Em Família

Definitely one the best films I've ever experienced. Beautifully written, directed and played out by each and everyone. Patrick's way of telling a story is a league of its own and there's not many films I know that uses the art of simplicity to make this a screen gem that is hard to ever forget in my lifetime.

Thank you Patrick for having me on this ride. I'm truly humbled.

Its films like this that's Oscar worthy that slip by the cracks of the selection panel that the world will regret not giving it its due.

Disclaimer: I don't know Patrick BUT I do anything to shake this man's hand.

NOW before I go any further, I will say this: maybe it's not everybody's kind of film. It is long (3 hours) and VERY slow. It's a bit of a gay film, although homosexuality doesn't seem to be an issue. Two guys are in a relationship, one of them (Cody, very, very cute!) has a son. They raise him together. The son is played by 6 y.o. Sebastian Banes, who is terrific. Anyway Cody dies, and according to his will made years ago, his sister is supposed to take care of the kid. The other guy wants to keep him. It is a journey through that. The camera is usually still, and the scenes are more often than not, single shots (long takes? Well "plan séquence" in French, look it up): no cuts, no interruptions, for 3 or 4 minutes, one is 9 minutes! (one with the kid lasts 2 or 3 minutes, and he performs it to perfection.) Of course it is hard to do, because everything has to be flawless for the whole sequence. But it gives the impression of "real life".

I would describe "In The Family" as "adult": by that I mean that eventually we don't even follow a plot; we follow characters through a slice of life. No spectacular images, no special effects, and no witty dialogue (God knows that this has been in very short supply for the last 20 years!): it is about people, being human, feeling.

I like Roger Ebert's review: "In the Family" is a long film, and truth to tell, could have been made shorter. (One dimly lit confrontation between Joey and a key participant seems unnecessary.) That said, I was completely absorbed from beginning to end. What a courageous first feature this is, a film that sidesteps shopworn stereotypes and tells a quiet, firm, deeply humanist story about doing the right thing. It is a film that avoids any message or statement and simply shows us, with infinite sympathy, how the life of a completely original character can help us lead our own.

Bottom line, be warned: it is long, it is slow, it is "day to day" regular life, there is nothing "out of this world" about it... and it is wonderful. (96% on Rotten Tomatoes, so don't be fooled by the meager 7,3 on IMDb ). Patrick Wang has given us a wonderful film, dare I say a masterpiece? And it deserves to be seen.

Patrick Wang focuses the image in a way that allows the viewer to imagine the other spaces not shown on screen. He also carefully selects each frame to reveal or obscure what is relevant to each moment. I have no other term for it but 360 degree acting. And included in this acting ensemble are architecture, objects, sounds, the movement of dust.

What startles too is the amount of time taken to get to know people. I can tell that the actors know this time will be taken, that their portraits will unfold in a more natural way because I saw them relax and actually find responses that at times startled them (themselves). Perhaps this is the greatest homage to actors an actor/ director/ writer can give.

In the accumulation of moments, I felt like I knew this house, I knew what it was to spend time with these people, with this young boy 'Chip', and so when moments such as the trial opened up or we see Joey (Wang)'s shoulders and back of head while he's making a book, emotion came up in me in a subtler way. My experience was less one of spectator and more one of someone who was a friend of this character. At one point, I did utter aloud in reference to Chip, 'please let him come home' in my living room viewing this film all by myself!

I was reading an interview with Alexander Payne in Film Comment recently and he said something like 'we have no idea yet what a film could be'. I think that Mr. Wang has taken his opportunity and really produced something he himself understands and we all must see. I'm thrilled that the film has been made.

You can and should read the many reviews and it'll give you a sense of this movie. Here's my takeaways.

First, I just wanted to know if the folks on the screen knew that they were being filmed. I'm not trying to be cute, but what I mean is this was a breathtaking experience of looking at real life, as it happened, to real people in real time. It doesn't get better than that.

I'm of an age where I've watched movies of three hours. Most were torturous. Some superb. Either of the two still felt like three hours. Except here! I was so captivated from the get go to the end and I could have kept on watching.

When it ended, I saw it was almost 4AM - Quickest three hours, I was so absorbed and can still feel for Joey and Cody and Chip, as if they were IRL Friends.

My topper most of the topper most rating is 9 and this deserves every bit it, actually a 9.9 if we used decimals.

This was that good. Surprised this wasn't recommended or suggested. I heard about in a French Reviewer's review on "Any Day Now" - Happy I translated it to English allowing me to find this hidden gem.

Many critics could argue, perhaps convincingly, that "In the Family" could be edited from its almost 3 hours to 2 hours, however, the pacing of the film doesn't suffer from its length. And by taking time to develop the almost mundane everyday life of a gay couple raising a young son, the film is actually a bold political statement that speaks directly to every person who thinks being gay is somehow a non-stop sex fest. Because of that, the film makes a very strong point even before the issues at the heart of the movie become front and center. It's a family friendly film where sexual orientation is almost an afterthought of the movie and that is what sets the tone and makes it groundbreaking. That is a long winded way of saying that anyone who thinks the film should fit into a typical 2 hour movie formula, is missing the depth of the story and the emotional impact the pacing creates.

Many Asian-American actors would say they hate doing accents because they are connected with stereotypical roles, but Patrick Wang's southern accent probably wasn't what Asian-American actors had in mind and in this case it is a testament to Patrick's incredible acting abilities. I am one who thinks directors should direct and not also take on the demand of acting in their own films because both can suffer, but Patrick Wang's acting and directing are both amazing. He has embraced this film heart and soul and it's evident in its emotional complexity and perhaps this is a case where it could not have been as successful without Patrick in both roles.

In the film the downward spiral starts with the confrontation between Joey (Patrick Wang) and Chad's sister over the will and is a riveting scene that doesn't leave the viewer rooting for anyone, but actually feeling the pain and the point each is making about the circumstances. But for Joey it is the most devastating because everything in his life is gone overnight; his partner, his child, and his home. The loneliness and destruction of his life is powerfully and beautifully created by Patrick's acting and directing making this a heart wrenching film that shouldn't be missed. And the film's conclusion? Emotionally brilliant.