The New Year Parade

This was a fascinating "reality show" type movie set in Philadelphia from Jan 2004 to Jan 2005. The subject matter of the film is a working class family in South Philly going through a messy divorce, the relationships between the Father, Mother, Daughter, & Son. There is a great deal of tension due to the impending divorce. The Father & the Son belong to the South Philly String Band, which marches in the annual Mummer's Day parade each New Year's Day. The story is thus twofold: the dynamics of the family going through the divorce process and the Mummer's Day parade backstory, which is actually the main story and what gives this movie a special edge, especially if you live around Philadelphia and watch these parades each year.

The casting and screenplay did have the appearance of a "reality show". I'm sure there was a screenplay but it's hard to tell while watching the movie. That's not to say the dialog was anything less than outstanding, it just had a spontaneous character to it. It seemed very genuine working class Philly.

The cinematography was outstanding, with many excellent pictures and scenes of South Philly, Mummer's preparing their costumes & practicing their music & dance routines, the screenplay and backstories were great.

As a Philly native, I really loved this movie, but even if you live in LA or NY or Dallas, this is worth checking out. It's a very good movie and as Indie movies go, quite excellent.

As a member of the South Philadelphia String Band I would like to commend Tom Quinn on a job well done and thank him for showing a side of Mummery not a lot of people get to see. Tom was a pleasure to have around our club and his dedication to his craft is commendable. My parts may have hit the cutting room floor for good reason but I would recommend any and all future projects Tom is attached to.

I've seen it three times now (twice at South by Southwest and once at deadCENTER), and each time my love for the film grew. This film achieves everything that the so-called Mumblecore films strive for. The script is dramatic but not theatrical, and many scenes appear to be completely improvised to the extent that it almost becomes a documentary. This combined with the use of intimate spaces and mostly first-time actors makes this film feel like a slice of true life, where there are no easy answers and the simplest joys can be more uplifting than any made-up Hollywood ending.

See this film whenever you get a chance. Tom Quinn is a director to watch.