Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Some of us lead extraordinary lives..., August 4, 2005
I've read most of the other reviews of this movie and many of the viewers didn't get the point. If you grew up as I did, in a family that was atypical and dysfunctional in the extreme, if you've ever been abandoned at an early age by a parent (as I was) and have held a grudge against that parent for cutting out (as I still do, although this movie has caused me to question my attitude as nothing has before), if you've lived a life where you saw and were subjected to great violence at the hands of intelligent yet disturbed human beings who were your family members, people with addictions and PTSD, this movie will resonate for you in a very special way. I found all the characters engaging and intensely *real*. I am one of the last people to get hung up on sentimentality. For someone to call this movie 'syrupy' or 'cheesy' indicates to me that this person has never experienced great depth of emotion, has never seen someone they loved lash out in pain and insanity and has not done anything in their lives they've regretted and wished with all their heart and soul they could go back in time and have another chance to do over again. This is a movie for survivors, for people who need to learn forgiveness for others in their lives and forgiveness toward themselves. Christopher Walken is a magnificent being and he seems to shine in everything he does. But Michael Caine is also very engaging in this film, as are the other performers. There is not one bad performance in this movie. Yes, it is difficult to watch. Yes, the emotions are strong. No, it is not syrup or formula. This is an amazing movie. For some of us, this is not fiction -- it is a powerful portrayal of less-than-perfect and far from ordinary humanity. I believe this is one movie that will, over the years, become perceived as absolutely legendary. There is nothing wrong with introspection, other than the fact that it makes many people (Americans in particular) uncomfortable. Shallow people looking for to be passively entertained should stay away from this movie -- go elsewhere. Thoughtful people who have lived life, carry a few scars around and ponder the finer points of existence -- please buy this movie and show support for it.
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28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Far from perfect but it certainly deserves some praise, March 19, 2005
This 2004 film wasn't nominated for any Oscars. I can see why. It's a bit maudlin, the pace is slow and it is too introspective for its own good. But Christopher Walken did win a Golden Satellite Award (whatever that is) for best actor and another Best Actor Award at the Montreal Film Festival. I'm glad, because it certain deserves some praise although it is far from a perfect film.
The film opens with Michael Caine. a cantankerous old man who lives with is adult grandson and young great grandson, planning his own demise. As he's been an archeologist all his life, he gets quite creative as he talks about tribal rituals. Within the first few minutes of the film, the small family gets a visitor. It is Christopher Walken, his son, who has been out of touch with the family for many years. Michel Caine is elated, although the grandson, Josh Lucas, is a bit put off. After all, Christopher Walken, his father, had deserted him when he was only 2-years old and he still bears resentment. The young grandson, played by Jonah Bobo is delighted, however. He's only six year old and to him, and, to him, the world is a wonder.
Soon the four men are having dinner in Michael Caine's favorite restaurant, the local Kentucky Fried Chicken. Later, Christopher Walken say is he is leaving the next day. And this sets Michael Caine in motion. He commits suicide in a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant and leaves his family instructions for a complicated ritual which not only involves mixing his ashes with that of his dog, but also traveling around and scattering ashes in a wide variety of places that mean a lot to him. Also included in this ritual are many meals together in various Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants.
Some of what follows is quite comical. Other parts are melodramatic and play like a soap opera. The acting was great, especially Christopher Walken. Usually his parts are very small, but this time the whole story wrapped around him and he was in almost every scene. Naturally, family secrets are revealed. And there is a lot of bonding. I even had a few giggles during some of the lighter scenes. And, after the film was over, I found myself thinking about for a long time. I'm surprised that I liked it as much as I did. But I just can't help my positive feelings for this film and I therefore recommend it.
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Sentimental journey . . ., August 16, 2005
Fans of Christopher Walken, Michael Caine, and road movies will enjoy this indie film and overlook its sentimentality and trials of credibility. Walken, as a long-absent father returning unexpectedly at the doorstep of his grown son (Lucas), grandson (Bobo), and dying father (Caine), brings a time-ravaged, gritty presence to a film that keeps threatening to turn into a feature-length KFC commercial. Between Walken and Caine (who departs the film much too early), the film has an emotional grounding that makes it compelling even when the script will make dry-eyed viewers want to grimace.
Meanwhile, the New Mexico photography casts a glorious glow over the characters' journey across the desert Southwest and underscores a theme having to do with tribes, family loyalties, fathers and sons, and the importance of rituals. The music track is fine, the credits sequence reveals a spirit of warm generosity, and the DVD documentary of the film's production realistically reveals the tedium of working on a movie set. Altogether, there's more than enough to like. Give it a go.
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