit like her mom while Janine's daughter Gabrielle (Juliette Gosselin) maintains a straight-laced demeanor to please her mom.
As Janine's brother is Marguerite's father and Michele's mother has a new boyfriend of her own, family gatherings are always an adventure but the kids calmly explain to their friends who's who.
Janine gives Michele a job and allows her old friend and her daughter to stay with her, but Michele's gambling habit gets worse and Janine's fussiness increases as she comes to believe that her husband is having an affair.
When the two daughters start to behave as adolescents will, Michele and Janine react in ways not dissimilar from how their own mothers respond when they turn to them for help.
The storyline is held together by a neat, if cruel, act of vengeance and there is much biting wit along the way. The acting is outstanding and the film suffers only from being book-ended by a speculative narration that leaves the drama unfulfilled.
- 8/10/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Cooperbergs of Montreal -- an irreverent Jewish clan facing a major crisis -- are an encyclopedia of familial woes led by a hideously critical and intolerant matron played with gusto by Ellen Burstyn.
Overacting and endless, stage-bound group angst is the norm in acclaimed Israeli filmmaker Shimon Dotan's scabrous comedy that closed the 10th Nortel Palm Springs International Film Festival on Sunday to decidedly mixed reception. The English-language production also features Amanda Plummer, Mary McDonnell and Genevieve Bujold, but its chances for significant theatrical distribution are slim.
Written by Montreal-born playwright Oren Safdie, "You Can Thank Me Later" is claustrophobically set in a hospital room where the family waits for the outcome of a man undergoing serious surgery. Dotan tries to break up the goings-on with black-and-white cutaways to the various siblings and their families talking frankly with presumably several therapists. There's also lots of frantic, spontaneous sex in bathrooms and cars.
The humor runs the gambit from hoary characterizations -- the artist whose paintings are incomprehensible, the Don Juan who scores easily but also gets caught regularly, the controlling mother who plays favorites -- to ineffective running gags like the broken hospital TV set that only shows documentaries about World War II and the Holocaust.
Ultimately turning serious but never fully engaging as an ensemble hate-in to begin with, "You Can Thank Me Later" is no "Happiness" or "Celebration". Wacky-tacky farce one minute and static bitchfest the next, there's no reward for watching the talented cast struggle with dubious material that is so indifferently mounted. The film could benefit from a new score and the cutting of at least 10 minutes.
Plummer as the lone daughter in the family plays yet another dizzy scaredy-cat, while McDonnell as the separated wife and secret lover of second son Eli (Ted Levine) has no particularly memorable moments. Levine ("The Silence of the Lambs") stands out because his relatively calm and rational character is the most appealing, while Mark Blum struggles to get laughs as the successful, oversexed eldest son.
Burstyn sinks her chops into the role of blitzing mother Cooperberg, but her stagey performance combined with Amnon Solomon's blase cinematography does not make for an endearingly wicked character. She's too much in our faces and in the faces of the messed-up brood of wimps she terrorizes.
Macha Grenon shows some spunk as the righteously vicious wife of Blum's smug opportunist, while Bujold's Mystery Woman is a sketchy enigma who figures in the bizarre wrap-up -- which includes vital information about Plummer's character that's inexplicably withheld, completing one's befuddlement and frustration with this misconceived project.
YOU CAN THANK ME LATER
Danehip Entertainment
A Dotan-Anbar/Cinequest Films production
Director: Shimon Dotan
Producers: Shimon Dotan, Netaya Anbar
Screenwriter: Oren Safdie
Director of photography: Amnon Salomon
Production designer: Michael Devine
Editor: Netaya Anbar
Costume designer: Renee April
Color/stereo
Cast:
Shirley: Ellen Burstyn
Susan: Amanda Plummer
Diane: Mary McDonnell
Eli: Ted Levine
Edward: Mark Blum
Linda: Macha Grenon
Joelle: Genevieve Bujold
Running time -- 105 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Overacting and endless, stage-bound group angst is the norm in acclaimed Israeli filmmaker Shimon Dotan's scabrous comedy that closed the 10th Nortel Palm Springs International Film Festival on Sunday to decidedly mixed reception. The English-language production also features Amanda Plummer, Mary McDonnell and Genevieve Bujold, but its chances for significant theatrical distribution are slim.
Written by Montreal-born playwright Oren Safdie, "You Can Thank Me Later" is claustrophobically set in a hospital room where the family waits for the outcome of a man undergoing serious surgery. Dotan tries to break up the goings-on with black-and-white cutaways to the various siblings and their families talking frankly with presumably several therapists. There's also lots of frantic, spontaneous sex in bathrooms and cars.
The humor runs the gambit from hoary characterizations -- the artist whose paintings are incomprehensible, the Don Juan who scores easily but also gets caught regularly, the controlling mother who plays favorites -- to ineffective running gags like the broken hospital TV set that only shows documentaries about World War II and the Holocaust.
Ultimately turning serious but never fully engaging as an ensemble hate-in to begin with, "You Can Thank Me Later" is no "Happiness" or "Celebration". Wacky-tacky farce one minute and static bitchfest the next, there's no reward for watching the talented cast struggle with dubious material that is so indifferently mounted. The film could benefit from a new score and the cutting of at least 10 minutes.
Plummer as the lone daughter in the family plays yet another dizzy scaredy-cat, while McDonnell as the separated wife and secret lover of second son Eli (Ted Levine) has no particularly memorable moments. Levine ("The Silence of the Lambs") stands out because his relatively calm and rational character is the most appealing, while Mark Blum struggles to get laughs as the successful, oversexed eldest son.
Burstyn sinks her chops into the role of blitzing mother Cooperberg, but her stagey performance combined with Amnon Solomon's blase cinematography does not make for an endearingly wicked character. She's too much in our faces and in the faces of the messed-up brood of wimps she terrorizes.
Macha Grenon shows some spunk as the righteously vicious wife of Blum's smug opportunist, while Bujold's Mystery Woman is a sketchy enigma who figures in the bizarre wrap-up -- which includes vital information about Plummer's character that's inexplicably withheld, completing one's befuddlement and frustration with this misconceived project.
YOU CAN THANK ME LATER
Danehip Entertainment
A Dotan-Anbar/Cinequest Films production
Director: Shimon Dotan
Producers: Shimon Dotan, Netaya Anbar
Screenwriter: Oren Safdie
Director of photography: Amnon Salomon
Production designer: Michael Devine
Editor: Netaya Anbar
Costume designer: Renee April
Color/stereo
Cast:
Shirley: Ellen Burstyn
Susan: Amanda Plummer
Diane: Mary McDonnell
Eli: Ted Levine
Edward: Mark Blum
Linda: Macha Grenon
Joelle: Genevieve Bujold
Running time -- 105 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 1/21/1999
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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