Its easy for the average person to put down "Avalon". The movie at many times is slow and doesn't catch you. For me, just the first 3 minutes of the movie made me enjoy it. The movie really got me depressed however. I won't go any further with my opinion about the movie. Hopefully people will find their own reason to appreciate the movie.
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I agree with you. I could easily see this movie being dismissed by most people, but I was interested within the first few minutes like you. The story kept me paying attention, moreso than other films. I thought this was really well made and I enjoyed getting to know this family like it was my own. So even though it's not my favorite either, I had a good time watching it and I think it's great.
Tomorrow's just your future yesterday!
I actually had to watch this 3 years ago during my senior year at college and write a report on it in a communications class, and I enjoyed it very much. Just yesterday, I was flipping through my On Demand movies and found it and said "what the hell" and decided to watch again. I'm only about a third of the way through, and I plan to finish when I get home from work.
Initially, I liked it, but it didn't really impact me until it had time to settle in my mind and now I think it's a really fantastic movie. It's not in your face impactful, but the way certain scenes are done are brilliant, like the dinner scene when the plates are all sitting in the dining room, half eaten, and the family is gathered around the tv. And the ending is fantastic. I'm 25, but I think it's the way a lot of people from that generation feel about what life has become, with technology and our obsession with TV and everything.
Also, I have yet to see Elijah Wood in anything that isn't either good or fantastic, and this is no exception.
Silencio...
I agree, it's a movie that when you think about it, gets even better. I just saw it, and it's definitely a movie that makes you think afterwards!
And I agree about Elijah Wood. He was so good.
Paul: It's a school of whales.
Ringo: They look a bit old for school.
Paul: University then.
I had the good fortune to see this movie at the theatre when it was released in 1990.
By the end when Elijah Wood's character (Michael Kaye) is explaining to his son, "He came to America in 1914," tears were running down my face.
A man seated nearby in the theatre, who was probably in his 60's was weeping softly as well.
I asked him if his any of his family were immigrants. He wiped his eyes and said his father immigrated to the USA from Italy in 1897.
Barry Levinson honestly addresses the harsh realities of 20th century family life.
The grandparents having to move out from the blended family home.
Extended family arguments and eventual disconnections.
Adian Quinn's (Jules Kaye) realizing he can no longer provide care for his aging father.
The great-grandchild not knowing who grandpa is because Sam lives in a nursing home.
Avalon is must see for anyone who remembers the 1950's and or has immigrant parents or grandparents.