When Did You Last See Your Father?
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Colin FirthBrand: Sony
DVD: Region Code 99
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled)
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 92 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-11-04
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Sony Pictures
Movie Reviews of When Did You Last See Your Father?
Movie Review: sensitive portrayal of that most difficult of relationships, father-son
Summary: 5 Stars
Having recently lost my father, I hoped that this film would help me to look into our relationship, to grieve, to let my feelings come to the fore in private, for myself beyond the (very helpful) rituals we have of letting go. Although the film relationship was of course very different from the one I had with my father, it brilliantly addresses the universal issues between fathers and sons: there are so many memories - of fun, perceived slights, love, and anger - that swirl in the mind for the rest of the son's life. The son, Blake, has questions he wants to resolve, yet they can't really talk about them, even as his father lies on his deathbed. Blake struggles with disappointment in his charming and manipulative father, whose flaws and strengths, whose caring and occasional carelessness, remain present in his imagination every single day, with the specificity of recall you would expect of a poet. It is so primal in love, so raw in striving and competition, as the son takes his own path and the father is left behind yet still living within him.
The father's last days are also portrayed with painful intimacy. Unless one has experienced it, it is hard to comprehend what it is like to watch a parent slip away as the body fails, yet this film portrays it with realism and empathy, with fabulously nuanced acting.
You see the father as a great spirit, as a selfish jerk, as a charmer of "other" women, as a joker indulgent of his son's desires, as the only person who can give certain things, as full of his own needs yet caring. It is funny, sad, enraging, and loving all at the same time. These emotions washed over me as I watched this film, truly a cathartic experience that reduced me at times to tears.
This is a mature film, a masterpiece that approaches the complexity of life. Blake too is a flawed character, though his life is more or less on track. THe film ends with a wonderfully ambiguous optimism, summing up the exasperation and love all at the same moment. The mother is also subtly present, though not at the center of the story. In my view, the balance was right.
Warmly recommended. But do not expect a comedy - it is painful and uplifting realism at its best.
Summary of When Did You Last See Your Father?
While visiting his dying father a 40 year old writers memories of the past - both good & bad - help him to realize his immortal invincible & infallible father is after all only human. An adaptation of blake morrisons bestselling memoir Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 11/04/2008 Starring: Jim Broadbent Juliet Stevenson Run time: 92 minutes Rating: Pg13An outstanding cast gives emotional richness to the father/son memoir When Did You Last See Your Father?. Writer Blake Morrison (Colin Firth), faced with the impending death of his father Arthur (Jim Broadbent, Iris, Topsy-Turvy), reflects back on how the clash of personalities has led them to near alienation. Blake can't forgive his father for small embarrassments and large betrayals--but he also can't let go of the need to understand his father's combination of broad but generous humor and petty egotism. Everyone else in Arthur's life seemed to love him; why can't Blake? The story of When Did You Last See Your Father? is familiar stuff (how often do we need to learn that boisterous fathers and sensitive sons can't communicate?), but Firth, Broadbent, and Juliet Stevenson (Truly Madly Deeply), as Blake's mother, fill in the broad outlines with warmth and nuance. Particular credit goes to newcomer Matthew Beard as Blake's teenage self; Beard vividly captures the vulnerability, yearning, and self-absorption of adolescence. --Bret Fetzer
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