Description
With this surreal comedy set in a world where souls can be bought and sold, director Sophie Barthes makes an assured feature debut that should appeal to fans of Charlie Kaufman. Oscar-nominee Paul Giamatti stars as a version of himself, an actor who is stressed out over taking on the role of Uncle Vanya. To ease his pain, he has his soul temporarily removed, but it is taken by a Russian actress. Now Giamatti must trek eastward to get his soul back.
Box Office:
06/02/2009
4 stars out of 5 — "[The film] exhibits a self-assurance and a brilliance and should not be missed. Although filled with amusing comedy and irony, the film raises disturbing questions about the 'soul' of modern society and our place in it."A.V. Club:
08/06/2009
"Barthes plays this fantasy perfectly straight, with Strathairn utterly matter-of-fact about the process..."Los Angeles Times:
08/07/2009
"[The] quaintly goofy premise makes for pointedly neurotic SLEEPER-ish fun, not to mention nifty digs at our culture of self-invention."USA Today:
08/07/2009
3 stars out of 4 — "There are echoes of the memory-clearing THE ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND....Compelling in the way of an indelible, dreamy short story."Wall Street Journal:
08/07/2009
"Mr. Giamatti is the best reason to see the film...his on-screen version of himself goes from soulful to soulless — and then soulful again — with the greatest of unease, and he's entertaining in either phase."New York Times:
08/07/2009
"[A]n ambitious, elegantly shot, tonally cool first feature written and directed by Sophie Barthes that shows hints of Stanley Kubrick and Charlie Kaufman both..."Movieline:
08/07/2009
"See it for Giamatti's typically adroit performance..."Entertainment Weekly:
08/14/2009
"[A] darkly funny, twisty-cool existential tragi-comedy, loaded with smart notions and filmed like a surrealist dream..." — Grade: A-Rolling Stone:
08/20/2009
"The film is superbly shot by Andrij Parekh and edited by Andrew Mondshein, but it's the hilarious and heartbreaking Giamatti who provides it with, well, soul."Chicago Sun-Times:
08/19/2009
3.5 stars out of 4 — "Barthes takes her notion and runs with it, and Giamatti and Strathairn follow fearlessly. The movie is rather evocative about the way we govern ourselves from the inside out."
CAST
| Paul Giamatti | |
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| David Strathairn | American stage/film actor, GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK |
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| Dina Korzun | Actress, LAST RESORT (2001) |
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| Katheryn Winnick | American Actress In SATAN'S LITTLE HELPER |
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| Lauren Ambrose | American actress, SIX FEET UNDER |
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| Emily Watson | Actress |
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CREW
| Screenwriter | Sophie Barthes (Writer/director) |
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| Producer | Dan Carey (Producer) |
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| Producer | Elizabeth Giamatti (Producer) |
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| Producer | Paul Mezey (Producer, BALLAD OF RAMBLIN' JACK (2000), THE CITY) |
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| Director of Photography | Andrij Parekh (DP, HALF NELSON (2006)) |
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| Producer | Jeremy Kipp Walker (Producer) |
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| Composer | Dickon Hinchliffe (Composer, KEEPING MUM (2006)) |
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Video: Color
Original release:
101 min
, English (Original)
Weight factor: 1 item(s)
|
| Area |
Runtime |
Box |
| USA |
101 min |
(normal) |
| Rating |
PG-13 (MPAA)
|
|
Catalog #: 4069071
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UPC: 024543629382 |
|
Release Notes
DVD Features:
Region [unknown]
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