C.R.A.Z.Y.
2005 Directed by Jean-Marc Vallée
Synopsis
Growing up in this family, you'd have to be... C.R.A.Z.Y.
A story of two love affairs. A father's love for his five sons. And one son's love for his father, a love so strong it compels him to live a lie. That son is Zac Beaulieu, born on the 25th of December 1960, different from all his brothers, but desperate to fit in. During the next 20 years, life takes Zac on a surprising and unexpected journey that ultimately leads him to accept his true nature and, even more importantly, leads his father to love him for who he really is.
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An amazingly rich coming-of-age story. Quite possibly one of the most well-directed films I have ever seen. Vallée's stylistic choices are impressive yet never too imposing. Performances are superb all round, though with the actor playing the father being the obvious stand-out. The portrayal of family dynamics seemed utterly authentic, and I loved how the movie chronicles several years, always maintaining Zach's point of view, making it both epic and very personal.
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If I were to make a shortlist of films I would nominate for the Criterion treatment, this would certainly be one of them. Vallee is one of the best visual directors around, his films so perfectly photographed. He's also one of the best directors to work with music, and C.R.A.Z.Y. (named so for the initials of each of the sons you see on the poster) weaves music in perfectly to connect characters and highlight a difficult coming of age story.
In short, this is a beautiful film that you need to see, and from there I'd suggest you also get to Cafe de Flore, which also had raves a few years ago. Vallee has another film this year and I…
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One of the best films produced in Canada in the last decade. I love it more each time I watch it.
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Una preciosa, original y evocadora historia de relaciones familiares, búsqueda de la identidad sexual y descubrimientos vitales.
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If I were to make a shortlist of films I would nominate for the Criterion treatment, this would certainly be one of them. Vallee is one of the best visual directors around, his films so perfectly photographed. He's also one of the best directors to work with music, and C.R.A.Z.Y. (named so for the initials of each of the sons you see on the poster) weaves music in perfectly to connect characters and highlight a difficult coming of age story.
In short, this is a beautiful film that you need to see, and from there I'd suggest you also get to Cafe de Flore, which also had raves a few years ago. Vallee has another film this year and I…
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“C.R:A.Z.Y.” ist ein ruhiger Film, der es schafft sein relativ ernstes Thema mit einer Prise Humor zu würzen. Regisseur Jean-Marc Vallée (Black List, Magical Words) findet für jede Situation die richtigen Worte und Bilder und macht den Film so zu einem Erlebnis. Trotzdem oder gerade deswegen ist “C.R.A.Z.Y.” kein Film den man sich bei einer Tüte Popcorn ansieht, sondern ein Film, der über zwei Stunden die volle Aufmerksamkeit verlangt. Dadurch, dass Zachary Darsteller Marc-André Grondin allerdings hervorragend spielt, fällt dies dem Zuschauer aber nicht schwer.
Auch die anderen Darsteller spielen hervorragend. Selten habe ich einen Film gesehen, in dem so viele, für mich unbekannte Darsteller eine so gute Leistung abliefern. Hier ist es den Castingverantwortlichen gelungen für jede Rolle die perfekte Besetzung zu bekommen.
Alles in allem ist “C.R.A.Z.Y.” ein kleines Meisterwerk in einer von Hollywoodmassenware dominierten Filmwelt.
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At times I felt like this film had a bit of trouble deciding exactly what kind of film it was going to be. It changed tones a few times throughout, which gave it a bit of a choppy feel.
But the story was strong enough to make up for it.
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Μια από αυτές τις σοβαρές αλλά όχι σοβαροφανείς ταινίες που πετυχαίνουν να περάσουν στο θεατή έννοιες/ έγνοιες γύρω από την οικογένεια, προβληματισμούς για τις σεξουαλικές επιλογές των ανθρώπων, ατμόσφαιρα μιας εποχής και της ψυχολογίας των πρωταγωνιστών με ανάλαφρο αλλά όχι επιπόλαιο τρόπο. Το main theme της ταινίας είναι το space oddity σε εκτέλεση David Bowie και ταιριάζει υπέροχα, στη χρονική στιγμή και τη διάθεση που θέλει να αποτυπώσει ο σκηνοθέτης. Μάλιστα το κόστος για τα πνευματικά δικαιώματα του τραγουδιού ήταν υπέρογκο. Γενικά η μουσική επιμέλεια ξεχωρίζει, αλλά όχι μόνο. Οι χαρακτήρες είναι δουλεμένοι και η αλληλεπίδραση μεταξύ τους σίγουρα θα θυμίσει οικογενειακές στιγμές σε οποιονδήποτε θεατή. Nicely done. Βαρύ θέμα αλλά η ισορροπημένη και ευχάριστη εκτέλεση κερδίζει χωρίς να αφαιρεί.
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Cautivadora, creíble y encomiable crónica familiar sobre el descubrimiento y aceptación de uno mismo. Enorme banda sonora y muy buenos intérpretes.
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I have a very low tolerance for k00Ky characters, wacky situations, and the eruption out of nowhere of cartoonish fantasy sequences, and almost no tolerance at all for cutesy superfluous details piled on top of whimsical superfluous details. So, it’s no wonder I wasn’t all that crazy about C.R.A.Z.Y., a not particularly well-written or directed French-Canadian coming-of-age and coming-out flick that reeks of the influence of John Hughes’ oeuvre. (That Marc-André Grondin and Natasha Thompson reminded me so strongly of Jon Cryer and Mary Stuart Masterson didn’t help.) The movie has some really serious tone problems, and the acting is all over the place: some of it is broad sketch comedy mugging (Danielle Proulx deserves the Alice Pearce award for making with the goggle eyes), some is After School Special, some is just bad. I take it back: it's not that I wasn't all that crazy about C.R.A.Z.Y. -- I hated it.