The film had a limited release in the U.S. beginning May 17, 2013. It's a fascinating ride, because everyone has part of the picture, but only two people had the answer, and one of them is no longer alive.Stories We Tell is a quiet, careful movie. Sarah's dad was a handsome, decent person, but no one would describe him as vivacious and fun-loving. Sarah Polley earned wide acclaim for directing the drama Away from Her, about a woman fading into the twilight of Alzheimer's, as well as for her acting performances in … It's hard to imagine Sarah Polley, whose remarkable film Stories We Tell was released in May, ever asking the participants in her film to "pretend" she wasn't there. )Sarah's mother was beautiful, and she was vivacious and fun-loving. The website's critical consensus states "In Stories We Tell, Sarah Polley plays with the documentary format to explore the nature of memory and storytelling, crafting a thoughtful, compelling narrative that unfolds like a mystery.". She playfully interviews and interrogates a cast of characters of varying reliability, eliciting refreshingly candid, yet mostly contradictory, answers to the same questions. Through its intricate structure, Stories We Tell (2012) by Sarah Polley (playing in The Sweet Hereafter, Exotica, and eXistenZ) examines the elusive nature of narratives, memories, and truth. Sarah Polley is in the middle of it all, but she's credited as the director, not as the star. The revelation of this is at the core of her new documentary film Stories We Tell (2012). Polley is both filmmaker and detective as she investigates the secrets kept by a family of storytellers. Diane conceals the truth from Michael, Sarah, and everyone except her lover Harry and some girlfriends. A young woman witnesses a bus accident, and is caught up in the aftermath, where the question of whether or not it was intentional affects many people's lives. Don't ever tell a 75 year old to go quietly into the night. Polley unravels the paradoxes to reveal the essence of family: always complicated, warmly messy and fiercely loving. Written by Exposing her role behind the camera, Kirsten Johnson reaches into the vast trove of footage she has shot over decades around the world. Two thirteen year-old working-class friends in Bradford seek fortune by getting involved with a local scrap dealer and criminal. Rated PG-13 for thematic elements involving sexuality, brief strong language and smoking, Why the HFPA’s Token Gesture of Adding 13 Black Journalists Won’t Fix the Golden Globes, ‘I May Destroy You’ Golden Globes Shutout Ignites Hollywood Outrage: ‘Racism Is the Only Explanation’, Oscars’ Animated, Documentary and International Feature Submissions Revealed, Holiday Streaming Picks: Surprise and Delight, Biggest surprise of the 2014 Oscar nominations, Women Make Film: A New Road Movie Through Cinema. When Sarah Polley decided to make a documentary about the mother she lost as a girl of 11, she had no idea of the extraordinary family secret she … Stories We Tell is a 2012 Canadian documentary film written and directed by Sarah Polley and produced by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). [10] It incorporates interviews with Polley's siblings from her mother's two marriages, interviews with other relatives and family friends, Michael Polley's narration of his memoir, and Super-8 footage shot to look like home movies of historical events in her family's life. But the film isn't straight biography or autobiography. Sarah Polley Is Ready to Make Movies Again, Seven Years After Life-Changing ‘Stories We Tell’ The beloved Canadian filmmaker reflects on her deeply personal masterpiece and … Get a sneak peek of the new version of this page. Inspired, inspiring, tender and touching - Sarah Polley's brilliant documentary is now available on iTunes! 1 Canadian film of all time", "Sarah Polley doc Stories We Tell: When blood is thicker than gossip", "Stories We Tell: A post by Sarah Polley", "Stories We Tell Movie Review & Film Summary (2012) | Roger Ebert", "Polley, Cronenberg, Mehta films named to Canada's Top Ten", "Canada's Top Ten Toasts the Nation's Best Films of 2012: Cronenberg, Polley, Nguyen and Mehta Among Filmmakers Recognized", "Sarah Polley doc wins Toronto critics' $100K prize", "Sarah Polley's intimate family tale Stories We Tell gets a PR push for the Oscars", "Who Was Helped (and Who Wasn't) by Week's Slew of Awards Announcements (Analysis)", "Sarah Polley's 'Stories We Tell' wins Writers Guild award", "Cinema Eye Honors Announces Nominees for 7th Annual Nonfiction Film Awards", "2014 Oscars Best Documentary Short List Revealed", "Film Release Chart 5/10/2013 - 8/2/2013", The Inquiry Film: A Report on the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline. I’d like every viewer to have a chance to experience the movie's slow reveals, rather than have its mysteries summarized in a few neat declarative sentences. Written by Elizabeth Shaw Stories We Tell is a documentary, with Sarah Polley as writer and director. [13], Writing for RogerEbert.com, film critic Sheila O'Malley gave the film four out of four stars, calling it "[a] powerful and thoughtful film...[that] is also not what it at first seems, which is part of the point Polley appears to be interested in making. [5][11] Polley began work five years before completing the documentary, taking many breaks in between. Check out our editors' picks for the movies and shows we're excited about this month, like Mortal Kombat, "Them," and Stowaway. TIFF '12: In 'Stories We Tell,' A Director Turns The Camera On Her Family Sarah Polley's documentary Stories We Tell casts light not only on her own family, but on memory and perspective. She attempts to create a documentary of her family story. Directed by Sarah Polley • 2012 • Canada Acclaimed actor and filmmaker Sarah Polley delves into the mysteries of her own family and identity—and uncovers a shocking secret—in this riveting, fearlessly personal autobiographical hybrid work. Courtesy of the NFB. Despite having helmed two narrative features in the last six years, Polley admits that directing her first nonfiction project, Stories We Tell, was “like learning how to make a film from scratch.Beyond being a huge fan of documentaries, I knew nothing about the medium,” she admits. In her blog post on the NFB.ca website, Polley reveals that several journalists including Brian D. Johnson and Matthew Hays had known about the story of her biological father for years, but respected Polley's wish to keep the matter private until she was ready to tell her story in her own words.[12]. Stories We Tell is a 2012 Canadian documentary film written and directed by Sarah Polley and produced by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). Features. In Stories We Tell, director Sarah Polley attempts what I think is the impossible. [21] In December 2013, the film received the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Non-Fiction Film, the National Board of Review Award for Best Documentary Film, and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Documentary Film. The National Film Board of Canada. On March 3, 2013, it was named best feature-length documentary at the 1st Canadian Screen Awards. What emerges is a visually bold memoir and a revelatory interrogation of the power of the camera. In this inspired, genre-twisting new film, Oscar®-nominated writer/director Sarah Polley discovers that the truth depends on who's telling it. [17][18] In 2015, it was added to the festival's list of the top 10 Canadian films of all time at number 10. - starring Jayne Eastwood - is a 8x5min comedy series about a wiry old gal with a whiskey voice and a bourbon appetite,... See full summary ». Near the beginning of Sarah Polley’s newest film, Stories We Tell (2012), an autobiographical documentary about her family and her life history, Polley asks one of her sisters what she thinks about this very film being made.“Who fucking cares about our family? Was this review helpful to you? Director Sarah Polley’s documentary Stories We Tell revolves around her parentage. Polley decides to dig for this answer, and interview the same people she's already interviewed, although this time asking the question, "Who's my father?" In her quietly moving, intelligent documentary “Stories We Tell,” the Canadian actress and director Sarah Polley sat down with relatives and friends and asked them to … The film explores her family's secrets—including one intimately related to Polley's own identity. A film that excavates layers of myth and memory to find the elusive truth at the core of a family of storytellers. Can I leave it at that, and tell you no more? [24], Stories We Tell was nominated for a 2013 Cinema Eye Honors award and a 2013 International Documentary Association award. In this inspired, genre-twisting new film, Oscar®-nominated writer/director Sarah Polley discovers that the truth depends on who's telling it. It's a quest film as well.Sarah's siblings and family friends begin by talking about Sarah's mother, Diane, who died, aged 55, in 1990, when Sarah was 11 . Stories We Tell [8], On January 8, 2013, Stories We Tell received the $100,000 prize for best Canadian film at the Toronto Film Critics Association Awards,[19] after having been named best documentary by the association the previous month. The marriage wasn't terrible, but it was clear to the couple--and eventually to their children--that it wasn't a good match.That much information is established in the first half-hour of the movie. [20] In October 2013, Stories We Tell received the Allan King Award for Excellence in Documentary at the Directors Guild of Canada Awards in Toronto. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. A happily married woman falls for the artist who lives across the street. [22][23] On February 1, 2014, the film received the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Documentary Screenplay. Her second husband, Michael, who raised Sarah, blames himself for inadequacy. That's what makes the whole thing so fascinating.This is a movie you will want to see if you enjoy quiet, thoughtful, serious films. Sarah is also the producer of this documentary film. In this documentary, Polley explores and investigates the history of her family, unearthing some personal secrets she didn't expect to find. A daughter helps her father prepare for the end of his life. Diane later dies of cancer. Forbidden Love: The Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives, Just Watch Me: Trudeau and the '70s Generation, Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry, The Colours of My Father: A Portrait of Sam Borenstein, Fiction and Other Truths: A Film About Jane Rule, Unveiled: The Mother/Daughter Relationship, Hôtel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie, National Board of Review Award for Best Documentary Feature, Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse, Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills, Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Documentary Film, Toronto Film Critics Association's Rogers Award for Best Canadian Film, The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stories_We_Tell&oldid=1012582452, Best Documentary Film Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners, National Film Board of Canada documentaries, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2017, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 17 March 2021, at 04:45. A documentary which challenges former Indonesian death-squad leaders to reenact their mass-killings in whichever cinematic genres they wish, including classic Hollywood crime scenarios and lavish musical numbers. Settlers traveling through the Oregon desert in 1845 find themselves stranded in harsh conditions. Writer-director Sarah Polley's personal documentary "Stories We Tell" reveals complexities and contradictions within her own family that will resonate with filmgoers as … Diane conceals the truth from Michael, Sarah, and everyone except her lover Harry and some girlfriends. [15], On October 20, Stories We Tell received the Grand Prix Focus for best feature film in the Festival du nouveau cinéma's Focus category. Check out our gallery of the 2021 Oscar nominees in the leading and supporting acting categories, as the characters they so brilliantly played and in real life. As each relates their version of the family mythology, present-day recollections shift into nostalgia-tinged glimpses of their mother, who departed too soon, leaving a trail of unanswered questions. Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. By Olena Decock • Published April 20th, 2017 • Issue 105, Spring 2017 • Comments. [9], The film looks at the relationship between Polley's parents, Michael and Diane Polley, including the revelation that the filmmaker was the product of an extramarital affair between her mother and Montreal producer Harry Gulkin. Polley is both filmmaker and detective as she investigates the secrets kept by a family of storytellers. The decision to venture into documentary directing was not an easy one for writer-director-actress Sarah Polley. The film explores her family's secrets—including one intimately related to Polley's own identity. Sarah is also the producer of this documentary film. 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