MovieChat Forums > Stories We Tell (2013) Discussion > turned it off

turned it off

posted 11 years ago by chillpillory
9 replies | jump to latest

First, I should say I LOVED Away from Her and Take this Waltz. I've seen both twice. They are terrific movies. I love Polley's work. But I turned this off after twenty minutes.

Virgina Woolf 'The Waves' is several people's memories of a very popular, beloved man who has passed away. I guess it's supposed to be structured a bit like the synoptic gospels. Like Rashomon gives several versions of an event, The Waves gives several perspectives on one man, one personality.

Maybe that's what Polley was trying to do here. However, it's not new. Woolf and Kurosawa have done it before (as have others). Many novelist's have told the same story through the eyes of multiple narrators. Wilkie Collins does this in The Woman in White written in the 19th C.

I guess I'm not sure what's so new and fascinating about this gesture.

I thought Pollwy's mom seemed a bit annoying. She was a non-stop extrovert. Polley's father was too self-effacing.

[–] StanleyVonAnderson 11 years ago

The fact that the film isn't a piece of work that one would consider to be entirely "new" in its form is hardly a reason for criticism. If I decided to cut you open, take out your small intestines, wrap them in bacon and cook 'em in my oven, I suspect that it would be a one of a kind and "new" incident as you seem to desire, but that doesn't justify the act.

With the film Polley has taken a variety of sources including Woolf, Kurosawa (and in particular Chris Marker and his masterpiece Sans Soleil) to allow her to develop a personal vision of the nature/s of truth and what has shaped her as a person, as is the nature of ALL art.

Criticism of character traits without reflection on what implications they exert on the entire structure and whole of the film is totally absurd as well. It sounds like you have a poor understanding of what makes for a stimulating piece of art and some unusual prejudice.

Think critically, open mindedly and with empathy, you would come across as far more intelligent and find yourself getting more out of this kind of film.

[–] DCI77 11 years ago

It sounds like you have a poor understanding of what makes for a stimulating piece of art and some unusual prejudice.

Think critically, open mindedly and with empathy, you would come across as far more intelligent and find yourself getting more out of this kind of film.

Get over yourself. Seriously.

2013: Ain't Them Bodies Saints, Her, Short Term 12

[–] 11 years ago

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[–] archento 11 years ago

Turning the movie off 20 minutes in and saying you thought the mom seemed a bit annoying pretty much plays right into Polley's hand. You should finish the movie.

[–] 11 years ago

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[–] Keely 11 years ago

Chillpillory, I almost turned the movie off after 20 minutes, too, because I was bored stiff. But I love Sarah Polley and kept giving it a chance. It was just after about 20 minutes that it got interesting and I saw what the story was. Then I became fascinated and was utterly absorbed till the end. I think if you give it another chance you might be pleasantly surprised. It has tremendous depth and makes you think, in addition to being fun in the way it was done.

[–] 11 years ago

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[–] haileybaron 9 years ago

I gave a really difficult time when people come on the imdb to "review" a film and then they tell us that the watched only 29 minutes of it.
You aren't really sure of what the director was "going for"? Of course you don't. How could you? You didn't watch the film.
Go back, watch it again. Then you can have an opinion that carries some weight.

[–] Ms_Movie_Star 9 years ago

I really liked it and found it fascinating however in the last 1/2 hour or more I felt they had labored the point too much and that the whole thing had become really self indulgent. At that point some of the writing was really bad and overly dramatic.