Thirteen Conversations About One Thing (2001)

This is most definitely not my first choice of genres, but still I thought this film was pretty good. The film is a little slow, but it's quite interesting in the end. The characters in the film are really quite interesting and even at the end of the film I wanted to know what else happened to the characters.

The acting was good on all accounts, Matthew McConaughey, John Tuturro, Clea DuVall and Alan Arkin all did a fantastic jobs and I really liked all of their characters quite a bit.

Even though, I liked the film I wouldn't recommend this to everyone. It's pretty much just a movie about a bunch of people and the things that happen in their lives. I kind of found the movie to be a lot like "Playing By Heart", so if you liked that film, you may like this film. I hope you enjoy the film. Thanks for reading,

-Chris

Fmovies: The lawyer Troy (Matthew McConaughey), the actuary Gene (Alan Arkin), the physical science professor Walker (John Turturro) and the housecleaner Beatrice (Clea DuVall) have their lives connected through some sort of event. Troy meets Gene in a bar, hits Beatrice on the street and due to the accident, decides to sell his car to Walker. Through this non-chronological connection line, the viewer participates of their personal dramas, all of them relative to happiness and how unpredictable life is. In a moment, each character has a moment of happiness or expectation of a good event in his life, which is changed later due to some unexpected occurrence. The question is `Can we be happy in a world where our destiny is governed by uncertainties?' This movie is a very bitter and profound story about happiness and unpredictability of life. I saw this movie yesterday on cable television and my vote in IMDB User Rating was seven. However, I intend to see this film again (maybe on DVD) and reevaluate my review. I was not aware of the theme of this complex and almost unpleasant story and maybe my first impression was unfair. The direction and the performance of the cast are outstanding, highlighting the acting of the (always) excellent Alan Arkin.

Title (Brazil): `Treze Visões' (`Thirteen Visions')

"13 Conversations About One Thing" is in the genre of movies that deal with fate/coincidence in a rondelay story-telling technique.

This is the more intellectual version of Tom Tykwer's German movies or as less violent than "Amores Perros."

Writers/director the Sprecher sisters take a very different approach to human nature than in their sardonic "Clockwatchers," helped by intense performances by Matthew McConaughey and Alan Arkin and especially Clea DuVall who visibly change before our eyes as they are affected by chance slowly and fitfully playing out its hand around them.

The chapter headings are a bit precious. I couldn't actually tell what order the story was being told to us, backwards, sideways, forwards? Or is the point that doesn't matter for happiness? We're cogs in The Great Mandella anyway, each touching the other in unknown ways?

(originally written 6/16/2002)

Thirteen Conversations About One Thing fmovies. Imagine! A movie with no car chase, no special effects, no big stars, simple piano music, and no special sets. Just ordinary people struggling with daily life and trying to find the secret of happiness. Four basic stories interweave with each other, all examining the same human issues. Alan Arkin practically walks away with all the acting honors, but there are no weak roles or acting. What a joy to watch a profound movie, simply made.

It must be quite something to know about screen writing and sit down to a blank sheet of paper. You can start with images, or characters or situations. You have to choose the type of thread and how you trace it, including the key decision about who you are. These sisters take a different approach, very writerly, very clever. They start with the simple question of happiness in a life and come at it from multiple directions, surrounding and probing it. The characters are secondary to the writer's curiosity, and the 'stories' even more incidental. Sometimes you have a film that works with the viewer to grow a world and ideas; here you simply watch as ideas grown on a page are revealed to you. Quite different, precious, but never close to lifealtering or even viscerally engaging.

The film itself superficially resembles a 'Short Cuts' or 'Things You Can Tell' in that many story lines are interwoven. But the differences are profound. Altman's projects are driven by characters and situations that touch because they ramble. The 'Things You Can Tell' project is similar to this one in that its several components are all about the same idea. But 'Things' uses the device of one woman in many bodies, each with a different actress. In this project, the device is deliberate diversity of the characters, each facet having a discernible face.

I liked it. Its not highly cinematic, rather small theater. Its not the stuff that changes one's imagination. But it is literate, refined, and well woven in terms of the words.

As to the actors and their roles, one thing all these multifaceted projects have is the option for the viewer to select a backbone. As a matter of hardwiring we reflexively choose one thread as foreground and the others as background. For me, the anchor was Beatrice, which probably tells you a lot about me. The resurrection from disillusionment (with the opening of the doll's eye!) was a bit heavy so far as the character, but DuVall as an actor really impressed me. All of these actors played characters with an unrecognized inner life. Some, like Turturro work with more self-referential techniques, but with her it seemed true.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 4: Worth watching.

What a great film. The ties between these disparate stories are wondrously woven, and the sudden eye-opening twists are amazing. The spare music is a perfect backdrop. The acting is marvelous, with Amy Irving as the neglected wife of the melancholy professor and Alan Arkin playing the driven and lugubrious businessman with lots of problems and. I hardly realized who it was until halfway through the movie. I would compare this movie to other great art movies such as My Dinner With Andre, My Brilliant Career, Days of Heaven. It evoked in me similar emotions. If you are feeling down and want a big lift, I highly recommend this wonderful film. It deserves an 8 out of 10.