The Man Who Cried
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Movie Reviews of The Man Who Cried
Movie Review: the man who cried
Summary: 5 Stars
Very Good. It has the stars I like and the music I like. Beutiful story.Movie Review: Revisiting The Man Who Cried at Home
Summary: 4 Stars
Some films actually play more sensitively on the small screen of home viewing than when they are achingly spread across a large theater screen where all of the flaws show. For this viewer such is the case for THE MAN WHO CRIED: reduced to the intimate state this little film carries much more weight. Sally Potter wrote and directed this homage to the effects of WW II on Europe and in doing so created some memorable characters and deft images that linger.
1927, Russia, and a Yiddish singer father (Oleg Yankovsky) sings to his beloved daughter, knowing of the impending gloom that seethes over Russia. With his family's interests at heart he flees to America, and encourages his daughter Suzie (Christina Ricci) to follow. Politics knock and Suzie's attempts to join her father results in her landing in England where she is accepted as a foster child by an English couple who try fervently to rid Suzie of her Jewishness for her protection.
Time passes and Suzie moves to Paris to earn money as a singer. She meets fellow Russian ex-pat Lola (Cate Blanchett) and the two sing in a Parisian theater until they are invited to join the chorus of an opera company headed by Felix Perlman (Harry Dean Stanton) and starring the famous Italian (fascist) tenor Dante Dominio (John Turturro). Suzie encounters a gypsy Cesar (Johnny Depp) and falls in love. With the advance of the Nazi troops toward Paris, the opera company fragments, the threat of Jewish and gypsy annihilation becomes a potent force, and Suzie and Lola manage to book passage on a boat to America. In America she searches for her father only to find him advanced in years, with a new family in tow, and critically ill. The full circle of the man who cried comes in the quiet of the hospital room, echoing songs of happier times.
Sound sappy? Well, it sort of is, but so much of the plot and script problems pale in the manner in which the film is presented. The actors are solid (the range of accents demonstrates a lot of coaching) and some are outstanding: Cate Blanchett, John Turturro, Johnny Depp, and Christina Ricci in her most sensitive role to date. The music is a mélange of Yiddish songs, operatic arias and original score by the highly regarded serious composer Osvaldo Golijov! The cinematography by Sacha Vierny is simply breathtaking, whether in the bleak blandness of Russia or the gaudy theatrics of Paris. In all, this is a beautiful film to watch and to hear, and that says a lot these days! Grady Harp, July 05
Movie Review: Deserves a look.
Summary: 4 Stars
"The Man Who Cried" is not at all as terrible as many (re)viewers purport it to be. Sure, it has some questionable moments and developments but redeeming qualities abound in it as well. It is a movie-ballad of sorts. Its strengths are in compelling musical highlights and background, vivid -- troubled and resilient -- characters, the provocation of emotion. "The Man Who Cried" is like an elaboration on a legend -- colorful, passionate, with leaps of faith, one where fate is both contested and inevitable. All actors deliver undeniably strong performances. Cate Blanchett is unsurprisingly exquisite in the role of a resourceful, hedonistic but emphathetic seductress. John Turturro's marvelous acting is successfully flavored with obsessive streaks evident earlier in "The Quiz Show" and "The Luzhin Defense". Johny Depp is back in the 'noble savage' saddle (a character well that may be running dry). Christina Ricci is exciting, devoted, endearing, and intense, as usual. Oleg Yankovsky (one of Russia's top actors) is strong in his small but spirited role.
As has been pointed out by others, the script may be the movie's weakest feature, with all but perhaps one character (Blanchett's Lola) yearning for stronger lines, or at least more of them. Yet, both a minimalist script and a plot that is not particularly inventive or complex can be justified by the movie's attempt to play more like a ballad than a novel.
Deep icy blue is the film's signature color and is at times joined by brilliant reds and sparse whites. The DVD's bonus notes mention that Sally Potter drew inspiration for the scenes and locations from Cartier-Bresson's and Koudelka's photography -- something that doesn't quite come across in the movie. Still, it is an appealing cinematic experience, and one that does not deserve to be discarded as worthless.
Movie Review: Actors' Showcase
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a great "acting" movie. The stars are great, but the rest of the movie was missing something--my interest.I'm not saying it was bad. The acting was wonderful, masterful even. The cast consists of Christina Ricci, Johnny Depp, John Turturro, and Cate Blanchett, all doing work that is equivalent to their best. Ricci, especially, as the main character, gets to run the gamut of emotions and I couldn't take my eyes off her. Blanchett does a thick accent that is hard to understand sometimes, but her performance was as good as I've seen her give. And as for Depp and Turturro, well, they don't make wrong moves. Even if they are in bad films now and again, they can always be depended upon to give superb performances.
No, the cast was not the problem. It was the story. I just didn't care what was happening. I liked watching great actors practice their craft, and I cared about them, but I couldn't get involved in the story. I know there was some subplot involving a white horse, but I couldn't tell you the significance, except to make the Johnny Depp character look sensitive, but he does that anyway.
I would definitely recommend it for fans of the actors, but I couldn't recommend it as entertainment.
Movie Review: A visually beautiful film in the shadow of oppression...
Summary: 4 Stars
A Russian-Jewish man travels alone to the United States in order start a better life for his family, which he intends to send for when he has raised enough money. However, the communist rule under Stalin separates the family which leads to the death of the mother and the escape of the daughter, Suzie (Christina Ricci). Suzie's escape brings her to England where she is adopted and forced to assimilate to the British traditions and culture that eradicates her of her own past. Years later when Suzie has reached adulthood she travels to Paris with hopes to raise money that can bring her to her father in the United States. In Paris she meets love, dreams, hope, and horror as she must face anti-Semitism brought to France by the Nazi's during World War II. Man Who Cried is visually stunning as it portrays the struggles of Suzie and those around her in a time of hostility. The visual elements are also enhanced by a terrific cast such as Christina Ricci, Johnny Depp, Cate Blanchett, John Turturro and many more. In the end, Potter ties together a meaningful cinematic experience that has both historical value as well as morals.