Reviews (51)

A fascinating and highly provocative mosaic
First of all, Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan's lavishly intense film is NOT to be mistaken for "Showgirls," nor for any triple-x movie (although it IS R-rated).
Although the film presents certain elements of mystery (and one must pay extraordinary attention to both detail and innuendo), the intensity of the characters and plot propel the film across several levels. The viewer hangs on every word, both to pick up (almost desperately) clues toward understanding the over-lapping stories, but also because the characterizations are so thoroughly riveting.
Bruce Greenwood displays excellent range as he portrays both a care-free young family man as well as that character in middle age, besought with layer upon layer of tragedy and "baggage."
Mia Kirshner similarly impresses as we see her character at various stages: as a troubled pre-teen, replete with pony tail and braces, and also as both a mature college graduate and, quite convincingly, as an exotic dancer.
Elias Koteas is stunning as an anguished and lost club DJ/poet.
Don McKellar and Arsinée Khanjian are also quite brilliant in supporting roles.
Be prepared to want to immediately view the film a second time -- to do so is not merely repetition but serves as an opportunity to continue to fathom the depths of the characters and the film's unrelentingly passionate intrigue.

Obsession and desire, Atom Egoyan's best to date.
An obsession is not unlike a dream, in the sense that you can find in both a very peculiar stance where sensibility and madness go hand in hand. But any attempt, by man or woman, to tread new roads to and from such places is often futile, simply because the journey to such underminded conditions is always one of self-discovery and self-torture.

Quite possibly his most sucessful movie to date, Atom Egoyan's marvelously written EXOTICA delves deeply into the world of pain and obsession, painting for us a canvas in which the characters and their stories are never static or cold, but organic and contrived. Painfully marred by their fractured lives and by their fears.

EXOTICA tells the story of three very enigmatic and confused individuals. Francis (Bruce Greenwood), an obsessed man who recently went through a very traumatic experience; Christina (Mia Kirshner), an erotic table dancer who has a very special relationship with Francis, and finally Eric the club's D.J. (powerfully played by Elias Koteas), who seems in turn to be obsessed with Christina.

As I was watching the movie, I quickly became enthralled with the story, if for no other reason simply because I was absorbed at how very well portrayed the characters were. It seems that at some point or another we all go through times when our own existance seems to flicker, something breaks inside which gnaws away our sanity. The only way to prevent our destruction is to see ourselves reflected in someone else's life.

This is the story told in EXOTICA. Don't be discouraged by the name, the movie is very enjoyable and fun. I was particularly amazed by Elias Koteas performance. The DVD edition is nicely presented in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.66:1, the video transfer is solid throughout and even though there are no extras to speak of, I think the movie itself is worth its price (or at least a rent). Give it a try, I recommend it.

Shallow to deep.
One has to wonder if those who rated this movie poorly 'got it'. I gave this to a co-worker and he was highly confused at the end because he missed a critical link. For myself, I'm not sure what I expected. I knew I liked Mia Kirshner, and the pick-up of the DVD in a bargain bin was a "what the heck" purchase though I'd read reviews that seemed to promise a dark, disturbing, thought provoking movie.

Well, the packaging, as alluded to in the description, makes this seem like a standard erotic thriller. The addition of much of the action taking place in a strip club only seems to reinforce this as being standard, even shallow, fare. It's anything but. It might not be believable as a story, but the characters themselves are. Not only that, but fittingly enough, the shallowest seeming character through much of the film turns out to be potentially the most complex. It wasn't until after the end credits had rolled, and while still wrapping my mind around the whole canvas of the movie, it clicked as to why the character may have acted in a certain way.

I'll add a disclaimer here for anyone interested in the movie. If you are at all squeamish about the concepts of pedophelia, homosexuality, strip clubs, etc... well, just be aware that you might feel highly uncomfortable. I only plead discomfort to the first and parts were painful to watch even though nothing explicitly happens (and as is the case of the whole movie, nothing is anywhere near as simple or obvious as it first appears).

Highly recommended if you want a thought provoking, dark movie that at times makes you do a mental doubletake.

Don't waste your time with this trash
I was browsing movies on Amazon looking for something new and different to watch, using customer reviews to decide if it might be worth my time or not. When the movie started, I already knew this one was a mistake. I sat through the whole thing (another mistake) and in the end I felt very cheated out of a buck and a couple hours of my life I could of spent doing something else.

The acting, characters, script, and plot were pathetic. The climatic ending that people keep mentioning wasn't a big deal at all. This movie was not artistic as some claim. It wasn't thrilling or suspenseful. It was just a bad attempt at a bad story with bad actors. Move right along to the next movie.

Egoyan's swan Song!!!
O.K. this film sarts off with a elderly Kung Fu instructor that, at the end of his life, realizes that his five students could become evil. Each of the students has become a master Kung Fu fighter and has specialized in one of five deadly techniques. The problem is that the master has no idea who each of the " deadly venoms " are now that they have been able to leave the secret Kung Fu school......oh, wait! This is Atom Egoyan's Exotica I'm writing about. Sorry!

Exotica made me fall into a deep, deep sleep. I had a dream about a real strip club. It was NOTHING like Egoyan's over the top exotic wonderland. In reality strip clubs, strippers and strip club DJs couldn't be LESS interesting. The average strip club is , at best, entertaining. There is nothing exotic or entertaining about Exotica. I wonder if Egoyan has ever been in a strip club? Well, I'm sure he's too cultured for that kind of thing.

5 stars for the the Shaw Brother's Kung Fu classic Five Deadly Venoms! Top notch Kung Fu !!! ... Read more

Reviews (64)

The Innocents
That Atom Egoyan is one of the very best directors making movies today is beyond reproach. If he had only made the elegant and stunning "The Sweet Hereafter" his place among the pantheon of directors would be assured. So what happened with "Ararat?"
In a nutshell, "Ararat" is too complicated; filled with too many sub-plots and extraneous material not central to the plot. It's as if Agoyan, in his need to set the record straight about the Armenian Genocide says too much. The problem with all of this is that it takes away from the dramatic core of the movie: "Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it."
The Armenian Genocide by the Turks at the beginning of the 20th. Century is innately rife with sorrow, pathos and human despair but Atom Egoyan would have better served his people and his subject had he made a simple, straightforward dramatic film based on Clarence Ussher's Diaries, an American doctor and an eye-witness.
Several story elements do work, though: the story of Arshile Gorky and his mother become a touchstone for the entire film: it's emotional center. Also, Raffi's (David Alpay) plot line with the customs official (Christopher Plummer) though realistically implausible is nonetheless dramatically true. Some of the performances are also first rate: David Alpay, Christopher Plummer and Charles Aznavour as the director of the film-within-a-film.
As in most of Egoyan's films, events and how they are recalled and thereby inevitably interpreted by a group of people is at the core of "Ararat.": Recollection as a way of eventually getting at the truth of a thing.
For the most part, "Ararat" is well thought out and humane and it definitely brings to the forefront a piece of history many of us know nothing about. But ultimately "Ararat" does not carry it's grim burden well: telling the horrific story of the decimation of a people; a story too long hidden away in the history books (if there at all) of these heroic Armenians many of whom survive today and remain irrevocably scarred by it.

Remarkable and Multi-dimensional
This film is a work on many levels dealing with various social and political issues. The movie within a movie concept is successfully executed by Egoyan. There are also numerous talented actors in this film such as the main character David Alpay and even popular singer Charles Aznavour.

It seems as though some reviewers who gave this movie a negative review have not actually seen the movie. These are individuals who attempt to sabotage works dealing with the Armenian Genocide. However, a few Turkish scholars have risked their lives and accepted the Genocide and believe it is the first step to accept their history and actions of their ancestors. Also, contrary to what one reviewer wrote, this movie is based on a HISTORICAL ACCOUNT by the American physician Dr. Clarence Ussher who set up a hospital in Van and witnessed the horrors of Genocide.

The bottom line is this movie is very thought provoking as the New York Times reviewer wrote. This is one of those movies where you will find yourself trying to answer questions long after you've seen the film. Thus, one viewing will not suffice.

art or artifice?
Armenian-Canadian and Egyptian-born film director Atom Egoyan's film Ararat on "the Armenian genocide", while intricately constructed in his usual style, is a disservice to the ideals of progressive constructionism and historically faithful fiction. In this context it is important to consider how the Armenian propaganda machine and extremist groups regularly abuse Armenian art in order to reach their political aims. These fringe elements of the Armenian diaspora (especially in North America) over the 20th century have built the expat Armenian identity squarely on anti-Turkish feelings and this movie works to buttress that aim. The director's life and growing up in Canada as a teenage immigrant also impacts the movie in predictable ways, and is worth commenting on. Egoyan is essentially an identity-convert. He refused his Armenian identity as a teenager and made efforts to be a 'normal' Canadian. He did not speak Armenian. However in college, radical Armenian nationalists helped him rebuild his national identity on powerful anti-Turkish sentiments. Now they could bond around a common enemy. He was Armenian because he was anti-Turkish and vica versa. The nationalist trend in his character became even more significant when he married a beautiful but fanatic Lebanese Armenian, Arsinée Khanjian, who is cast as Ani in the movie. There's nary a single member of the cast who isn't caught up in the politics and this shows.

The 'genocide legacy' in particular has played a crucial role in Egoyan's self-identification like many Armenians in the diaspora, descendants of rural folk forced out of their ancestral lands as refugees by events beyond their control or comprehension. Though almost none of these millions of North American descendants of displaced Armenians had ever been to Turkey (or Armenia for that matter, though this would have been more difficult under the Soviets), many of them continued to believe and financially support the notion that the Turks had attempted to obliterate their race. Mind you these very same Turks and Armenians are descendants of Ottomans, a very genetically diverse and inclusive group (not to be dismissed by glib theories of rape and pillage - cf. Semino et al. Science vol. 290 10 Nov 2000, for an analysis of European Y chromosomes and human migration) who despite early military successes were unarguably one of the most tolerant conquerors in recorded history. It is deeply ironic that these people would nevertheless sabotage their own community after hundreds of years of peaceful coexistence, mutual respect and collaboration in art, philosophy, literature, and trade. Most of the fruits of this cultural collaboration is unfortunately unavailable on the web or outside the realm of academia, but not music- see "Istanbul 1925" (a compilation CD by Traditional Crossroads available through Amazon) for a delightful historical example, coincidentally reproduced from the original recordings in the US by Armenian-Americans.

In essence Egoyan has exaggerated the past in order to legitimize his identity, in the cultural obsession which is the primary trait of "modern" Armenian art.

Egoyan bases his script on the (1917) book by Clarence Ussher, who worked as an American missionary in the eastern Ottoman Empire during WWI. However, the script deviates considerably from Ussher's accounts, beyond the boundaries of artistic expression especially for such a politically charged historical subject. Egoyan chooses to focus in his film-within-a-film on the Armenian revolt in the Ottoman city of Van in 1915. However the script conveniently neglects the fact that the actual revolt ended with the victory of Armenians, when the Ottoman governor of Van was forced to flee and was replaced by an Armenian at the conclusion of a bloody joint attack by the Russian army, which occupied the city joined by local Armenian bandits and militia. This Armenian-Russian joint attack resulted in the death of more than 20,000 Van residents, none of whom were armed combatants. Of course these historical 'macro' facts also covered in Ussher's book did not fit well into the victim's psychology which pervades the movie.

Ararat, though I hate to say it, is a typical Armenian propaganda film (see also Midnight Express) and will damage the ongoing attempts for Armenian-Turkish dialogue for the benefit of humanity, ie. for the people who actually have to live in these countries and not kick back on their leather couch in a US/Canadian suburb and pop in a DVD for entertainment/shock value, or for self-serving members of the diaspora hungry for victim psychology consumables. As other unbiased movie critics will attest, Ararat is one of Egoyan's worst films in terms of art value. A good product requires effort, subtlety and meticulousness. Extreme prejudice, ideological perniciousness and cartoonish depictions of good and evil do not improve the artistic quality of a film. That's not to claim Egoyan made this movie out of sheer hatred. The point is that he is compelled to become the voice of the proselytisers and as such does not really attempt with his art to reach into the nature of societal and emotional tensions that underlie cultural obsessions. As he states in interviews he refuses to discuss 'the genocide issue'. When you reject dialogue or debate on an issue you can't claim to make a critical film on the subject. It's likely that extremist Armenian elements within the diaspora acting through his wife and friends (not to mention Bob Lantos) have put enormous pressure on Egoyan to make a film like Ararat. This pressure has been building from decades of frustration with other prominent Armenian diaspora filmmakers (see Mamoulian, Kazan or Verneuil). Several years before this film Egoyan had even mentioned in an interview that he was not a historical filmmaker and that he would not be making a film on the events of 1915.

It's clear that he eventually succumbed to the pressure. Still, external forces aside it does not justify this intentionally obscure and convoluted effort because as an intellectual and high profile Armenian-_Canadian_ artist, more so an Officer of the Order of Canada, he has a responsibility to probe the underlying elements with integrity and create a conduit to bring together Armenians and Turks through visual art in reconciliation and self-awareness. To build such an outlet would after all be in the spirit of the Canadian national character.

Deep, captivating, emotional!
Very few movies leave a deep impact lately, as this one did. Not only because of my armenian background, but the composition and the human interaction. I had to watch it twice to make sure I did not miss anything and still did not catch all the nuances untill I listened to the commentary. I'm swept away! Recommended it to all my friends and family and will share it at work with my non-armenian friends!
Atom, thank you!

The Complete Picture..
I liked this movie because unlike most movies about massacre and persecution in the Old World, this movie follows up on the persecuted peoples, in this case the Armenians, as they find the life in their new country-of-refusge, Canada. As is the case with real, live human beings, escaping persecution to safety and "freedom" is not enough to address the complexity of the human soul. All of the Armenian-Canadians portrayed in the film live in a New World context and suffer from New World problems along with the alienations and isolations of New World lives. As in all Egoyan movies, most of the film protagonists in this exsemble work do not exist merely as didactic sterotypes. They breath, their relationship to their heritage is compromised in the personal life, they suffer. They suffer in a way which is special to the New World, Canada and The United States alike.

Instead of bringing us a dry, linear account, the story of the Armenian massacre in Eastern Turkey is told indirectly, through the filming of a film about it. In many instances the viewer is confused, not certain if it actually is a flashback to the actual past or merely the scenes of the massacre being filmed for the film. Does it matter? What is the relationship between the actual events and the events portrayed in the film? One keeps wondering about that.

Like all Egoyan films, the production is professional and smooth. The themes of his earlier movies about emotional disconnection and the use of video and vice to overcome that disconnection appear here as well. That is perhaps what makes this movie special: In exploring his own Armenian heritage, he never drops the ball of his old themese and concerns. He never forgets or ignores thay they are all in Canada now and that the fact that the Armenians were persecuted in the Old World, does not solve their problems of existentiality and their own estrangement in a New World Society.

Egoyan offers us a new model for the making of films about cataclyismic, life ruining problems. I wish that movies of this type could have been made about the Jewish Holocaust and the Palestinian Refugee Problem. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The complex plot of Speaking Parts captures the twisty psychologyof its yearning characters. Lance (Michael McManus), an actor who has onlyhad nonspeaking roles in movies, sees his chance when a movie team usesthe hotel where he works as a production office. Lance seduces Clara(Gabrielle Rose), the screenwriter, who gets Lance cast in the centralrole of her deceased brother, who died giving a lung to her. Meanwhile, amaid (Arsinee Khanjian) in the hotel rents the movies Lance has acted inso she can watch his fleeting appearances, and Clara goes to a mausoleumwhere she watches a video of her brother. As in many of Canadianwriter-director Atom Egoyan's movies, the characters use technology tochannel emotions they can't express directly. Speaking Parts isseductive and hypnotic, full of images both eerie and sad. --BretFetzer ... Read more

Reviews (6)

"You've just got to know which buttons to push."
In Atom Egoyan's film, "Speaking Parts" bit-part actor, Lance, works in the housekeeping department of a posh, but strange hotel. Lonely co-worker Lisa (Arsinee Khanjian) stalks Lance during the day, and at night, she rents and re-rents his films. Lisa maintains that Lance may never actually speak in his roles, but that his scenes are crucial to the films. Lance, however, is not content with minor roles and understandably wants a big break. That big break seems to arrive when a writer named Clara checks into the hotel. When cleaning Clara's room, Lance discovers a script, and he approaches her for an audition. Clara is smitten with Lance, and soon auditions him for a part in a film.

Clara seems to have some artistic control over the film, but this power rapidly diminishes as the story progresses. In selling her true story to a film producer, Clara becomes disenfranchised from her own history, and soon she doesn't have a voice--or a speaking part in her own truth. Lance and Clara are both presented with occasions for moral compromise, and speaking out jeopardizes the tenuous positions they both hold.

"Speaking Parts" is about power--the power in relationships, and the only truly powerful person in this film is the producer (played with delicious icy gravity by David Hemblem). The producer lives on quite a different plane of existence, and he mostly communicates to his minions via television conferences which he entirely controls. Hemblem and Gabrielle Rose (she plays Clara) appear in many of Egoyan's films. I particularly enjoyed Lisa's odd relationship with Eddy, the video shop owner whose initial interest in Lisa sparks friendship.

Egoyan once again shows his obsession with television and technology. Egoyan seems to delight in placing his characters in front of the camera, and I can't think of another director who exploits and explores this medium quite so thoroughly--displacedhuman

80's Avante Garde
This movie is a prime example of 80's egosim and the human need to see the way others view you. Lisa played by Khanjian,(I think she is also Atom's wife) is a hotel maid that craves the attention of Lance a co-worker. The bulk of the movie is centered on Lance and Lisa and how they their need for attention ultimately throws them into a web of intrigue, delusions, sexual desire and ultimatley death. This is a movie that is best seen more than once, due to it's hidden meaning and dialogue. If possible I would highly recommend getting the DVD version, because there is commentary from Atom that is very helpful. F.Y.I. Micheal McManus also appears in the sci-fi show "Lexx," as the dead bun-headed assassin Kai and he also has a cameo in "Dog Park," as the waiter.

Riveting and Spellbinding!!
I was pleasantly surprised to see the release of this film, since it got less than it's deserved attention. The moodiness and underlying tension focus on Lance, a part-time actor/houskeeper/ prostitute trying desperately to break into the forefront of dramatic performances, but all of his efforts seem to be thwarted at every turn. His employer wants to keep him as her own personal sexual property to be doled out upon demand to customers, and Lisa, another employee at the hotel where he works has raised the level of obsessiveness to new heights, dragging other people into her obsession. Claire, a screenwriter Lance seduces into helping him to be cast in a locally produced film, has her own obsessions, and incorporates Lance into compromising his own needs with disatrous results. The performances were outstanding, especially from McManus, who portrays the effete Lance with a mixture of selfishness and torment. Lisa's descent into madness is underplayed just right, no over-the-top histrionics. The only flaw I found was the unbelievably bad wig they put on McManus for the comparison to Claire's brother's image. It must have been dreadful to acheive the desired results with the stringy locks hovering around just enough to distract his performance. But then, bad wigs pretty much come with the territory for McManus, who is also one of the lead actors on the sci-fi epic, "Lexx", currently on television, but his performances are just as spellbinding.. The Dvd comes with lovely extra goodies, especially the narration by Egoyan, which explains motivations behind each and every scene. Also contained were deleted scenes, which explained a few things not evident on first viewing. Highly recommened, but ignore the bad costumes and hairdos...

A deeper look into Speaking Parts
"Speaking Parts" is far more than just the script for the movie. This softcover book also includes an introduction by Ron Burnett, an essay by Atom Egoyan, and an interview with Egoyan by Marc Glassman. These all lead the viewer to a deeper understanding of the complexity and artistry of Egoyan's second major film. The book is also enhanced by black and white stills as well as pages from the original script showing hand written sketches and dialogue changes. Also included is a filmography of Egoyan's films through 1993. If you've been carried away by the film as I have, you must find a copy of this book!

Speaking Parts, Brilliant!
An excellent film by Atom Egoyan. The moody atmosphere enhances the plot and the production is excellent. McManus fans who know him through Tales from a Parallel Universe, or Lexx as it is called in the UK, will love him in this. McManus' portrayal as the ambitious, but emotionally ambivilant Lance is fantastic as is Arnesee Khanjan's performance as the frustrated Lisa. UK buyers will be pleased to know that this tape will play well on a video with duel PAL and NTSC format, with a decent PAL t.v. and is a must. Well worth the wait and not as pornographic as some reviews make out, but very erotic in parts. Not rated but not suitable for veiwers under eighteen. ... Read more

Reviews (108)

Atom Egoyan's beautiful tragedy! Masterful filmmaking!
What can I say about "The Sweet Hereafter"? Well, without hyperbole, Canadian director Atom Egoyan has basically turned Russel Banks popular novel into one of the most touching and masterfully-crafted films ever made! This is the story of smalltown tragedy in British Columbia. Fourteen schoolchildren are killed in a freak school bus accident, and their families, friends, and neighbors, each devestated in their own way, tries to carry on with their lives. A manipulative laywer (played with stark intensity by Ian Holm) comes to the town to try to organize a class action lawsuit, but the lawyer is carrying some emotional baggage of his own, and Egoyan creates some beautiful plot "counterpoint" by weaving the townpeople's and the lawyers tragedies together. Egoyan takes what COULD have been fodder for another melodramatic Hollywood tearjerker, and turns it into a film of great depth and substance. Egoyan has a wonderfully lyrical sense of film composition, and he masterfully intermixes scenes from the present, with flashbacks to the past, and slowly unviels the the complex lives of his characters (including some even deeper tragedies than the bus accident!) Ever the innovator, Egoyan even manages to blend spoken poetry into the story, as Robert Browning's "The Pied Piper of Hamelin" is used as a powerfully symbolic conterpoint to the story we are seeing on screen. The whole cast is quite excellent, but young Canadian actress Sarah Polley (as the pivotal character of Nicole, a would-be rock singer and survivor of the bus crash) just about steals the show! I won't give away one of the film's most surprising plot-points (although some Amazon reviewers have already let the cat out of the bag), but I will just say that Polley's dazed facial expression near the end of the story is a beatiful piece of acting...and speaks volumes more than any big, convoluted Hollywood "comeuppance" scene could ever achieve! "The Sweet Hereafter" is a film that should not be missed by any film buff! I have seen this film at least five times now and I can attest that it only gets better with repeated vieweings, there is simply too much going on underneath the surface of the story to absorb all of it's issues on the first glance. This very "human" film is the complete antithesis of everything that is wrong with the current Hollywood scene, and with this emotionally gripping film, Atom Egoyan has cemented his place among the world's finest filmmakers!

Secrets and Lies
This quiet, subtle and gripping movie is an impressive work about death, grief, change, secrets and communities, a strong, moving and complex cinematic experience. Director Atom Egoyan handles a difficult subject and knows how to develop an interesting and thought-provocking approach.

The basic story is about the aftermath of a school bus accident that led to the death of 14 children. An attourney (Ian Holm) then tries to find out who was the responsible for such dramatic and unfortunate incident, looking for clear answers but failing to achieve them.
Was it really just an accident? Why did it happen? Was it that surprising and unexpected? These are some of the questions that the lawyer tries to find answers to, so he starts looking for them in the little, calm and peaceful canadian village where the disaster happened.

As the lawyer`s quest unfolds, Egoyan shows us his motivations, giving a glipse about his relationship with his drug-addicted daughter that he is unable to help.
"The Sweet Hereafter" is a powerful story about loss and frustration in a world where parents can`t seem to help their children, dreams start to fade and hope is destroyed. But it`s also a story told in a realistic and credible way, avoiding easy melodramatic devices and dramatic overacting. Egoyan doesn`t offer a tearjerker session here, given that his approach is subtle, letting hope and reconstruction unfold.

The storytelling techniques are unique, given that the plot development isn`t linear and mixes three different timeframes that are related and co-dependent. The movie also presents an ethereal, hypnotic and dream-like atmosphere, creating a particular and unique feel, although it never loses its realistic elements. The acting is overall convincing, especially Sarah Polley as the enigmatic young girl.

"The Sweet Hereafter" is not always an easy film to watch, as some of its plot points offer some ambiguity and uneasy answers. The characters are more than what they first seem, and Egoyan wisely covers a wide range of emotions without following a predictable and standart perspective. This is a slow, engrossing and captivating piece of cinema, one that makes the viewer feel, think and question, way above many formulaic fast-food flicks out there.
A remarkable achievement.

Stays With You...
This is one of those rare films which is at least equal to the novel's quality, even surpassing it in some respects. Subtle and moving, it is refreshing to watch a film that incoporates so much imagery and symbolism without beating the viewer over the head with a skillet. The commentary by Atom Egoyan and Russell Banks provided much insight into why the film had to be structured so differently than the book, and I highly recommend watching the special feature of Russell Banks reading excerpts from the novel.

Another Egoyan masterpiece!
The Sweet Hereafter is more a work of art than a film, and that in itself will put off some people. Its a slow moving, dreary, and depressing motion picture, full of real people, real struggles, and real dialogue. It's a profound experience that moves like a dream, slowly easing its way to an incomplete yet satisfying finale. Egoyan certainly knows how to work with his actors, as is evident by all the brilliant performances he has captured. This is a top-notch film, hard to love, and at the same time, very difficult to hate. Egoyan always has a way to make a challenging motion picture, allowing the audience to think and discuss long after the film is over. He continues to amaze me. This is one of those rare films that might move slowly, but is worth watching. It's a tough one to watch because of the subject matter (children dying in a school bus accident), but in the end, it is well worth it. Egoyan is a brilliant director and he is in top form here. Any fans of his other works who haven't seen this should definitely look for it. Everyone else should also give it a chance. They might enjoy it, or then again, they might hate me for recommending it. Either way, it's at least worth a look.

movie good; book a thousand times better
the commentary by russell banks made the movie more interesting and enjoyable. from the sound of the dvd, the director will be patting himself on the back well into his sweet hereafter. ... Read more

Amazon.com

This first feature from Canadian director Atom Egoyan (Exotica,The Sweet Hereafter) already shows flashes of his mature visualstyle. At age 23, Peter (Patrick Tierney) lives at home with hisbickering parents. After they undergo videotaped family therapy, Peteraccidentally sees a video of another family's session. Drawn to thisArmenian family's more open emotional expression, Peter flees hisown family and pretends to be the son these parents gave up long ago, andsoon finds himself trying to resolve the breach between them and theirdaughter (Arsinee Khanjian, Egoyan's wife, who appears in all of hisfeature films, as well as movies like Irma Vep). Though not astechnically accomplished or as narratively complex as Egoyan's laterwork, Next of Kin is still a sweet and touching film about thelengths people go to find love and a sense of home. --Bret Fetzer ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Atom Egoyan IS the artist that Joe Eszterhas wishes he was!
I first saw "Next of Kin" at UT-Austin around 1990. I was amused, but thought it was derivative of Steven Soderberg who had recently won the Palm D'Or for "Sex, Lies, and Videotape."

THEN...I saw the copyright was 1985--and nearly fell out of my seat!!! I'm convinced the "derivation" was the other way 'round.

Since then I've followed his career with admiration and affection. No one else deals with desire as intelligently as he does. No one insists on placing their characters in a web of familial relationships (*without it necessarily being the main theme*) the way he does.

Sometimes puzzling (as in "The Adjuster") Sometimes dazzling (as in "The Sweet Hereafter") ALWAYS engaging.

This early work will make you feel *good* with an ending that is happy without being cheap.

It *may* make you never want to visit the "erotic thriller" section of your video store AGAIN!!! :-)

wonderous look at curiosity and the love of family.
wonderful look at family life through the eyes of a curious man, Peter who takes on the life of Pedros, the son given up by two Armenian parents. increadible opening sequences with long shots of baggage carousels. perfect acting and long shots, not too many edits. nice to see atom in some parts too, and the polaroids add the perfect touch, plus the final image. there is an annoying fly pestering me. thank you atom. see it on 16mm at Moviate.org ... Read more

Reviews (108)

Atom Egoyan's beautiful tragedy! Masterful filmmaking!
What can I say about "The Sweet Hereafter"? Well, without hyperbole, Canadian director Atom Egoyan has basically turned Russel Banks popular novel into one of the most touching and masterfully-crafted films ever made! This is the story of smalltown tragedy in British Columbia. Fourteen schoolchildren are killed in a freak school bus accident, and their families, friends, and neighbors, each devestated in their own way, tries to carry on with their lives. A manipulative laywer (played with stark intensity by Ian Holm) comes to the town to try to organize a class action lawsuit, but the lawyer is carrying some emotional baggage of his own, and Egoyan creates some beautiful plot "counterpoint" by weaving the townpeople's and the lawyers tragedies together. Egoyan takes what COULD have been fodder for another melodramatic Hollywood tearjerker, and turns it into a film of great depth and substance. Egoyan has a wonderfully lyrical sense of film composition, and he masterfully intermixes scenes from the present, with flashbacks to the past, and slowly unviels the the complex lives of his characters (including some even deeper tragedies than the bus accident!) Ever the innovator, Egoyan even manages to blend spoken poetry into the story, as Robert Browning's "The Pied Piper of Hamelin" is used as a powerfully symbolic conterpoint to the story we are seeing on screen. The whole cast is quite excellent, but young Canadian actress Sarah Polley (as the pivotal character of Nicole, a would-be rock singer and survivor of the bus crash) just about steals the show! I won't give away one of the film's most surprising plot-points (although some Amazon reviewers have already let the cat out of the bag), but I will just say that Polley's dazed facial expression near the end of the story is a beatiful piece of acting...and speaks volumes more than any big, convoluted Hollywood "comeuppance" scene could ever achieve! "The Sweet Hereafter" is a film that should not be missed by any film buff! I have seen this film at least five times now and I can attest that it only gets better with repeated vieweings, there is simply too much going on underneath the surface of the story to absorb all of it's issues on the first glance. This very "human" film is the complete antithesis of everything that is wrong with the current Hollywood scene, and with this emotionally gripping film, Atom Egoyan has cemented his place among the world's finest filmmakers!

Secrets and Lies
This quiet, subtle and gripping movie is an impressive work about death, grief, change, secrets and communities, a strong, moving and complex cinematic experience. Director Atom Egoyan handles a difficult subject and knows how to develop an interesting and thought-provocking approach.

The basic story is about the aftermath of a school bus accident that led to the death of 14 children. An attourney (Ian Holm) then tries to find out who was the responsible for such dramatic and unfortunate incident, looking for clear answers but failing to achieve them.
Was it really just an accident? Why did it happen? Was it that surprising and unexpected? These are some of the questions that the lawyer tries to find answers to, so he starts looking for them in the little, calm and peaceful canadian village where the disaster happened.

As the lawyer`s quest unfolds, Egoyan shows us his motivations, giving a glipse about his relationship with his drug-addicted daughter that he is unable to help.
"The Sweet Hereafter" is a powerful story about loss and frustration in a world where parents can`t seem to help their children, dreams start to fade and hope is destroyed. But it`s also a story told in a realistic and credible way, avoiding easy melodramatic devices and dramatic overacting. Egoyan doesn`t offer a tearjerker session here, given that his approach is subtle, letting hope and reconstruction unfold.

The storytelling techniques are unique, given that the plot development isn`t linear and mixes three different timeframes that are related and co-dependent. The movie also presents an ethereal, hypnotic and dream-like atmosphere, creating a particular and unique feel, although it never loses its realistic elements. The acting is overall convincing, especially Sarah Polley as the enigmatic young girl.

"The Sweet Hereafter" is not always an easy film to watch, as some of its plot points offer some ambiguity and uneasy answers. The characters are more than what they first seem, and Egoyan wisely covers a wide range of emotions without following a predictable and standart perspective. This is a slow, engrossing and captivating piece of cinema, one that makes the viewer feel, think and question, way above many formulaic fast-food flicks out there.
A remarkable achievement.

Stays With You...
This is one of those rare films which is at least equal to the novel's quality, even surpassing it in some respects. Subtle and moving, it is refreshing to watch a film that incoporates so much imagery and symbolism without beating the viewer over the head with a skillet. The commentary by Atom Egoyan and Russell Banks provided much insight into why the film had to be structured so differently than the book, and I highly recommend watching the special feature of Russell Banks reading excerpts from the novel.

Another Egoyan masterpiece!
The Sweet Hereafter is more a work of art than a film, and that in itself will put off some people. Its a slow moving, dreary, and depressing motion picture, full of real people, real struggles, and real dialogue. It's a profound experience that moves like a dream, slowly easing its way to an incomplete yet satisfying finale. Egoyan certainly knows how to work with his actors, as is evident by all the brilliant performances he has captured. This is a top-notch film, hard to love, and at the same time, very difficult to hate. Egoyan always has a way to make a challenging motion picture, allowing the audience to think and discuss long after the film is over. He continues to amaze me. This is one of those rare films that might move slowly, but is worth watching. It's a tough one to watch because of the subject matter (children dying in a school bus accident), but in the end, it is well worth it. Egoyan is a brilliant director and he is in top form here. Any fans of his other works who haven't seen this should definitely look for it. Everyone else should also give it a chance. They might enjoy it, or then again, they might hate me for recommending it. Either way, it's at least worth a look.

movie good; book a thousand times better
the commentary by russell banks made the movie more interesting and enjoyable. from the sound of the dvd, the director will be patting himself on the back well into his sweet hereafter. ... Read more

Reviews (32)

Atom Egoyan's Psycho
a-movie-to-see.com recommendation

Brazil wasn't the first Bob Hoskins film I saw, but the third. It was the first film where I could understand a word he was saying. I simply couldn't penetrate his cockney in The Long Good Friday or Mona Lisa.

That doesn't mean I couldn't understand his characters. Hoskins is a forthright screen actor. He can inhabit his compact frame with a ferocious mob boss, a compassionate chauffer, a duct repairman or a foil for Roger Rabbit with imperceptible effort.

Felicia's Journey played the Cannes film festival, there was a buzz about his performance. I liked the idea of him teaming with Atom Egoyan whose tragic The Sweet Hereafter drew a heartwrenching performance from Ian Holm.

Listening to William Trevor's book on tape, I could tell the role of factory caterer/serial killer Joseph Ambrose Hilditch was made for Hoskins.

Mr Hilditch's hands are small, seeming not to belong to the rest of him; deft, delicate fingers that can insert a battery into a watch or tidily truss a chicken, this latter a useful accomplishment, for of all things in the world Mr Hilditch enjoys eating.

Like his predecessors Anthony Perkins (Psycho) and Barry Foster (Frenzy) he seems outwardly affable enough when he's with his coworkers or offering avuncular advice to wayward girls like Felicia (Elaine Cassidy). Atom Egoyan dispenses with the sensationalism of Hitchcock's shower scene and staircase sequences. He credits us with the wherewithal to conjure our own violent images to accompany Hilditch's collection of videotaped victims.

On the other hand, he doesn't rely on a convoluted psychiatrist's explanation to explain to us where Hilditch went wrong. We simply watch him go wrong this time.

A not so sweet hereafter
Atom Egoyan followed up his masterpiece film "The Sweet Hereafter," with this strange movie about an unusual serial killer. Bob Hoskins gives a great performance as the man whose hobbies are gormet cooking and killing young girls. But he doesn't murder them outright, as young Felica discovers. She's come to his town seeking out the boyfriend who left her. With nowehere to go, she seemingly lucks out when Hoskins offers to allow her to stay at his large house. All of this sounds more intriguing than it ends up being on the screen. Though well acted, the movie moves slowly and ultimately just doesn't amount to all that much. Egoyan's movies are always literate, but this one is so to the point that you start to lose interest. There are no great moving moments like in "The Sweet Hereafter."

Makes my jaw drop
I have never seen a more sympathetic portrayal of a serial killer. As played by Bob Hoskins, Mr. Hildich is a fatherly, sweet, gentle, and lonely man who is also conflicted, disturbed, and reluctantly evil. He also suffers from a lingering mother complex which is apparently responsible for his dirty, horrible little secrets. With a history of rescuing poor "lost girls" who are impregnated, then abandoned by their boy friends, he cannot help but try to keep them near him forever. Hildich's latest rescuee is Felicia, a young Irish girl with a problem similar to "the others."

Hoskins plays Hildich with a quiet intensity that is both creepy, scary, but never less than sympathetic. I often felt that he needed rescuing as much as Felicia. The scenes where Hildich, who is ironically a catering manager, watches old videos of his mother, a famous French television chef, preparing one of her famous recipes while he follows along are by turns funny and nauseating. Norman Bates would probably identify with Hildich. Thrown into the mix is a Bible carrying rescue worker and missionary who promises peace in the great hereafter to those who would only just believe. In the end her naive message save no one, not even the hapless Hilich.

There is a haunting and beautiful melody played throughout the film called "The Faith In The Heart Of A Child" which gives the simple message that if only children were more loved and respected for themselves there would be no need to rescue them when they become lonely, screwed up and loveless adults.

Disturbing
I have not read the book.
I have seen some other of Egoyan's movies.

I find this movie disturbing.
Rather, I find the obsession by our society with killers and death to be disturbing and the way this movie/story panders to it the most disturbing aspect of watching it.

Egoyan seems to be particularly intrigued by the macabre and the sick. The fact that he was attracted to this movie is not surprising.

What I find more and more disturbing in our American society is our obsession with death and murder.
What is happening in Iraq is bad enough. What we see on network television about Crime Scene Investigation and all the other sick network programming that uses the common theme of Death and murder is more disturbing.

We are a very sick society. Our American society is based on Fear, the fear of Terror and our obsession and trivialization of Death and Murder, our incomprehensible schism regarding Death and Murder and Terrorism and how we think it's ok to impose out political agenda on other countries, while we profess to abhor violence?!

Like Al Quida, we are hypocritical: it's ok to kill and murder if it matches the political aims of our despotic leaders at the Pentagon and the White House: or for Network Television or because it would make a good Hollywood movie.

But we profess to be peace loving while we kill.
We wallow in this type of sick victimization of a poor innocent while we watch as voyeurs to some perverted spectacle wondering if the main character will get away with it or not.
I'm sorry to say I watched it to the end to find out.

As long as we view this type of film as entertainment, we will also have the blood of the innocents on out collective hands in places like Iraq, Afghanistan, and in the ghettos of America. And politicians like George W Bush will find a way to rationalize it in the name of freedom and God and Country. What is most sick is not that we are now torturing prison detainees in Iraq, but that we as a nation condone the fraud and lies and the corruption of our President in the name of Democracy. We buy into the lies, just as this girl bought into the lies of Bob Hoskins character in this movie.

This is why I don't care to see the trash that is most of the standard Hollywood fare these days. I don't see this movie as a complex psychological thriller. It's just plain symptomatic of our very sick society.

Transcends its type.
Don't blow this film because it looks as if it is a period drama or something along the realms of "Remains of the Day" or "Family Values". This is a PG-13 version of something like "Se7en" or "10 Rillington Place".

It is a very good serial killer flick that took me by surprise. Normally I would scan over a movie like this one when playing it on the television but this one really did grip me. Fans of films like "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer" should not miss this one. It really is not that bad at all and even for its PG-13 rating contains some very disturbing bits.

In short, do not miss this serial killer flick because it looks like one of those silly dramas that old women like to watch (Opps that sounds sexist, but you know what I mean). ... Read more

Description

"Sarabande" (56 min.) features Bach's Suite No. 4 for Unaccompanied Cello. A great musician instinctively builds a complex and intimate relationship with his listeners. This dramatic film from director Atom Egoyan (The Sweet Hereafter) explores a number of such relationships, revealing the generosity of spirit and love that flow from Yo-Yo Ma's performance. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Yawn
The premise of this film as indicated on the jacket is impossibly vague; it is described rather unhelpfully as an exploration of "love" and "generosity of spirit" and so forth. Once you see the video, you will understand that the film itself is so unfocused that there really is no adequate way to describe it. One might think of it as a patchwork of ideas that were spewed out during a brainstorm by first-year film students over Sunday brunch. There isn't a great deal of intelligence behind this production.

Superbly done. A must see for any Cello enthusiast.
At first I struggled on whether or not to give this film 4 stars or 5 stars, but then I watched it again and concentrated on the music, and realized that it was definately worthy of 5 stars! The story line was a little complex, but that was intended. The music, however, was the focus of the movie, and the music was flawless!

Yo-yo Ma is an extraordinary cellist, and plays with not only great respect for the composer and his music, but also, for lack of a better term, as if he's truely in love with the music. He seems genuinely interested in what went into the creation of the music, as well as his interpretation of it.

Lori Singer also plays the cello in this movie, and plays an accompaniment with Yo-yo Ma. I've been a huge fan of Lori Singers acting for years, but rarely get to view her playing the cello. She's an extremely talented musician, and I lack the words to adequately describe just how talented a cellist she is.

This is a movie you can sit back, close your eyes, and just enjoy the music. I recommend it highly for any true music lover. ... Read more

Amazon.com

This intriguing early movie by writer-director Atom Egoyan doesn't havethe smooth polish of his more recent work (like Exotica or TheSweet Hereafter), but it has his unique combination of psychology andmystery. Van (Aidan Tierney) is a teenager concerned about hisgrandmother, whom he wants to liberate from a nursing home--but part ofhis motivation is his resentment of his father Stan (David Hemblen). Stan,on the other hand, has been recording over videotapes of Van's childhoodin order to make videos of himself and his current lover. When Vandiscovers this, he tries to create a new family with a girl (ArsineeKhanjian) whose grandmother is his grandmother's neighbor at the nursinghome. Family Viewing delves into how people use technology to bothexpress and evade their emotions; though rough, Egoyan's fascination withhis themes is infectious. --Bret Fetzer ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Visually and Emotionally Compelling Drama of Family Life
This is an interesting father-stepmother-son story. Father loves television and his video camera. Every time we encounter father he is in front of television or getting ready to record one of his sex tapes with his new live-in. Father is emotionally withdrawn so stepmother tries to seduce son. Son is the only mature responsible one in this household. the stepmothers repeated attempts to seduce her stepson are met with charming refusals. The son is played by a very appealing young actor. The son finds that his father is recording his sex tapes over the tapes in the family video archive. So the son takes it on himself to attempt to salvage the archive and the family. Son also wants to spring his grandmother from the home she is in. At the home son meets a ravishing beauty. Ravishing beauty is unwittingly involved in sons plot to spring his grandmother. Ending of film reveals mystery of original mothers disappearance. Egoyan cuts between old and new video footage in a convincing(it feels Egoyan is conveying an emotional truth about modern life which just feels right)and compelling way. All the characters are multi-dimesional, even the minor ones which gives this story depth and dimension. It has the look of an Indie film but the emotional range is that of a master storyteller.

Atomic weight: 4 stars.

Egoyan's obsession with video imagery is taken to the limit
After recently watching the dvd version of "the sweet hereafter" i learned a little bit more about Atom Egoyan and why he uses video so much. Family Viewing really did a lot for me when i watched it...i was really impressed with what he was saying using video and also how he has continued to do that with his later films. His photography is beautiful and the story is eerie and disturbing to some degree. But if you enjoy Egoyan you are probably use to that. And if you haven't seen this yet then I would fully recommend it, because it shows really well where he is coming from in his newer movies. Felicia's Journey comes out in the next few weeks and from the trailer, it appeared to have some video in it....good deal.

This film makes me hate being Canadian!
Why do Canadian films always suck? Why does the world love Atom Egoyan? Yeah, machines can both aid and interfere with human communication and intimacy. We all know that modern modes of communication can "erase" history and lead to a narcissistic culture, but these ain't great topics for a feature film. Gee-whiz! I'll take an Ed Wood film about go-go dancing zombies before I sit through another Atom Egoyan flick!!! ... Read more

Amazon.com

The only real event in Calendar happens in between the lines, yetthis sliver of a movie will remain in your head long after many moreaction-packed movies have faded away. Canadian writer-director Atom Egoyanplays a photographer who is sent to photograph Armenian churches for acalendar; but while there, his wife (Arsinee Khanjian), who functions ashis interpreter, begins to fall in love with their local guide (AshotAdamyan). Upon returning to Canada, the photographer examines his film forevidence of the affair, to which he was oblivious, and hires bilingualescorts to conduct a peculiar personal ritual so that he can exorcise hissense of betrayal. The movie was made for less than the average Hollywoodmovie spends on catering, but its emotional richness and simple sense ofloss are potent and elegant. --Bret Fetzer ... Read more

Reviews (10)

astonishing director does it again!!!
Atom Egoyan is a truly revolutionary director and he proves himself once again with CALENDAR, his first great film (although the ones before have been quite good)...the scenery is magnificant, the performances are so real (wife Arsinee Khanjian gives one of her best performances) and the directing style is fresh and unique (also keep in mind this is 1993)...The simple plot (engaging and absorbing as in all Egoyan films) does not unfold chronologically, which is just one of the fascinating aspects of the film...it truly is dazzling, and the mostly improvised dialogue is spectacular...(annoyed at the seemingly endless footage of the flock of sheep near the beginning? You'll appreciate it in the end.)Egoyan's films always manage to touch me in ways I never expect. That might have a lot to do with the fact that I am Armenian and a lot of his films deal with being an Armenian, but I never truly appreciated my heritage until viewing ARARAT, CALENDAR, and NEXT OF KIN. What a wonderful movie this is...what an remarkable director Egoyan is...can't wait to see what he comes up with next..

Self-indulgent and heavy-handed
I greatly enjoy Atom Egoyan's films, usually. I've followed his work since the release of SPEAKING PARTS and have seen most of his major films. I have found things to like about all of them - except this one. CALENDAR is a torturously self-conscious reflection on the ways an obsession with documenting reality can come between a filmmaker and those around him. The film has the FEEL of the confessional; to me, it seems very likely -- though I don't know for sure -- that Egoyan and Khanjian were playing, basically, THEMSELVES, and that the movie was meant as some sort of therapy for them -- Egoyan flailing around in his self-hate for being so afraid of experiencing an unmediated reality, wanting to see everything through the camera -- even his wife's attraction for another man, for example. In-between footage of Egoyan and Khanjian's trip to Armenia, we get lots of shots of Egoyan sitting around his apartment alone, contriving dates with women he doesn't really care much about and brooding over the memory of his failings with his wife. Maybe that sounds appealing to some of you -- sounds raw and daring, a filmmaker picking the scabs on his conscience aside and showing the viewer the throbbing wounds beneath; I personally found it embarrassing and somewhat distasteful. The obvious comparison, I suppose -- the film most like this one, that I've seen -- is DAVID HOLZMAN'S DIARY; but that movie only pretends to document a filmmaker's unhealthy dependancy on the camera-eye, and so never descends into the sort of psychological exhibitionism CALENDAR reeks of... If you're exploring his less-known work, or just looking for intellectually stimulating cinema, FAMILY VIEWING and SPEAKING PARTS are both incredible films. CALENDAR is one to avoid. (Sorry, Atom!)

Armenians must know their history
Our duty as Armenians is to Remember and pass the memory to next generation and make the tragedy known to the world, this movie does it the best way... excellent, something to have at home and watch it over and over..it is good acting, excellent plot, love and history...

Egoyan's only dud
Atom Egoyan is one of the most interesting directors alive. Indeed, "The Sweet Hereafter" was probably the best film of the 1990s. Practically everything Egoyan has made is worth a look.

Except for this mess.

"Calendar" is repetitive, pretentious, and almost unwatchable. It's like an Egoyan parody. The content would be thin even for a short film; as a feature-length production, it's a self-absorbed, seemingly endless disaster.

But *do* see "The Sweet Hereafter." And "Exotica." And "Felicia's Journey." And virtually anything else by this remarkable filmmaker.

Avoid except for true Atom Egoyan fans
I like Atom Egoyan's movies but I am not a die-hard enough fan to sit through this one. Atom Egoyan even "tries" to act in it. I think he would do well to stay behind the camera.

Basically a photographer and his wife take photographs of Armenian churches for a calendar they are making. They travel to these places with a local historian who is very interested in the photographer's wife. These scenes are cut with the photographer sitting at home trying to solve his emotional problems with other women.

Its pure garbage. Sorry but I could not believe I sat through this. I am a fan of the man's work but this one is a mess. I only recommend it to die-hard fans and the most extreme of art-house movie lovers. I lean a little to the art-house side but this was a way too much for me to take. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Visually and Emotionally Compelling Drama of Family Life
This is an interesting father-stepmother-son story. Father loves television and his video camera. Every time we encounter father he is in front of television or getting ready to record one of his sex tapes with his new live-in. Father is emotionally withdrawn so stepmother tries to seduce son. Son is the only mature responsible one in this household. the stepmothers repeated attempts to seduce her stepson are met with charming refusals. The son is played by a very appealing young actor. The son finds that his father is recording his sex tapes over the tapes in the family video archive. So the son takes it on himself to attempt to salvage the archive and the family. Son also wants to spring his grandmother from the home she is in. At the home son meets a ravishing beauty. Ravishing beauty is unwittingly involved in sons plot to spring his grandmother. Ending of film reveals mystery of original mothers disappearance. Egoyan cuts between old and new video footage in a convincing(it feels Egoyan is conveying an emotional truth about modern life which just feels right)and compelling way. All the characters are multi-dimesional, even the minor ones which gives this story depth and dimension. It has the look of an Indie film but the emotional range is that of a master storyteller.

Atomic weight: 4 stars.

Egoyan's obsession with video imagery is taken to the limit
After recently watching the dvd version of "the sweet hereafter" i learned a little bit more about Atom Egoyan and why he uses video so much. Family Viewing really did a lot for me when i watched it...i was really impressed with what he was saying using video and also how he has continued to do that with his later films. His photography is beautiful and the story is eerie and disturbing to some degree. But if you enjoy Egoyan you are probably use to that. And if you haven't seen this yet then I would fully recommend it, because it shows really well where he is coming from in his newer movies. Felicia's Journey comes out in the next few weeks and from the trailer, it appeared to have some video in it....good deal.

This film makes me hate being Canadian!
Why do Canadian films always suck? Why does the world love Atom Egoyan? Yeah, machines can both aid and interfere with human communication and intimacy. We all know that modern modes of communication can "erase" history and lead to a narcissistic culture, but these ain't great topics for a feature film. Gee-whiz! I'll take an Ed Wood film about go-go dancing zombies before I sit through another Atom Egoyan flick!!! ... Read more

Reviews (32)

Atom Egoyan's Psycho
a-movie-to-see.com recommendation

Brazil wasn't the first Bob Hoskins film I saw, but the third. It was the first film where I could understand a word he was saying. I simply couldn't penetrate his cockney in The Long Good Friday or Mona Lisa.

That doesn't mean I couldn't understand his characters. Hoskins is a forthright screen actor. He can inhabit his compact frame with a ferocious mob boss, a compassionate chauffer, a duct repairman or a foil for Roger Rabbit with imperceptible effort.

Felicia's Journey played the Cannes film festival, there was a buzz about his performance. I liked the idea of him teaming with Atom Egoyan whose tragic The Sweet Hereafter drew a heartwrenching performance from Ian Holm.

Listening to William Trevor's book on tape, I could tell the role of factory caterer/serial killer Joseph Ambrose Hilditch was made for Hoskins.

Mr Hilditch's hands are small, seeming not to belong to the rest of him; deft, delicate fingers that can insert a battery into a watch or tidily truss a chicken, this latter a useful accomplishment, for of all things in the world Mr Hilditch enjoys eating.

Like his predecessors Anthony Perkins (Psycho) and Barry Foster (Frenzy) he seems outwardly affable enough when he's with his coworkers or offering avuncular advice to wayward girls like Felicia (Elaine Cassidy). Atom Egoyan dispenses with the sensationalism of Hitchcock's shower scene and staircase sequences. He credits us with the wherewithal to conjure our own violent images to accompany Hilditch's collection of videotaped victims.

On the other hand, he doesn't rely on a convoluted psychiatrist's explanation to explain to us where Hilditch went wrong. We simply watch him go wrong this time.

A not so sweet hereafter
Atom Egoyan followed up his masterpiece film "The Sweet Hereafter," with this strange movie about an unusual serial killer. Bob Hoskins gives a great performance as the man whose hobbies are gormet cooking and killing young girls. But he doesn't murder them outright, as young Felica discovers. She's come to his town seeking out the boyfriend who left her. With nowehere to go, she seemingly lucks out when Hoskins offers to allow her to stay at his large house. All of this sounds more intriguing than it ends up being on the screen. Though well acted, the movie moves slowly and ultimately just doesn't amount to all that much. Egoyan's movies are always literate, but this one is so to the point that you start to lose interest. There are no great moving moments like in "The Sweet Hereafter."

Makes my jaw drop
I have never seen a more sympathetic portrayal of a serial killer. As played by Bob Hoskins, Mr. Hildich is a fatherly, sweet, gentle, and lonely man who is also conflicted, disturbed, and reluctantly evil. He also suffers from a lingering mother complex which is apparently responsible for his dirty, horrible little secrets. With a history of rescuing poor "lost girls" who are impregnated, then abandoned by their boy friends, he cannot help but try to keep them near him forever. Hildich's latest rescuee is Felicia, a young Irish girl with a problem similar to "the others."

Hoskins plays Hildich with a quiet intensity that is both creepy, scary, but never less than sympathetic. I often felt that he needed rescuing as much as Felicia. The scenes where Hildich, who is ironically a catering manager, watches old videos of his mother, a famous French television chef, preparing one of her famous recipes while he follows along are by turns funny and nauseating. Norman Bates would probably identify with Hildich. Thrown into the mix is a Bible carrying rescue worker and missionary who promises peace in the great hereafter to those who would only just believe. In the end her naive message save no one, not even the hapless Hilich.

There is a haunting and beautiful melody played throughout the film called "The Faith In The Heart Of A Child" which gives the simple message that if only children were more loved and respected for themselves there would be no need to rescue them when they become lonely, screwed up and loveless adults.

Disturbing
I have not read the book.
I have seen some other of Egoyan's movies.

I find this movie disturbing.
Rather, I find the obsession by our society with killers and death to be disturbing and the way this movie/story panders to it the most disturbing aspect of watching it.

Egoyan seems to be particularly intrigued by the macabre and the sick. The fact that he was attracted to this movie is not surprising.

What I find more and more disturbing in our American society is our obsession with death and murder.
What is happening in Iraq is bad enough. What we see on network television about Crime Scene Investigation and all the other sick network programming that uses the common theme of Death and murder is more disturbing.

We are a very sick society. Our American society is based on Fear, the fear of Terror and our obsession and trivialization of Death and Murder, our incomprehensible schism regarding Death and Murder and Terrorism and how we think it's ok to impose out political agenda on other countries, while we profess to abhor violence?!

Like Al Quida, we are hypocritical: it's ok to kill and murder if it matches the political aims of our despotic leaders at the Pentagon and the White House: or for Network Television or because it would make a good Hollywood movie.

But we profess to be peace loving while we kill.
We wallow in this type of sick victimization of a poor innocent while we watch as voyeurs to some perverted spectacle wondering if the main character will get away with it or not.
I'm sorry to say I watched it to the end to find out.

As long as we view this type of film as entertainment, we will also have the blood of the innocents on out collective hands in places like Iraq, Afghanistan, and in the ghettos of America. And politicians like George W Bush will find a way to rationalize it in the name of freedom and God and Country. What is most sick is not that we are now torturing prison detainees in Iraq, but that we as a nation condone the fraud and lies and the corruption of our President in the name of Democracy. We buy into the lies, just as this girl bought into the lies of Bob Hoskins character in this movie.

This is why I don't care to see the trash that is most of the standard Hollywood fare these days. I don't see this movie as a complex psychological thriller. It's just plain symptomatic of our very sick society.

Transcends its type.
Don't blow this film because it looks as if it is a period drama or something along the realms of "Remains of the Day" or "Family Values". This is a PG-13 version of something like "Se7en" or "10 Rillington Place".

It is a very good serial killer flick that took me by surprise. Normally I would scan over a movie like this one when playing it on the television but this one really did grip me. Fans of films like "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer" should not miss this one. It really is not that bad at all and even for its PG-13 rating contains some very disturbing bits.

In short, do not miss this serial killer flick because it looks like one of those silly dramas that old women like to watch (Opps that sounds sexist, but you know what I mean). ... Read more

Reviews (64)

The Innocents
That Atom Egoyan is one of the very best directors making movies today is beyond reproach. If he had only made the elegant and stunning "The Sweet Hereafter" his place among the pantheon of directors would be assured. So what happened with "Ararat?"
In a nutshell, "Ararat" is too complicated; filled with too many sub-plots and extraneous material not central to the plot. It's as if Agoyan, in his need to set the record straight about the Armenian Genocide says too much. The problem with all of this is that it takes away from the dramatic core of the movie: "Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it."
The Armenian Genocide by the Turks at the beginning of the 20th. Century is innately rife with sorrow, pathos and human despair but Atom Egoyan would have better served his people and his subject had he made a simple, straightforward dramatic film based on Clarence Ussher's Diaries, an American doctor and an eye-witness.
Several story elements do work, though: the story of Arshile Gorky and his mother become a touchstone for the entire film: it's emotional center. Also, Raffi's (David Alpay) plot line with the customs official (Christopher Plummer) though realistically implausible is nonetheless dramatically true. Some of the performances are also first rate: David Alpay, Christopher Plummer and Charles Aznavour as the director of the film-within-a-film.
As in most of Egoyan's films, events and how they are recalled and thereby inevitably interpreted by a group of people is at the core of "Ararat.": Recollection as a way of eventually getting at the truth of a thing.
For the most part, "Ararat" is well thought out and humane and it definitely brings to the forefront a piece of history many of us know nothing about. But ultimately "Ararat" does not carry it's grim burden well: telling the horrific story of the decimation of a people; a story too long hidden away in the history books (if there at all) of these heroic Armenians many of whom survive today and remain irrevocably scarred by it.

Remarkable and Multi-dimensional
This film is a work on many levels dealing with various social and political issues. The movie within a movie concept is successfully executed by Egoyan. There are also numerous talented actors in this film such as the main character David Alpay and even popular singer Charles Aznavour.

It seems as though some reviewers who gave this movie a negative review have not actually seen the movie. These are individuals who attempt to sabotage works dealing with the Armenian Genocide. However, a few Turkish scholars have risked their lives and accepted the Genocide and believe it is the first step to accept their history and actions of their ancestors. Also, contrary to what one reviewer wrote, this movie is based on a HISTORICAL ACCOUNT by the American physician Dr. Clarence Ussher who set up a hospital in Van and witnessed the horrors of Genocide.

The bottom line is this movie is very thought provoking as the New York Times reviewer wrote. This is one of those movies where you will find yourself trying to answer questions long after you've seen the film. Thus, one viewing will not suffice.

art or artifice?
Armenian-Canadian and Egyptian-born film director Atom Egoyan's film Ararat on "the Armenian genocide", while intricately constructed in his usual style, is a disservice to the ideals of progressive constructionism and historically faithful fiction. In this context it is important to consider how the Armenian propaganda machine and extremist groups regularly abuse Armenian art in order to reach their political aims. These fringe elements of the Armenian diaspora (especially in North America) over the 20th century have built the expat Armenian identity squarely on anti-Turkish feelings and this movie works to buttress that aim. The director's life and growing up in Canada as a teenage immigrant also impacts the movie in predictable ways, and is worth commenting on. Egoyan is essentially an identity-convert. He refused his Armenian identity as a teenager and made efforts to be a 'normal' Canadian. He did not speak Armenian. However in college, radical Armenian nationalists helped him rebuild his national identity on powerful anti-Turkish sentiments. Now they could bond around a common enemy. He was Armenian because he was anti-Turkish and vica versa. The nationalist trend in his character became even more significant when he married a beautiful but fanatic Lebanese Armenian, Arsinée Khanjian, who is cast as Ani in the movie. There's nary a single member of the cast who isn't caught up in the politics and this shows.

The 'genocide legacy' in particular has played a crucial role in Egoyan's self-identification like many Armenians in the diaspora, descendants of rural folk forced out of their ancestral lands as refugees by events beyond their control or comprehension. Though almost none of these millions of North American descendants of displaced Armenians had ever been to Turkey (or Armenia for that matter, though this would have been more difficult under the Soviets), many of them continued to believe and financially support the notion that the Turks had attempted to obliterate their race. Mind you these very same Turks and Armenians are descendants of Ottomans, a very genetically diverse and inclusive group (not to be dismissed by glib theories of rape and pillage - cf. Semino et al. Science vol. 290 10 Nov 2000, for an analysis of European Y chromosomes and human migration) who despite early military successes were unarguably one of the most tolerant conquerors in recorded history. It is deeply ironic that these people would nevertheless sabotage their own community after hundreds of years of peaceful coexistence, mutual respect and collaboration in art, philosophy, literature, and trade. Most of the fruits of this cultural collaboration is unfortunately unavailable on the web or outside the realm of academia, but not music- see "Istanbul 1925" (a compilation CD by Traditional Crossroads available through Amazon) for a delightful historical example, coincidentally reproduced from the original recordings in the US by Armenian-Americans.

In essence Egoyan has exaggerated the past in order to legitimize his identity, in the cultural obsession which is the primary trait of "modern" Armenian art.

Egoyan bases his script on the (1917) book by Clarence Ussher, who worked as an American missionary in the eastern Ottoman Empire during WWI. However, the script deviates considerably from Ussher's accounts, beyond the boundaries of artistic expression especially for such a politically charged historical subject. Egoyan chooses to focus in his film-within-a-film on the Armenian revolt in the Ottoman city of Van in 1915. However the script conveniently neglects the fact that the actual revolt ended with the victory of Armenians, when the Ottoman governor of Van was forced to flee and was replaced by an Armenian at the conclusion of a bloody joint attack by the Russian army, which occupied the city joined by local Armenian bandits and militia. This Armenian-Russian joint attack resulted in the death of more than 20,000 Van residents, none of whom were armed combatants. Of course these historical 'macro' facts also covered in Ussher's book did not fit well into the victim's psychology which pervades the movie.

Ararat, though I hate to say it, is a typical Armenian propaganda film (see also Midnight Express) and will damage the ongoing attempts for Armenian-Turkish dialogue for the benefit of humanity, ie. for the people who actually have to live in these countries and not kick back on their leather couch in a US/Canadian suburb and pop in a DVD for entertainment/shock value, or for self-serving members of the diaspora hungry for victim psychology consumables. As other unbiased movie critics will attest, Ararat is one of Egoyan's worst films in terms of art value. A good product requires effort, subtlety and meticulousness. Extreme prejudice, ideological perniciousness and cartoonish depictions of good and evil do not improve the artistic quality of a film. That's not to claim Egoyan made this movie out of sheer hatred. The point is that he is compelled to become the voice of the proselytisers and as such does not really attempt with his art to reach into the nature of societal and emotional tensions that underlie cultural obsessions. As he states in interviews he refuses to discuss 'the genocide issue'. When you reject dialogue or debate on an issue you can't claim to make a critical film on the subject. It's likely that extremist Armenian elements within the diaspora acting through his wife and friends (not to mention Bob Lantos) have put enormous pressure on Egoyan to make a film like Ararat. This pressure has been building from decades of frustration with other prominent Armenian diaspora filmmakers (see Mamoulian, Kazan or Verneuil). Several years before this film Egoyan had even mentioned in an interview that he was not a historical filmmaker and that he would not be making a film on the events of 1915.

It's clear that he eventually succumbed to the pressure. Still, external forces aside it does not justify this intentionally obscure and convoluted effort because as an intellectual and high profile Armenian-_Canadian_ artist, more so an Officer of the Order of Canada, he has a responsibility to probe the underlying elements with integrity and create a conduit to bring together Armenians and Turks through visual art in reconciliation and self-awareness. To build such an outlet would after all be in the spirit of the Canadian national character.

Deep, captivating, emotional!
Very few movies leave a deep impact lately, as this one did. Not only because of my armenian background, but the composition and the human interaction. I had to watch it twice to make sure I did not miss anything and still did not catch all the nuances untill I listened to the commentary. I'm swept away! Recommended it to all my friends and family and will share it at work with my non-armenian friends!
Atom, thank you!

The Complete Picture..
I liked this movie because unlike most movies about massacre and persecution in the Old World, this movie follows up on the persecuted peoples, in this case the Armenians, as they find the life in their new country-of-refusge, Canada. As is the case with real, live human beings, escaping persecution to safety and "freedom" is not enough to address the complexity of the human soul. All of the Armenian-Canadians portrayed in the film live in a New World context and suffer from New World problems along with the alienations and isolations of New World lives. As in all Egoyan movies, most of the film protagonists in this exsemble work do not exist merely as didactic sterotypes. They breath, their relationship to their heritage is compromised in the personal life, they suffer. Th