Feeling artsy tonight, so it was C'mon C'mon, written and directed by Mike Mills. It stars Joachin Phoenix and Woody Norman (the kid). So, a somewhat edgy mom calls her brother (Phoenix) and asks him to take her son (Mills) for a while because the stresses of dealing with a schizophrenic husband while parenting are not working well. The brother is making some sort of documentary interview movie but it's sporadic work, so he takes temporary responsibility for her son. They travel around, mainly Oakland, LA, New York and New Orleans. The guy also bonds with the kid and they have lots of discussions that are about as weighty as you can have with a 9 year old. Then the mom calls and the guy takes the kid home. That's about it for action. It does have more action than My Dinner With Andre, or at least more locations.
Given that it's quiet, contemplative and shot in very static, close up monochrome, with sketchy sound quality, you know that it's Art, with a capital A. The classical music soundtrack also helps.
Now, I am amenable to movies like this and even thought that, as a discussion of life, it was done pretty well. Fortunately, the kid and his uncle come to no harm and, at the end, he goes home while the uncle goes back to making his documentary film.
I don't know whether to recommend this to anybody, unless you're looking for the next Dinner with Andre. I would have like it more if it had been shot in color and if the sound quality were better. I've seen viewer ratings all over, from 1 to 10 and IMDB is showing it as an 8, but, if you're thinking about seeing it, be forewarned. It's probably better if you know what it is and purposely signed on for that.
Given that it's quiet, contemplative and shot in very static, close up monochrome, with sketchy sound quality, you know that it's Art, with a capital A. The classical music soundtrack also helps.
Now, I am amenable to movies like this and even thought that, as a discussion of life, it was done pretty well. Fortunately, the kid and his uncle come to no harm and, at the end, he goes home while the uncle goes back to making his documentary film.
I don't know whether to recommend this to anybody, unless you're looking for the next Dinner with Andre. I would have like it more if it had been shot in color and if the sound quality were better. I've seen viewer ratings all over, from 1 to 10 and IMDB is showing it as an 8, but, if you're thinking about seeing it, be forewarned. It's probably better if you know what it is and purposely signed on for that.