This Is My Father Review
by Mark R Leeper (leeper AT mtgbcs DOT mt DOT lucent DOT com)October 12th, 1998
THIS IS MY FATHER (Canadian/Irish)
A review by Mark R. Leeper in bullet-list form
from the Toronto Internation Film Festival
CAPSULE: An American schoolteacher (James Caan) travels to Ireland to trace a father he never knew. In uncovering the story he finds the story of a good simple man and a tragic story of lovers kept apart by prejudice and intolerance. Aiden Quinn stars, his brother Paul directs, and brother Declan photographs. Rating: 7 (0 to 10), low +2 (-4 to +4)
- Production of the Quinn Brothers based on the story of their own father.
- Mournful score by Donal Lunny.
- Kieran Johnson (James Caan) is an unpopular English teacher voted among the most boring by his class. His life at home is equally bad with a rebellious son and a bed-ridden mother. He decides to take time to go to Ireland and find out about his father Kieron O'Day (Aidan Quinn). The story he is told puts his own life and his problems into perspective.
- Kieron O'Day is a simple farmer with a hard life. He romances Johnson's mother, played at this age by Moya Farrelly. This arouses the ire of both the local priest (Stephen Rea) and of the mother of the woman he loves.
- Priest is an intolerant man who curses O'Day from the pulpit, delivers fire and brimstone sermons, and chases a man from the confessional yelling after him "Get out and don't come back to the church until you stop doing that."
- One happy night when out with is love on a beach, Airplane lands with Life Magazine photographer (John Cusack) wanting to rest the night and looking for someone to play American football. - Nice representation of Irish village life.
Mark R. Leeper
[email protected]
Copyright 1998 Mark R. Leeper
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