In a year like 2013, it's incredibly hard to narrow it down to just 10. Upon Diane’s death due to cancer, when writer-director Sarah Polley was eleven years of age, the dynamics of their family changed. MAKE A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT DAWN OF THE DEAD! In wanting to tell Diane’s story, Sarah turns the camera on her father and her siblings to tell the tale. This is obviously a labour of love and a passion project for Polley, and all I can think of as she pulls back the curtains on her private life…. In Stories We Tell, director Sarah Polley attempts what I think is the impossible. ETA: This list is getting long so I moved sections…. * … Stories We Tell is a moving and incredibly candid family portrait as filmmaker, Sarah Polley, explores the mysteries surrounding her mother. A (never-ending?) Fell in love immediately, because transparency is one of the qualities I most cherish in a documentary and Polley leads with tons of footage that openly acknowledges the nature of the project and her personal connection to everyone who appears in it. Kiarostami 101, but indelibly articulates schism of being / remembering. She attempts to create a documentary of her family story. This…, the official avant garden discord server list of movies, spearheaded by the one and only elena, for women's history month, i decided to compile a list of 250* essential female filmmakers. At the worst of times it’s a self-indulgent, narcissistic opportunity for a filmmaker to legitimize their home movies by passing them off as cinema vert. This…, the official avant garden discord server list of movies, spearheaded by the one and only elena, for women's history month, i decided to compile a list of 250* essential female filmmakers. maybe it is a natural aversion to a piece of media assigned by a university... but I don't love this piece. This moral dilemma arouses indignation which leads to an interesting dichotomy within the audience; those…. A (never-ending?) Jayce Fryman 18,680 films 3,681 118 Edit, This list collects every film from the Starting List that became They Shoot Pictures Don't They's 1000 Greatest Films. By all accounts this shouldn’t work, as the decisions that the documentarian makes when crafting the narrative cannot possibly be objective. This documentary shows pretty fascinating way on how to execute a non-fiction film. Additional favorites included Orson Welles’ F is For Fake, Sarah Polley’s Stories We Tell, Alain Resnais’ Hiroshima Mon Amour, and many more. yes. towards the middle i got kind of disappointed that this was only a story about parentage, but the end made me a sobbing mess. Letterboxd — Your life in film. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Somewhere around the halfway mark, though—and I'm embarrassed that it took me so long—I started getting suspicious about the amount of home-movie footage Polley's family had apparently shot. Thoughts From Your Host… It’s my birthday today. Jack? Beginning as a rather traditional biography of her late mother it gradually transforms into a far richer documentary that touches on identity, memory, the fallibility of truth and the power of storytelling to create a deeply personal yet universal work. A few notes that didn't make it into the conversation: - A perfectly Polley-esque touch that I failed to mention about my autobiographical short film... My wife, then girlfriend, played the younger version of my mom. Recs welcome! 24:53 The Feature: STORIES WE TELL (2012) 71:07 The Other Side: Corey and Ryan talk further reading after Sarah Polley’s epic film. image via CBS Films. list of the 1,000 most acclaimed films…. Jack? Cinema is a language that speaks about the future, although the stories we tell are based on past. Sarah Polley's writing and directing achievements in Away from Her (2006) and Alias Grace (2017) display her mature talents, and her 2012 documentary Stories We Tell is an even more astonishing case of cinematic truth-telling. The film details the young man's relationship with his mother and his beginnings as a writer, while looking at what happens when the stories we tell become the stories we … Maybe that’s a cheat, but it’s my ballot and I can change my mind if I want to. always in progress. A metaphorical, bottomless pool of a tale that grows more complex the further in you dive. She attempts to create a documentary of her family story. Check out the official top 100 narrative feature films by women directors list. 73 /746/ TMDb. I can’t say I generally have much faith going into these films but Sarah Polley’s ‘Stories We Tell’ was an exception. More details at Blossoming filmmaker Sarah Polley takes us on a journey into the tangled web of her family life, and the result is deeply personal and emotionally tender even as it brushes against the rawest nerve endings. Stories We Tell is written & directed by Canadian actress/filmmaker Sarah Polley, who directed the films Take This Waltz and Away from Her previously.. Interesting but not riveting. Lists Top Lists. And let me tell you my friends, that was a mighty sad sight (he was using the dipping sauce -- or at least that's how I remember it). Facing Fear. … The way we "frame" any given situation can determine whether we're depressed, angry, or happy about it, as well as dictate what choices we make and actions we take. API Access. She attempts to create a documentary of her family story. Well, why are we interested in any story at all. I’m in my room alone bored and I will be making a list of every movie that comes to my mind until I get bored with that, 2,500 + Noteworthy Movies on Amazon Prime, They Shoot Pictures, Don't They? Enjoy!!! Best Short Award. Then came an ostensibly offhand Super-8 moment so dramatically convenient that I actually said aloud "there's no fucking way" and paused the movie to check the…, you know a film is going straight for the jugular when "skinny love" plays right at the beginning. works in spite of itself, at times. Even the last 20 minutes felt like they were necessary and in tune with the rest of the movie. Instead, she made the question of how to find the truth when presented with different recounts of the same stories one of the central themes. 2012 I’d be lying if I said that this was how I anticipated celebrating my name day. list of the 1,000 most acclaimed films…. Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall. Canadian actress and filmmaker Sarah Polley investigates certain secrets related to her mother, interviewing a group of family members and friends whose reliability varies depending of their implication in the events, which are remembered in different ways; so a trail of questions remains to be answered, because memory is always changing and the discovery of truth often depends on who is telling the tale. Even the last 20 minutes felt like they were necessary and in tune with the rest of the movie. Canadian actress and filmmaker Sarah Polley investigates certain secrets related to her mother, interviewing a group of family members and friends whose reliability varies depending of their implication in the events, which are remembered in different ways; so a trail of questions remains to be answered, because memory is always changing and the discovery of truth often depends on who is telling the tale. Mobile site. Though Stories We Tell was one of the most acclaimed documentaries of 2013 and Blackfish was one of the most popular, neither was nominated in the Documentary Feature Category. I probably could have picked 10 more, easily — but the internal debate is part of the fun. But asking why anyone would care doesn't seem to be the motivation of…, The first person, autobiographical documentary can go two ways. always in progress. Alicia Dwyer Slomo, dir. Recollections Slomo But she didn’t. Russell O. The declaration of the search for how to find the truth in the…. “It’s only afterwards that it becomes anything like a story at all.”. That’s a key distinction. Maybe I just done get the hype. IMDb films directed by women, in chronological order. Movies Shows. A tad self-obsessed, I can't say I'm a fan of a documentary that eventually is about itself. Movies that you may want to see and are available to stream for free on Amazon, if you have a…, This is the February 2021 edition of the They Shoot Pictures, Don't They? I thought every decision she made had purpose behind it. I can handle the truth. This review may contain spoilers. In the other main category, Sarah Polley's film Stories We Tell won for Best Documentary. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. I can’t say I generally have much faith going into these films but Sarah Polley’s ‘Stories We Tell’ was an exception. Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady The Flogsta Roar, dir. At the best of times it’s an intimate and fearless examination of the human condition that explores universal themes which reveal something about ourselves. Love the storytelling style as well where the formal talking heads thing is spun slightly to make you feel much more involved in the whole process of discovery. I thought every decision she made had purpose behind it. Erica: We started to go back and forth on the film reviews because there’s no DM feature on Letterboxd. Stories We Tell (2012) - Turner Classic Movies Offer www.tcm.com. Enjoy. By all accounts this shouldn’t work, as the decisions that the documentarian makes when crafting the narrative cannot possibly be objective. The film explores her family's secrets—including one intimately related to Polley's own identity. “It’s only afterwards that it becomes anything like a story at all.”. Families are venn diagrams that aren't circles. The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life. At a certain point, she comes out and tells us the themes of the documentary—in that respect, the last 20 minutes of the film are like the psychiatrist scene in Psycho. we are never gonna fully understand how difficult and traumatic war can be. Completely riveted by Polley's reconstruction of a family secret from multiple angles until the degree to which she was aestheticizing her life became clear. Love the storytelling style as well where the formal talking heads thing is spun slightly to make you feel much more involved in the whole process of discovery. But yeah, onward we go! Interesting but not riveting. Sarah Polley’s Stories We Tell is not a documentary about her mother’s life story. work in progress. And all of us still flailing in her wake, trying to put her together in the wreckage, and her, slipping away from us, over and over again, just as we begin to see her face? 21st Century's Most Acclaimed Films – 2021 Edition. Stories We Tell 2012 Alternative titles: Les Histoires qu'on raconte, Apáim története, Historie rodzinne, Histórias que Contamos, 莎拉波莉家庭詩篇 Directed by Sarah Polley Life is messy and complicated. I should emphasize before going further is that not all of these are what I voted for in the Film Misery Awards, my ballot having shifted a bit since then. Sarah Polley delivers a documentary that appears almost lighthearted on the surface but once it’s drawn you in, Stories We Tell drowns you in its complex emotions. Johan Palmgren Nine to Ninety, dir. © Letterboxd Limited. Directed by Sarah Polley. 2012 : The Life and Times of Tim Hetherington DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT CaveDigger. maybe it is a natural aversion to a piece of media assigned by a university... but I don't love this piece. there are so many things people said in this movie that i’ll remember for a long time and get a little teary  whenever i think about it (johnny, harry and michael’s words made me cry the most). Jayce Fryman 18,680 films 3,684 118 Edit, This list collects every film from the Starting List that became They Shoot Pictures Don't They's 1000 Greatest Films. Mobile site. Every story is subjective to the storyteller’s personal encounters and beliefs with the subject. Fun Facts about the Nominations: As of today, the average worldwide gross of the nine films nominated for a Best Picture Oscar is $142.6 million. Letterboxd members are well schooled in the power of Agnès, and Céline Sciamma has entered the worldwide critical sphere—and Letterboxd’s highest ranks—thanks to the success of Portrait of a Lady on Fire ( ️ forever), but there are many more French storytellers worthy of your watchlists. This list is for scripts or source material written or co-written by women. It's all…. Good day and a “me tie dough-ty walker” to you. Check out the official top 100 narrative feature films by women directors list. Fell in love immediately, because transparency is one of the qualities I most cherish in a documentary and Polley leads with tons of footage that openly acknowledges the nature of the project and her personal connection to everyone who appears in it.