OPENING THIS WEEK: 9/13/2013

Indeed it's a happy Friday the 13th with six new movies gracing Buffalo screens including Insidious: Chapter II (because a horror film is a requirement) - it doesn't have quite the same buzz as James Wan's previous feature The Conjuring (which arrives at discount theatres while continuing its first run release at a few screens). On the special screenings side there's much to see - including The Rep - at the Screening Room, about a Toronto reparatory house (if you're recovering from TIFF), Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity at the Buffalo Film Seminars, and Squeaky Wheel's West Side Stories, a series of local documentaries about Buffalo's West Side by youth filmmakers (1:30PM on Sunday at the Burchfield Penny). Also of note - at the art house we have three very different new features - all directed by women - - and One Direction: This is Us allegedly getting a re-release in a "extended fan cut". Oh boy.

Here's what arrives this week:

at the Art House

Austenland - a comedy from the wife of Napoleon Dynamite, Jerusha Hess has Keri Russell as a Jane Austin fan going on a retreat to an Austen-inspired ranch.

Screening: Dipson Eastern Hills

Blackfish - The chilling story of Tilikum, a killer whale that lives up to his name and the aftermath. Intimate and chilling this film has gotten an awful lot of buzz - and protest from Sea World.

Screening: Dipson Eastern Hills

In A World - actress Lake Bell writes, directs and stars as a struggling voice over artist, daughter of the voice over king in this Sundance award winning comedy.

Screening: Dipson Amherst

at the Multiplex

The Family -Bobbie De Niro stars as a Mafia boss forced to uproot his family to France in this action comedy directed by Luc Besson and co-staring Michelle Pfeiffer and Tommy Lee Jones. This looks fun.

Screening: Regal Elmwood, Dipson Flix, Regal Walden Galleria, Regal Transit Road, AMC Maple Ridge, Regal Hollywood 12, Regal Quaker Crossing, Transit Drive In

Insidious: Chapter 2 - The cast (Rose Byrne and Patrick Wilson) is back in this sequel which sees this poor family experiencing even more misfortune, poor folks.

Screening: Dipson Market Arcade, Dipson Flix, Regal Elmwood, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Regal Hollywood 12, AMC Maple Ridge, Transit Drive In, Regal Quaker Crossing

The Ultimate Life - a faith-based drama staring Lee Meriweather, Peter Fonda and Bill Cobbs about a young man who heads to a mission trip to Haiti after a nasty family lawsuit.

Screening: Regal Transit Center 18

in the Cheap Seats

Red 2 (7/10)

Monsters University (7/10)

The Heat (4/10)

White House Down (7/10)

The Conjuring (7/10)

The Way Way Back (8/10)

Continuing

Lee Daniel's The Butler (8/10)

Blue Jasmine (8/10)

Despicable Me 2 (7/10)

The Conjuring (7/10)

Elysium (7/10)

Fruitvale Station (7/10)
Instructions Not Included (7/10)

The Grandmaster (7/10)

We're The Millers (6/10)

Kick-Ass 2 (4/10)

The Spectacular Now (8/10)
You're Next (7/10)

The World's End (7/10)
The Spectacular Now (8/10)

OPENING THIS WEEK: 8/28/2013 + 8/30/2013

It's a shame that its such a light Labor Day weekend (with crappy weather on the horizon). Still a lot of great movies continue (including the expansion of the spectacular, The Spectacular Now - to Regal Walden Galleria, right where it ought to be). Here's what's gracing our screens this weekend - including two documentaries and two thrillers....

@ the Art House

The Great Chicken Wing Hunt - Matt Reynolds' documentary takes a group of unlikely tasters around the country on the hunt for the best chicken wing. Opening just a few blocks from Anchor Bar (I know - you're either a Duffs or an Anchor Bar person....or if you're a transplant, Buffalo Wild Wings) at the Market Arcade - this looks like one tasty doc.

Screening: Dipson Market Arcade

Closed Circuit (Opens August 28th) - Opening on Wednesday at the Dipson art houses (and Regal Quaker), Closed Circuit is a thriller exploring a high level terrorism trial. Eric Bana and Rebecca Hall play strange bedfellows (ex-lovers working on the defense team), with a supporting cast including Jim Broadbent, Juila Styles, Ciaran Hinds and Riz Ahmed. Directed by John Crowley (of two excellent films - the ensemble Irish crime comedy Intermission and the trouble young man drama Boy A) and written by Steven Knight (Eastern Promises and Dirty Pretty Things) - this looks like a top notch thriller...

Screening: Dipson Amherst, Dipson Eastern Hills, Regal Quaker Crossing 18

@ the Multiplex

Getaway - Courtney Solomon (who has yet to make a good movie) returns with Getaway - staring Ethan Hawk as a race-car driver whose wife is taken (uh...kidnapped) and somehow Selena Gomez gets involved (maybe as a carjacker....so that's what happened when she left her friends behind in Spring Breakers). Jon Voight co-stars - in this film, which looks like it was shot with a few Go-Pro cameras...

Screening: Regal Walden Galleria, Regal Transit, AMC Maple Ridge, Dipson Flix, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker Crossing, Regal Hollywood, Transit Drive-In

One Direction: This is Us - I've always though One Direction was the kind of band that had been forced on us by the corporate music industry, they never felt organic. I hadn't heard of them until I saw a poster advertising (1D) - and even then I was confused. I have nothing against them - or the film's director Morgan Spurlock (who seems like the kind of guy you'd want to grab a beer with - a "public citizen"). This looks like a straight forward 3D concert film like Justin Beiber: Never Say Never (Spurlock isn't going test the effects of listening to their music for a month straight, or take the boys on a hunt to find Osama Bin Ladin - thanks to the heros at SEAL Team 6!) - but his involvement suggests this might just be more insightful than expected (fingers crossed).....

Screening: Regal Walden Galleria, Regal Transit, AMC Maple Ridge, Dipson Flix, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker Crossing, Regal Hollywood

in the Cheap Seats

Red 2 (7/10)

Monsters University (7/10)

The Heat (4/10)

White House Down (7/10)

Continuing

Lee Daniel's The Butler (8/10)

Blue Jasmine (8/10)

Despicable Me 2 (7/10)

The Conjuring (7/10)

Elysium (7/10)

Fruitvale Station (7/10)

Paranoia (6/10)

We're The Millers (6/10)

Kick-Ass 2 (4/10)

The Way Way Back (8/10)

You're Next (7/10)
The World's End (7/10)
The Spectacular Now (8/10)

[Review: IN THEATRES] THE WORLD'S END (7/10)

The World’s End, the conclusion of the “Blood and Ice Cream Trilogy” (I didn’t see quite that connection between Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz - until news of the The World’s End surfaced - but okay) is a fitting end to a great run. Like the last slacker/stoner comedy This Is The End – what do you do next once the world ends? Like for another movie? Is this a preemptive strike against jumping the shark? (I wondered that after Love Actually as well – a movie that was pretty much everything you could ever want including Hugh Grant as the Prime Minister).

Edgar Wright is an excellent director in any genre – aggressive – he knows when and how to move his camera. While he’s primarily worked in genre filmmaking, I’m excited to see what he does as he constantly challenges himself. Back are Simon Pegg and Nick Frost from their last adventure (involving a loveable alien in highly enjoyable Paul – directed by Greg Mottola). Pegg plays Gary “the King” King – a troublemaker who doesn’t evolve like his pals do: fresh out of rehab he assembles the old gang (including Frost, Paddy Considine and Martin Freeman) and the return to their old stomping grounds Newton Haven (think Ithaca with less hippies).

They attempt to conquer “the golden mile” – a 12-pub crawl, although finding challenges along the way (the first two are terribly hegemonic corporate replicas). Proving you can’t go home – or go back to school – Newton Haven has become a very different place, even if Gary King is still Gary King. The first half of the film is a glorious dark comedy – wonderful without the sci-fi stuff. When the sci-fi elements and alien invasion kick in, I must say Edgar Wright keeps the action coherent: treating the film with a gravity a lesser director just wouldn’t care about.

As far as comedies go – Wright integrates his comedy into the film’s frenetic visual style – you won’t find him slacking off for one frame. The film keeps up with the comic genus on screen including the great Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. The film I’m happy to announce works – even if takes a turn I wish it hadn’t.

Like another excellent movie out this week – The Spectacular Now, the film is grapples with the effects of alcoholism: fitting as we move into the summer hang- over that is the fall. Strangely, this is even darker than that film, with an unexpected, original twist that I only hated because I loved the film’s first 25 minutes so much. Not as successful as Pixar (or the very best of Bollywood) at evoking a wide range of emotions, you must give Edgar Wright credit for trying: one he will make a film that’s mind-blowingly brilliant and it will be dangerous.

Screening: AMC Maple Ridge, Dipson Flix, Regal Transit Center, Regal Quaker Crossing, Regal Hollywood 12, Regal Elmwood Center

[Review: HOT VOD] Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me (7/10)

Slightly overstaying it’s welcome – Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me is a melancholy reflection on Big Star, a band that never was. A comprehensive study of the Memphis rock group founded by Chris Bell and Alex Chilton – influential to modern post-alternative, post-grunge rockers like Pete Yorn (who recorded Bell’s I Am The Cosmos with Scarlett Johnson a few years ago) and Kings of Leon (also Memphis folks whom I hear in Big Star and vice versa).

The group in essence found success later on, ironically enough breaking out in the post-grunge era of the mid-late 90s including an appearance on Jay Leno; several sold out shows, and of course “In The Street” – the theme song to That ‘70s Show. Like another solid rock doc, Anvil: The Story of Anvil – Big Star is the story of a band that never made it for one reason or another (bad luck, industry shifts, etc). Drew DeNicola’s comprehensive study traces the band’s early roots, recording their first record for the rock subsidiary of the already stretched thin Stax Records. Stax ultimately went bankrupt and the a classic industry tale, Big Star failed to find traction and was lost in the process – not getting the radio play they sorely needed to launch their career.

So why make a Big Star movie? The film is comprehensive, rich and full of excellent music, tracing the alt rock and grunge movement back to its roots (sadness and loneliness). Yet, Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me is a triumphant documentary (like Anvil) – as old men the ground finds their voice again and while it may not translate to cross over success – they at least went out with a bang. Still the road was tragic including the devastating loss of Chris Bell at the age of 27 – since only Jody Stephens remains as the surviving founding member (Chilton and Andy Hummel died of natural causes prior to the release of this documentary, which screened at South By Southwest 2012). Their three records each explore rather dark themes including drug abuse, and the tension within the band (which continued to brew for years). The material is brought to life through a variety of media including archival footage, recordings and newly shot talking-heads interviews. They remain less mysterious than Rodriguez – the subject of one of the best music documentaries in years: Searching for the Sugarman.

Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me is currently on VOD – and kicks off a new monthly series of first run films that are a little too small for Dipson’s business model – screening at Squeaky Wheel. More info at squeaky.org

[Review: IN THEATERS] I'M SO EXCITED (7/10)

Arriving in the middle of the summer (verses Oscar season), Pedro Almodovar’s latest, I’m So Excited is hilariously weird. Known for dark humor and themes (especially his last film, the very strange revenge thriller The Skin I Live In) this is more upbeat. 

On the tarmac we meet two Almodovar regulars: Jessica (Penelope Cruz) and her lover Leon (Antonio Banderas) – distracted by the news of Jessica’s pregnancy Leon forgets to remove a brace that is sucked up into the plane’s landing gear and that’s when the trouble begins. I should tell you the film opens with a disclaimer “nothing in this films is based on reality” – here Almodovar is having a good deal of fun – think Murder on the Orient Express crossed with the kind of 1950s Dorris Day Romp with the bisexuality of one, Mr. Almodovar. It is true: the colors are more vibrant and the cabin more spacious than say, even Virgin Atlantic – Ebert said it best in his review of Almodovar’s Broken Embraces “a voluptuary of a film, drunk on primary colors…as it ravished me, I longed for a freeze frame to allow me to savor a shot”. All of his film films are visually beautiful (although The Skin I Live In takes it to a whole new level of insanity).

Bound for Mexico City the crew are all gay (or bisexual) including pilots Benito and Alex, stewards Ulloa, Fajardo and Joserra – while the first class cabin is full of – I think the polite word is eccentrics including another Almodovar regular Cecila Roth. Much of what happens is a bizarre joy including one shot (you’ll know it when you see it) this is one of this summer’s funniest. Upon hearing the flight is doomed and cannot land in Mexico City the crew takes to entertaining the first class folks, while they individually fall apart (a funny gag has each talking on the phone while the whole cabin can hear their conversation).

Knowing the film exists in an alternative universe frees it for all sorts of absurdity – the coach passengers are all drugged and are asleep, while the first class passengers are given other drugs to loosen their inhibitions – this is filmmaking without restraint and while at times it might not quite pull it off, I was always smiling (sometimes in disbelief). This is the kind of film that requires surrender: sure it’s a mess but Almodovar, after a series of intense films is having a little fun with his cast of regulars. 

Screening: Dipson Amherst, Dipson Eastern Hills

[REVIEW: In Theaters] FRUITVALE STATION (7/10)

The first feature filmy by Ryan Coogler, Fruitvale Station captures a day in the life of Oscar Grant (played by Michael B Jordan) and his girlfriend/baby-moms Sophina (Melonie Diaz). It’s no secret why what we are watching is significant: even if you were to enter the theater cold, Coogler shows us one of the infamous cell phone videos taken on New Years 2009 first, before the narrative proper. This device perhaps eliminates the power the reminder of the film has (while giving it a hook).

The film to its credit is very good, almost so it doesn’t need a hook – perhaps without foreshadowing its ending (although inspired by a true story – strangely though it doesn’t name Grant’s killer – uh- manslaughter-er  – Johannes Mehserle). Perhaps it does fudge the facts – as debunked in this Forbes magazine op ed: but its still a compelling film building sympathy for Grant who is at the very least a flawed character (is he turning his life around as the film suggests, perhaps, or more so perhaps he has the ability to be redeemed).

Films above all simplify: this is the function of filmmaking – if you were to follow all the actions one undertakes it would be very boring (if you don’t believe me then watch Hoop Dreams – I still have no idea why this is widely considered a great film, it’s one to watch when Ambien just isn’t enough to put you to sleep).

Fruitvale Station follows Grant, 22, as he struggles to get his life in order: he’s made up with his mom – played by an always stellar Octavia Spencer, who almost vowed to disown him while he was in prison (told in flashback). Grant also tires to get back his job, tires to save a dog from dying (debunked in Forbes) and leads a New Years Eve countdown on the BART when the train is delayed reaching its destination. Oh fiction!

I’m not sure if (although I suspect it would) be more effective if the film was a true day in the life, in the Italian neo-realism style: instead the film takes the form of British social realism (although its far too scripted for Mike Leigh and Ken Loach). There is a certain amount of power and Coogler; a relatively young voice evokes some of cinema’s masters. As a first film, Fruitvale Station is a promise of great things to come – its observant, if not at times little flawed (although no more so than say Zero Dark Thirty which was filled with too many coincidences that took me out of the story). The performances are engaging and above all Fruitvale Station engages in a conversation about race and more importantly police work that ought to occur: should the cops be given a pass for anything and everything?

What happened in Fruitvale Station is no doubt a tragedy and Mehserle has not won an appeal (he only served 9-months of a two year sentence). I agree the story does drum up sympathy for Grant (although the film plays fair, it appears he was resisting the arrest). It’s a complicated subject to tackle: it pours the emotions on thick, and that is apt given the story is based on a true story and Oscar Grant really was killed – and really did have a family that loved him in spite of his flaws. Coogler’s camera is restrained while the film remains cinematic above all: Fruitvale Station if anything engages us in a conversation that few films is willing to do so. The wrapper it comes in isn’t quite perfect – but then again neither is most entertainment films – it is worth seeing as a bold, new cinematic work.

Screening: Dipson Amherst, Regal Transit, Regal Quaker, Regal Elmwood, Regal Hollywood 12, Regal Walden

[REVIEW: In Theaters] RED 2 (7/10)

Beyond mild enjoyment, I don’t remember much of Red; the 2010 film featuring retired CIA (and MI 5) operatives that made Helen Mirren an action star. Move on Vin and The Rock (for the record I’d love if she appeared in Fast 7). Red 2 is also mildly amusing – it’s got some genuine laughs, some good action set pieces and actors we like goofing with each other – so it’s got that going for it.

Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) has now retired into a comfortable life with partner Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker) when they run into Marvin (John Malkovich) at Costco – after which Marvin’s car blows up in the parking lot and Frank is detained. He’s unfortunately a man who knows too much already setting up an international man hunt/chase/what have you. Two folks have been hired to take out the group – including their pal Victoria (Mirren) – a former MI 5 operative, and Korean killer Han Jo-bae (Lee Byung-hun) who adds a kung-fu flavor to the action.

The films McGuffin is linked to the brilliant Edward Bailey (Anthony Hopkins) a physicist who created a virtually undetectable bomb everyone is after (everyone has to be after something, I’m sorry for the spoiler). Oh, what to say about Red Two: lot of things explode, there’s a few laughs along the way, and some nice action sequences. It’s not essential summer viewing but it’s not half bad either: in fact it’s an enjoyable spectacle of sorts.

Director Dean Pariscot (known for quirky comedies – including Home Fries and Galaxy Quest) proves he’s a capable director of action comedies working with a first rate cast (although sometimes first rate casts don’t gel as well as they do here). The film has some great special guest appearances including Brian Cox as a Russian operative Ivan Simanov, and Catherine Zeta-Jones as Frank’s former fling Kayta – another firey Russian. David Thewis also co-stars as The Frog, a man who knows too much.

So do you have to see Red 2? That depends: it’s not bad counter programming, it’s a manageable length (in that it doesn’t take up for you whole evening or afternoon like The Lone Ranger did) – and its fun. Take that for what it is – it doesn’t break new ground but if you’re a fan of Helen Mirren’s unexpected turn as action star, you’ll enjoy yourself. 

Screening: Dipson Market Arcade, AMC Maple Ridge, Dipson Flix, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker Crossing, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Regal Hollywood 12, Transit Drive In

[REVIEW: In Theaters] THE CONJURING (7/10)

All right, this is what a horror movie should be – The Conjuring is a genuinely scary psychological thriller from James Wan (who proves he’s got skill and even, dare I say, restraint). Legend (or marketing hype) has it that The Conjuring (which in terms of violence is tame) was originally targeting a PG-13 rating, when the MPAA slapped it with an R, when the studio asked what they could cut to secure the teen friendly rating the MPAA said, “It’s too scary”. And the studio ran with it.

A rare summer horror film that’s smart, it chronicles two families – the Connecticut based paranormal investigators The Warrens (played by Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson) and the Perrons, a family that moves into a Rhode Island farmhouse they recently got a deal on (Lili Taylor and Ron Livingston). The Perrons notice things that go bump in the night, including a mysterious basement they didn’t know they had (and of course explore late one night). The house is just as bad as one you’d find on the East Side of Buffalo – poorly insolated and reeking out foul meat the family is at wits end when they seek out Ed and Lorraine Warren.

The Warrens often investigate things for which there are logical conclusions (pipes over heating causing creeks and noises in the middle of the night for example) but are challenged by what they find at the Perrons. They bring in external help to document the situation with the hope of convincing the Catholic Church to provide an exorcism that is until things become life or death.

The Conjuring is so skillful at what it does (and what it doesn’t do) – there’s never a boring moment in the film. I think why it is so successful is that it takes itself seriously and puts drama above those jump scenes (don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of those too). Simply put there are many smart directing choices made here including how the action is framed (often in longer restrained takes). The film puts psychological fear above all with a first rate cast that nails this material – this is an effective, engaging, and fun movie.

Screening: Dipson Market Arcade, Dipson Flix, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker Crossing, AMC Maple Ridge, Regal Transit, Transit Drive-In

[REVIEW: In Theaters] THE WAY WAY BACK (8/10)

The Way Way Back is a unique summer fun movie – there have been films about wayward kids working in amusement parks (Adventureland) or water parks before (Middle of Nowhere), but The Way Way Back, unlike Grown Ups 2 is a uniquely insightful comedy. Written and directed by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash (who co-star as employees at the Water Wizz park), the film follows Duncan (Liam Jones), an introverted teen who is challenged to come into his own by Trent (Steve Carell), the boyfriend of his single mom (Tony Collette). In the opening scene Trent asks Duncan, on a scale of 1-10 what he is, telling the boy he’s a 3 – encouraging him to open up. For Duncan, who never really had a strong, present, father figure – he’s not ready for male bonding and harsh criticism at this fragile state in his development.

Cut the beach house – a lot of day drinking (and weed smoking) occurs as the adults treat this few week retreat as spring break. Duncan is witnesses a world he can’t quite comprehend and retreats into himself – riding around all day by himself. He meets Owen (Sam Rockwell) who takes him under his wing, offering him a job at Water Wizz.

The Way Way Back has a lot of familiar beats, but ultimately is winning, good natured, upbeat and realistic. Here even the bad guys (the adults) are sympathetic: they don’t have all of the answers; they are average, ordinary flawed beings. Carell is as perfect as usual playing, like his legendary Michael Scott, a character who is unaware of the gravity of what he’s doing and saying. Toni Collette’s Pam is also well drawn, hardworking women who needs a vacation and time around adults, we sense she’s given up a great deal for Duncan.

Rounding out the cast, Amanda Peet and Rob Corddry star as friends of Trent: again, they play realistic drinking buddies, summer friends that share the good times (before they get dark, as they do periodically) and AnnaSophia Robb as Duncan’s required love interest (it’s a sweet story thread, I’ll forgive it). Faxon and Rash have crafted a delightful summer comedy that preserves a strange, awkward and funny summer for Duncan – a good kid who could use a mentor like Owen. Sure you could see Grown Ups 2, but The Way Way Back is a more fulfilling experience on pretty much every level.

Screening: Dipson Amherst, Dipson Eastern Hills

[REVIEW: In Theaters] An Unfinished Song (7/10)

I originally approached Paul Andrew Williams' Unfinished Song (originally titled Song for Marion) with some skepticism: granted this isn't a bloated summer action film but the art house was now putting out a "product" that didn't seem entirely original: like an explosion of ideas geared towards the senior citizen audience: I thought about films such as Quartet, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and How About You (and countless others) - musical seniors, seniors learning to live again, and a pretty young women that enters their lives: yes, Unfinished Song is that.

Where it diverts from the formula is in, in what it's really about it: it has lighter moments but several darker ones as well - consider our lead, Arthur (Terrance Stamp) - he's a crusty old pensioner from a middle class neighborhood. His wife Marion (Vanessa Redgrave) has to remind him to smile every morning: she's joined the neighborhood choir run by a pretty young women who volunteers her time, perhaps seeking wisdom (Gemma Arterton). After Marion passes away Arthur's relationship with his son (played by Christopher Eccleson) becomes more fractured. Sure this story goes exactly where you think its going (senior art house films are almost as predicable as big summer movies - luckily without the 3 hour running time, because life is too short).

I enjoyed Unfinished Song because it is about a growing old while remaining independent and stubborn: it has lighter moments but there's something dark under the hood - a lot of pain and suffering for which there's little explanation (perhaps they men forget why they're mad at each other in the first place, they only know they're suppose to remain this way). It's not as riveting a work of social realism, like say, a film by Mike Leigh - but it has its moments.


Screening: Dipson Amherst

[In Theaters: REVIEW] STORIES WE TELL (8/10)

Sarah Polley’s Stories We Tell is an incredibly intimate look at the notion there are three sides to every story: yours, mine and the truth – here Polley explores the way collective memory formulates a story – and how parts of a story unfold through multiple narrators often finding out information second and third hand. Stories We Tell is just that – a study in the power of the subjective. As Elvis Mitchell stated when he interviewed Polley on his KCRW radio show – this completes a trilogy of films (her first two the very strong and powerful Away From Her, and the second – the fascinating mess Take This Waltz). All three prominently feature women figuring out something about themselves: Take This Waltz the story of a women finding out quite literally she needs to find out who she is before she can be happy with anyone else.

Stories We Tell is about the influence of others on our lives: Polley’s mother, Diane Elizabeth was an actress who frequently traveled between Montréal and their home in Toronto. Diane tragically passed away from cancer following Sarah’s 11th birthday – leaving Michael Polley to raise their three children.  We later learn (with 99% certainty) Sarah’s biological father is producer Harry Gulkin, a shy man whom Diane fell in love with and had a life with in Montréal.

While Polley and Gulkin get to know each other the story is leaked to the press before Polley breaks the news to her “dad”, Michael. At the center of the story is a touching letter Michael has written to Sarah as these events unfold.

Incorporating 16MM recreations to spice up the professionally shot “talking heads” interviews with Polley’s family, new family and friends of her mother, Stories We Tell is an amazing, brave feat of filmmaking. Stories We Tell is a warm, inviting, brave and heartbreaking all at once: we all know families with similar stories.

Screening: Dipson Amherst Theatre