Inspired by a personal memory of writer and director Olivia Silver, her feature debut wistfully recalls the formative period between childhood simplicity and the painful awareness of adulthood. With redeeming moments of incredible warmth, Arcadia won Crystal Bear at Berlin Int’l Film Festival and Official Selection at Sarasota Film Festival, but tells the ultimately uninventive story of a family journeying 3,000 miles in an old station wagon to their new California home.
The grueling road trip, absent mother and flawed father may bring to mind, purposefully or otherwise, Wim Wenders’ Paris, Texas. Much like Harry Dean Stanton’s perfectly lined face, Academy Award nominee John Hawkes has a weathered look of experience – but drawing such a comparison to Paris, Texas’ profoundly enigmatic Travis only underlines the impenetrable surface and unexacting characterization in Arcadia. Rather than challenging expectations of paternity or embracing vulnerability, Tom is carefully rendered as the too-perfect balance...
The grueling road trip, absent mother and flawed father may bring to mind, purposefully or otherwise, Wim Wenders’ Paris, Texas. Much like Harry Dean Stanton’s perfectly lined face, Academy Award nominee John Hawkes has a weathered look of experience – but drawing such a comparison to Paris, Texas’ profoundly enigmatic Travis only underlines the impenetrable surface and unexacting characterization in Arcadia. Rather than challenging expectations of paternity or embracing vulnerability, Tom is carefully rendered as the too-perfect balance...
- 7/23/2013
- by Caitlin Coder
- IONCINEMA.com
Writer-director Olivia Silver's Arcadia is conveyed reflectively from the perspective of Greta (Ryan Simpkins), a 12-year-old who is being forcibly relocated from New England to California by her dad (John Hawkes). Greta shares the cramped backseat of her dad's beat up station wagon with her 9-year-old brother, Nat (Ty Simpkins), while her older sister, Caroline (Kendall Toole), rides shotgun and navigates. Despite their dad's repeated promises of sunshine, horses and swimming pools awaiting them in California, the kids are sad that they had to leave their mom behind; but after six months without a job, their dad just could not turn down a dream job offer, even if it meant relocating his family 3,000 miles across country. While the kids' dad promises that their mom will join them soon, Greta grows increasingly suspicious that he is lying to them. Greta overhears her dad engaging in heated arguments while noticing that...
- 7/23/2013
- by Don Simpson
- SmellsLikeScreenSpirit
When you’re a young teenager and your dad tells you that you’re moving across the country to California, you kind of have to listen. Even if your mother is mysteriously not joining.
In Arcadia, director Olivia Silver takes viewers on an atmospheric, sun-soaked road trip with Greta (Ryan Simpkins), Caroline (Kendall Toole), and Nat (Ty Simpkins) and their father Tom, played by Oscar-nominee John Hawkes. The reason for the move is cloaked in secrecy. There’s a job in California, and they have to go, but it’s not entirely clear why their mother isn’t there. As the middle child,...
In Arcadia, director Olivia Silver takes viewers on an atmospheric, sun-soaked road trip with Greta (Ryan Simpkins), Caroline (Kendall Toole), and Nat (Ty Simpkins) and their father Tom, played by Oscar-nominee John Hawkes. The reason for the move is cloaked in secrecy. There’s a job in California, and they have to go, but it’s not entirely clear why their mother isn’t there. As the middle child,...
- 7/22/2013
- by Lindsey Bahr
- EW - Inside Movies
Winner of the Crystal Bear at the 2012 Berlin Film Festival, Olivia Silver’s debut feature Arcadia puts a more intimate spin on the road movie. In the film, father Tom (the always excellent John Hawkes) takes his three kids, teenager Caroline (Kendall Toole), 12-year-old Greta (Ryan Simpkins) and nine-year-old Nat (Ty Simpkins) on a 3,000-mile cross-country road trip to California, saying that their mother will join them soon in their new home. However, as the journey progresses, it is clear that the situation is much different than it seems. To coincide with Arcadia‘s opening today at the reRun Theater, Brooklyn-based …...
- 4/12/2013
- by Nick Dawson
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
The coming-of-age story is a well-worn, indeed over-familiar mode of narrative, especially in films, but director Olivia Silver's feature debut Arcadia overcomes this pitfall by bringing great sensitivity and a nicely-honed sense of poignancy, as well as some fine performances to the proceedings. Arcadia unfolds mostly through the eyes of 12-year old Greta (Ryan Simpkins) who, along with her older sister Caroline (Kendall Toole) and younger brother Nat (Ty Simpkins, Ryan's real-life brother), are woken up in the very early morning hours by their father Tom (John Hawkes). Tom piles them all in a battered station wagon, setting them off on a 3,000 mile journey from New England to their new home in California. Tom desperately tries to allay his children's fears about being so...
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- 3/11/2013
- Screen Anarchy
Last week, when Cannes announced its all-male list of competition directors, I was in a room in Florida filled with 25 talented women directors, producers, writers and distributors. This was the second annual Side By Side Symposium organized by Holly Herrick, director of Sarasota Film Festival Women (and former programmer at Sff). Along with the ongoing Through Women’s Eyes program of women's issues documentaries, this new program contributes to making Sarasota a primary film festival destination for women. Some female directors at the festival, a list that included Olivia Silver with her directorial debut "Arcadia" and Ry Russo-Young with her third film "Nobody Walks," commented on the ultra-rare experience of not being the only woman director in the room. "The numbers about the representation of women in the film business are disgusting. They’re incredibly low," said festival director Tom Hall. "I think it's...
- 4/27/2012
- by Miriam Bale
- Indiewire
We made it to Berlin and back in one piece. Melanie and I were at the Berlinale for the world premiere of Francine, our first narrative feature starring Melissa Leo. We couldn’t have possibly predicted the response to the film, which has been overwhelmingly positive. Francine showed in the festival’s Forum section, and sold out all four of its screenings before we even premiered. Melissa made the trip out to Berlin, and we were fortunate enough to have had several lively and very engaged Q&A sessions. Seeing the film together for the first time with an audience, especially after a very intense period of shooting, was gratifying beyond words. We want to thank Ifp & Filmmaker Magazine for allowing us this space to share some of our festival experiences as well as inviting us to speak on the New Talents, New Trends panel alongside Producer Mike S. Ryan...
- 2/21/2012
- by Brian M. Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
The Berlin International Film Festival, also called the Berlinale, is one of the world’s leading film festivals and most reputable media events. 2012 marks the first year Sound On Sight was present to attend. Merle has been posting her recaps while the rest of us have been paying close attention to the films receiving the most buzz.
Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978. With 274,000 tickets sold and 487,000 admissions it is considered the largest publicly-attended film festival worldwide. Up to 400 films are shown in several sections, but only a select twenty compete for the awards called the Golden and Silver Bears. This year the Italian film Caesar Must Die took home the Berlin International Film Festival’s top honour as best film. The film is set in Rome’s high-security Rebibbia prison and centres on the rehearsal, staging, and performing of Shakespeare’s...
Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978. With 274,000 tickets sold and 487,000 admissions it is considered the largest publicly-attended film festival worldwide. Up to 400 films are shown in several sections, but only a select twenty compete for the awards called the Golden and Silver Bears. This year the Italian film Caesar Must Die took home the Berlin International Film Festival’s top honour as best film. The film is set in Rome’s high-security Rebibbia prison and centres on the rehearsal, staging, and performing of Shakespeare’s...
- 2/20/2012
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
Berlinale is, on the whole, a quieter festival than your really “big” outings — Sundance, Cannes, Toronto, even Nyff or Venice — but my interest is nevertheless piqued by this year’s winners, a list which comes to us from IndieWIRE. The top prize, that being the Golden Bear, went to Paolo and Vittorio Taviani (pictured above) for Caesar Must Die, their “documentary about criminals performing Shakespeare.” Adopt Films will be giving that a United States release later this year; reviews make me think it’s worth some of this early hype, thankfully.
Otherwise Bence Fliegauf‘s Just the Wind was bestowed with a Silver Bear for the Grand Jury Prize, while Barbara brought home a Silver Bear, Best Director for Christian Petzold. As with the main victors, the rest of the selections are far more devoid of “names” (and could more easily be considered esoteric) than any of the winners you...
Otherwise Bence Fliegauf‘s Just the Wind was bestowed with a Silver Bear for the Grand Jury Prize, while Barbara brought home a Silver Bear, Best Director for Christian Petzold. As with the main victors, the rest of the selections are far more devoid of “names” (and could more easily be considered esoteric) than any of the winners you...
- 2/19/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
Paolo and Vittorio Taviani's Caesar Must Die has won the Golden Bear at this year's Berlinale. The other awards, presented by Mike Leigh and his International Jury (Anton Corbijn, Asghar Farhadi, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Jake Gyllenhaal, François Ozon, Boualem Sansal and Barbara Sukowa):
The first Silver Bear, the Jury Grand Prix, goes to Bence Fliegauf's Just the Wind. (Last year, this prize went to a Hungarian as well, to Béla Tarr for The Turin Horse.)
Silver Bear for Best Director: Christian Petzold for Barbara.
Silver Bear for Best Actress: Rachel Mwanza for her performance in War Witch.
Silver Bear for Best Actor: Mikkel Følsgaard for A Royal Affair.
The Silver Bear for an Outstanding Artistic Contribution goes to Director of Photography Lutz Reitemeier for his work on White Deer Plain.
Silver Bear for Best Screenplay: Nikolaj Arcel and Rasmus Heisterberg for A Royal Affair.
The Alfred Bauer Award...
The first Silver Bear, the Jury Grand Prix, goes to Bence Fliegauf's Just the Wind. (Last year, this prize went to a Hungarian as well, to Béla Tarr for The Turin Horse.)
Silver Bear for Best Director: Christian Petzold for Barbara.
Silver Bear for Best Actress: Rachel Mwanza for her performance in War Witch.
Silver Bear for Best Actor: Mikkel Følsgaard for A Royal Affair.
The Silver Bear for an Outstanding Artistic Contribution goes to Director of Photography Lutz Reitemeier for his work on White Deer Plain.
Silver Bear for Best Screenplay: Nikolaj Arcel and Rasmus Heisterberg for A Royal Affair.
The Alfred Bauer Award...
- 2/18/2012
- MUBI
Comes a Bright Day
"With another twelve world premieres and three international premieres, Generation’s feature-length film program is now complete," the Berlinale's announced today. "A total of 58 short and full-length films from 32 countries have been selected for the Generation Kplus and Generation 14plus competitions." Straight from the release, then, with descriptions from the festival:
Generation 14plus
Comes a Bright Day (Great Britain, by Simon Aboud) – Against the backdrop of an armed robbery at a London jewellers, much more is at stake than money. Where diamonds are involved, love is not far. Cast: Craig Roberts, Imogen Poots, Kevin McKidd, Timothy Spall and others. World Premiere. Site.
Lal Gece (Night of Silence, Turkey, by Reis Çelik) – When the groom lifts the bride’s veil, he is looking into the face of a 14-year-old girl. As tradition has it, a night in the bridal chamber seals the marriage. Cast: Ilyas Salman, Dilan Aksüt and others.
"With another twelve world premieres and three international premieres, Generation’s feature-length film program is now complete," the Berlinale's announced today. "A total of 58 short and full-length films from 32 countries have been selected for the Generation Kplus and Generation 14plus competitions." Straight from the release, then, with descriptions from the festival:
Generation 14plus
Comes a Bright Day (Great Britain, by Simon Aboud) – Against the backdrop of an armed robbery at a London jewellers, much more is at stake than money. Where diamonds are involved, love is not far. Cast: Craig Roberts, Imogen Poots, Kevin McKidd, Timothy Spall and others. World Premiere. Site.
Lal Gece (Night of Silence, Turkey, by Reis Çelik) – When the groom lifts the bride’s veil, he is looking into the face of a 14-year-old girl. As tradition has it, a night in the bridal chamber seals the marriage. Cast: Ilyas Salman, Dilan Aksüt and others.
- 1/12/2012
- MUBI
The 2012 Berlinale has added 12 world premieres and three international ones, completing the program for its Generation lineup. Now a total of 58 short and feature films make up the Generation Kplus (films featuring young children) and Generation 14plus (films featuring actors age 14 and up) competitions. Among the high profile additions making their world premieres: "Arcadia" directed by Sundance alum Olivia Silver and starring John Hawkes ("Winter's Bone"); and the UK romantic thriller "Comes a Bright Day" starring "Submarine" breakout Craig Roberts and Imogen Poots ("Fright Night"). Berlin's Generation programs are typically known for being a bit grittier than similar programs in the Us. The additions to the Generation lineup (go here for previously announced entries): Generation 14plus "Comes A Bright Day" (Great Britain, by Simon Aboud) – Against the backdrop of an...
- 1/12/2012
- Indiewire
#05. Arcadia - Olivia Silver Besides the labs, you'll often hear about how Sundance supports young filmmakers in the creative process. As case in point, they often select a short film and a couple of years later re-invite the filmmaker when a feature film version of the given short is made. Last year we had Little Birds and Pariah, and if finished in time (filming was completed in September), this year we could find the feature version based on Olivia Silver's 209 accepted short Little Canyon (see pic above - watch here). Arcadia sees Sundance regular John Hawkes play father to a trio of children which includes Kendall Toole (who once again plays the same role) and the film's Pov, the child in the car's backseat played by an actress (Ryan Simpkins) who might be poised to break out bigger in Park City as a thirteen year-old than the toddler part...
- 11/7/2011
- IONCINEMA.com
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