Simon & the Oaks

Name: Simon & the Oaks
Genre: Drama
Released: October 12, 2012
Duration: 122 min
Rating: 62

2012

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Generally favorable reviews based on 14 Critics

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Movie Details & Credits

Film Arcade | Release Date: October 12, 2012 | Not Rated

Summary: An epic drama spanning the years 1939 to 1952, this is the gripping story of Simon, who grows up in a loving working class family on the outskirts of Gothenburg but always feels out of place. Intellectually gifted, he stubbornly persists in acquiring an education normally reserved for young men of the professional classes, much to theAn epic drama spanning the years 1939 to 1952, this is the gripping story of Simon, who grows up in a loving working class family on the outskirts of Gothenburg but always feels out of place. Intellectually gifted, he stubbornly persists in acquiring an education normally reserved for young men of the professional classes, much to the chagrin of his parents who fear that he will become stuck up. He finally convinces his father to send him to an upper-class grammar school, where he meets Isak, the son of a wealthy Jewish bookseller who has fled Nazi persecution in Germany. Simon is dazzled by the books, art and music he encounters in the home of Isak’s father Ruben, which makes Simon long to know more about his own family background. Isak, on the other hand, draws comfort from learning to do something with his hands, helping Simon’s dad make boats. When Isak faces trouble at home, he is taken in by Simon’s family and the two households slowly merge, connecting in unexpected ways as war rages all over Europe. (The Film Arcade)… Expand

Director: Lisa Ohlin

Genre(s): Drama

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 122 min

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Critic Reviews

David DeWitt

Oct 12, 2012

With its exhilarating World War II narrative and performances that touch notes intimate and grand, Simon and the Oaks has an exquisite, and epic, ache. Read full review

Roger Ebert

Oct 17, 2012

It is unabashedly sentimental and epic, and rather bold in the way it takes place during and after the Holocaust but is not defined by it. Read full review

Michael O'Sullivan

Oct 26, 2012

Simon and the Oaks is not merely the story of two boys from opposite sides of the tracks. It's also a larger meditation on life's hardships and what endures: love, art and civilization. Read full review

Village Voice Michael Nordine

Oct 10, 2012

Lisa Ohlin's Simon and the Oaks has all the superficial elements of compelling drama but none of the interiority; it looks like a good movie without ever actually feeling like one. Read full review

The A.V. Club Alison Willmore

Oct 17, 2012

Ponderous and heavy with its own importance, Simon And The Oaks is the kind of film that's made for awards - it nabbed 13 nominations in Sweden's equivalent of the Oscars last year. Read full review

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Joe Williams

Oct 26, 2012

It's as if there's a missing reel of film that could tie the story together and give it the emotional impact it takes for granted. Read full review

San Francisco Chronicle Walter Addiego

Oct 20, 2012

It's a sumptuously mounted melodrama that aims to make a big statement about big themes, but a stilted quality in the filmmaking drags it down. Read full review

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