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34
10,000 B.C.
55
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62
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36
College Road Trip
xx
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31
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41
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57
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67
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54
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49
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34
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57
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xx
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71
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61
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65
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79
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35
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73
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24
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37
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xx
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58
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48
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55
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22
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69
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44
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53
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76
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37
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37
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61
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47
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55
Street Kings
33
Superhero Movie
93
WALL-E
64
Wanted
36
What Happens in Vegas...
54
You Don't Mess with the Zohan
93
WALL-E
79
Iron Man
76
Shine a Light
73
Kung Fu Panda
71
Horton Hears a Who!
69
Redbelt
67
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
65
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
64
Wanted
62
Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, The
61
Stop Loss
61
Incredible Hulk, The
58
Mist, The
57
Forbidden Kingdom, The
57
Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
55
Street Kings
55
Nim's Island
55
Baby Mama
54
You Don't Mess with the Zohan
54
Get Smart
53
Sex and the City: The Movie
49
Hancock
48
National Treasure: Book of Secrets
47
Strangers, The
44
Ruins, The
41
Drillbit Taylor
37
Made of Honor
37
Shutter
37
Speed Racer
36
College Road Trip
36
What Happens in Vegas...
35
Jumper
34
Happening, The
34
10,000 B.C.
33
Superhero Movie
31
Deception
24
Love Guru, The
22
Postal
xx
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
xx
Dark Knight, The
xx
Mamma Mia!
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

83
Alexandra
80
Band's Visit, The
76
Beauty in Trouble
47
Bella
80
Bigger, Stronger, Faster*
59
Blind Mountain
55
Bra Boys
60
Brick Lane
70
Caramel
49
Children of Huang Shi, The
83
Chop Shop
83
Chris & Don. A Love Story
78
Counterfeiters, The
52
Diminished Capacity
64
Dreams with Sharp Teeth
73
Duchess of Langeais, The
84
Edge of Heaven, The
52
Elsa & Fred
79
Encounters at the End of the World
62
Expired
64
Fall, The
51
Finding Amanda
57
Flawless
86
Flight of the Red Balloon, The
63
Foot Fist Way, The
60
Fugitive Pieces
45
Full Grown Men
55
Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts
69
Go-Getter, The
74
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
63
Gunnin for that #1 Spot
68
Heartbeat Detector
34
Holding Trevor
68
Honeydripper
55
Irina Palm
69
Jellyfish
60
Jihad for Love, A
68
Kabluey
62
Kiss the Bride
63
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
82
Last Mistress, The
38
Life Before Her Eyes, The
70
Love Songs
64
Married Life
30
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33
Miss Conception
53
Mister Lonely
74
Mongol
52
Mother of Tears, The
52
My Blueberry Nights
71
My Brother Is an Only Child
84
My Winnipeg
61
On the Rumba River
69
Operation Filmmaker
61
OSS 117: Cairo - Nest of Spies
83
Paranoid Park
72
Priceless
51
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55
Quid Pro Quo
29
Red Roses and Petrol
79
Reprise
71
Roman de gare
56
Sangre de mi sangre
51
Savage Grace
76
Shotgun Stories
66
Son of Rambow
70
Standard Operating Procedure
62
Stuck
72
Surfwise
81
Tell No One
56
Then She Found Me
xx
Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic
71
To the Limit
54
Tracey Fragments, The
70
Trumbo
72
Tuya's Marriage
83
U2 3D
56
Unknown Woman
86
Up the Yangtze
79
Visitor, The
62
Wackness, The
37
War, Inc.
64
Water Lilies
66
When Did You Last See Your Father?
55
Without the King
72
Woman on the Beach
64
XXY
67
Year My Parents Went on Vacation, The
75
Young@Heart
86
Up the Yangtze
86
Flight of the Red Balloon, The
84
My Winnipeg
84
Edge of Heaven, The
83
Chop Shop
83
Paranoid Park
83
Alexandra
83
U2 3D
83
Chris & Don. A Love Story
82
Last Mistress, The
81
Tell No One
80
Bigger, Stronger, Faster*
80
Band's Visit, The
79
Reprise
79
Encounters at the End of the World
79
Visitor, The
78
Counterfeiters, The
76
Beauty in Trouble
76
Shotgun Stories
75
Young@Heart
74
Mongol
74
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
73
Duchess of Langeais, The
72
Woman on the Beach
72
Priceless
72
Tuya's Marriage
72
Surfwise
71
To the Limit
71
My Brother Is an Only Child
71
Roman de gare
70
Standard Operating Procedure
70
Trumbo
70
Love Songs
70
Caramel
69
Go-Getter, The
69
Operation Filmmaker
69
Jellyfish
68
Kabluey
68
Heartbeat Detector
68
Honeydripper
67
Year My Parents Went on Vacation, The
66
Son of Rambow
66
When Did You Last See Your Father?
64
Married Life
64
Dreams with Sharp Teeth
64
XXY
64
Water Lilies
64
Fall, The
63
Foot Fist Way, The
63
Gunnin for that #1 Spot
63
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
62
Stuck
62
Expired
62
Wackness, The
62
Kiss the Bride
61
OSS 117: Cairo - Nest of Spies
61
On the Rumba River
60
Fugitive Pieces
60
Brick Lane
60
Jihad for Love, A
59
Blind Mountain
57
Flawless
56
Unknown Woman
56
Then She Found Me
56
Sangre de mi sangre
55
Quid Pro Quo
55
Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts
55
Irina Palm
55
Bra Boys
55
Without the King
54
Tracey Fragments, The
53
Mister Lonely
52
Diminished Capacity
52
Elsa & Fred
52
Mother of Tears, The
52
My Blueberry Nights
51
Finding Amanda
51
Promotion, The
51
Savage Grace
49
Children of Huang Shi, The
47
Bella
45
Full Grown Men
38
Life Before Her Eyes, The
37
War, Inc.
34
Holding Trevor
33
Miss Conception
30
Meet Bill
29
Red Roses and Petrol
xx
Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
|
Away from Her
Lions Gate Films
MPAA RATING: Not Rated
Starring
Julie Christie,
Michael Murphy,
Gordon Pinsent,
Olympia Dukakis,
Kristen Thomson,
Wendy Crewson, Alberta Watson,
Thomas Hauff,
and
Katie Boland
This beautiful yet unconventional story of a couple coming to grips with the onset of memory loss is adapted from celebrated author Alice Munro's short story "The Bear Came Over the Mountain." (Lionsgate)
| GENRE(S): |
Drama
|
Romance
|
| WRITTEN BY: |
Sarah Polley
Alice Munro (short story The Bear Came Over the Mountain)
|
| DIRECTED BY: |
Sarah Polley
|
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: September 11, 2007
Theatrical: May 4, 2007
|
| RUNNING TIME: |
110 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: |
Canada |

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
100
Chicago Tribune
Michael Wilmington
One of the most remarkable and moving love stories the movies have recently given us.

100
Washington Post
Ann Hornaday
Rarely has love at any age been depicted so honestly on screen. For such a fully realized portrait to be created by a 28-year-old first-time director is even more remarkable.

100
Chicago Reader
J.R. Jones
For a movie about the importance of memory, Away From Her is appropriately sophisticated in its treatment of time. Polley has broken the chronological story into three sections of unequal length and woven them together, approximating our own mercurial journeys through the past.

100
San Francisco Chronicle
Ruthe Stein
To say it is about a debilitating disease is as reductive as saying "Little Miss Sunshine" is about a beauty pageant. Both are intimate stories of family ties that bind but sometimes also choke.

100
The New Republic
Stanley Kauffmann
Extraordinary--delicate, seriously disturbing, and lovely.

100
Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert
Anyone who could read Munro’s original story and think they could make a film of it, and then make a great film, deserves a certain awe.

90
The New Yorker
David Denby
The movie, Polley's feature début, is a small-scale triumph that could herald a great career.

90
Newsweek
David Ansen
For anyone who grew up worshiping at the shrine of Julie Christie, the notion that she could be playing a white-haired woman drifting into senility is a jolt to the system. But her radiance, beauty and talent are undiminished: she's hauntingly, heartbreakingly good.

90
Village Voice
Ella Taylor
It's a precociously assured and mature work, at once humble and bold, that keeps faith with Munro's precise, graceful prose while tailoring its linear progression into shapely cinematic form.

90
Los Angeles Times
Carina Chocano
Poignant, wise and unafraid -- just the sort of film for a young person, or any person, for that matter, to make.

90
The New York Times
A.O. Scott
I can't remember the last time the movies yielded up a love story so painful, so tender and so true.

89
Austin Chronicle
Marjorie Baumgarten
A phantom of a movie whose beautiful flakes fall into the deep crevices of memory long after the seasons change.

88
Boston Globe
Ty Burr
With a tranquil fearlessness, it goes beyond the death of memory, to see what might be found in the unexplored country beyond. The answer is both frightening and comforting: More love. Unspecified love. Universal love.

88
Miami Herald
Rene Rodriguez
As this intimate, beautifully observed film unfolds, you realize that the story's themes -- the nature of love, the role of sex in relationships and the ways in which we learn to make peace with our guilty consciences -- are relevant no matter what age you happen to be.

88
Philadelphia Inquirer
Carrie Rickey
A heartbreaking elegy to mature love that honors the lovers and the long, neurodegenerative tango that is their last.

88
Charlotte Observer
Lawrence Toppman
A director needs to know how to pace the tale, where to place the camera, how to draw out a shy actor or get out of the way of a strong one. Those skills are rarer than you'd think. Sarah Polley, who never wrote or directed a feature film before Away From Her, has them all.

88
TV Guide
Ken Fox
A sad and sometimes funny tale of Alzheimer's, love and loss.

88
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Liam Lacey
A film rich in paradoxes. Much of the film's style is dreamy, from the snow-covered Ontario landscapes suggestive of a blanket of forgetfulness, to Julie Christie's pale, intoxicating beauty, to the ambient musical score.

88
New York Post
Lou Lumenick
Julie Christie is simply astounding as a woman slipping into the ravages of Alzheimer's in Sarah Polley's deeply affecting and artfully crafted Away From Her.

88
New York Daily News
Elizabeth Weitzman
Even those who've long noted Polley's intelligence on screen will be amazed by the perception she displays as a filmmaker.

88
USA Today
Claudia Puig
Does the finest job of any film in painting a believable portrait of aging, capturing the sadness, confusion, anxiety and defiance of the early stages of dementia.

88
Rolling Stone
Peter Travers
All the acting is first-rate -- Dukakis gives major dimensions to a supporting role. And Christie, a Sixties screen goddess in "Darling" and "Doctor Zhivago," shows that her spirit and grace are eternal. She's a beauty. So is the movie.

83
Christian Science Monitor
Peter Rainer
Given the subject, the movie is too romanticized, and Christie's eyes remain too sharp here to convincingly convey someone whose memory is fast slipping away. Much of it is powerful anyway.

83
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Tasha Robinson
Has its heartbreaking moments and its surprise giggles, particularly thanks to Ron Hewat's minor role as a former hockey play-by-play announcer now narrating his nursing-home life.

83
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Sean Axmaker
There's nothing messy or unkempt about the beautifully, quietly heartbreaking story of unconditional love and emotional sacrifice.

83
Baltimore Sun
Chris Kaltenbach
A quiet, heartfelt story of love and loss.

80
Wall Street Journal
Joe Morgenstern
A feature film that's often astringent on the surface, yet deeply and memorably stirring.

80
Salon.com
Andrew O'Hehir
Polley captures the brisk, cheerful fascism of nursing-home existence with merciless clarity; if you've visited a parent or grandparent in one of those places, you may want to laugh and cry in the same moment.

80
The Hollywood Reporter
John DeFore
The pain of watching a spouse succumb to Alzheimer's is given a particularly deep and sensitive treatment in Away From Her.

80
Variety
Dennis Harvey
What Away From Her achieves is quite admirable-- a low-key, intelligent setting for performances marked by those same qualities.

80
Film Threat
Jeremy Mathews
Julie Christie gives a fabulous performance of mysterious, unclear depth as Fiona.

80
New York Magazine
David Edelstein
Away From Her is a twilight-of-life love story, one that harshly demolishes our romantic notions of love and loyalty, then replaces them with something deeper and, finally, more consoling.

75
Entertainment Weekly
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Munro's stark lily needed none of this gilding.

75
Portland Oregonian
Shawn Levy
The actors are all perfect and yet not. Christie, most obviously, is simply too gorgeous, even when she's meant to be rattled and lost; Pinsent is too credibly stolid; Dukakis never vanquishes an impression of sourness. These may be quibbles, but they add up.

75
ReelViews
James Berardinelli
A tender movie about a poignant and difficult subject.

60
Empire
Olly Richards
It's Sarah Polley through and through: slightly too glum for its own good, but reeking of quality and feeling.


The average user rating for this movie is 8.0 (out of 10) based on 62 User Votes
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