This is My Father (1999)

Call this an Irish family reunion, onscreen and off. The brothers Quinn--debuting writer-director Paul, actor Aidan, and cinematographer extraordinaire Declan--pooled their talents on a movie about a middle-aged schoolteacher (James Caan) who makes a pilgrimage back to the Ould Sod, where he hopes to discover the truth about his mysterious dad. What he digs up, in flashback, is a Romeo-Juliet love affair blighted by class, religion, and sheer human meanness. Turns out Caan's father (Aidan Quinn, bulked up out of his usual lean good looks) was a farmhand--slow, inarticulate, pure of heart--who fell in love above his station. Vividly beautiful Moya Farrelly plays a nonconforming college girl on vacation, first amusing herself by drawing Quinn's locked-down soul into chats, dancing, and friendship, then coming to love the complex man she has freed from loneliness. But Irish angst must be served: Moya's unloving, jealous mother (Gina Moxley) and a sex-hating clergyman (Stephen Rea, wonderfully over the top) set their sights on killing the couple's happiness. In contrast to this old drama, the present-day framing story is distracting, even irritating, and cameo appearances by Colm Meaney, Brendan Gleeson, and John Cusack stick out like... well, charming guest shots. We want Paul Quinn to stay focused on the Thomas Hardy tragedy that beats at the heart of This Is My Father so that we can have more time to savor the strong, heartbreaking performances by Farrelly and his brother, backed by Declan (Leaving Las Vegas) Quinn's beautiful vision of the rich, dark world of Ireland past. --Kathleen Murphy Amazon.com

Only legends are made of these - a truly heart-breaking story

The "here and now" of James Caan is just the springboard for the viewer in that he is an unmotivated unhappy teacher, given the opportunity to take his nephew with him to Ireland - where he learns more about his family's past than he bargained for. The how and why he goes is not as important as is what he learns, and how it transforms his life. LET THIS STORY transform your heart - I know it did mine.

The stories Caan's character learns should not be spoilt for the viewer here - but I will say that your heart goes out to the young and innocent Aidan Quinn as well as his sweet lass. We already know that the young girl is Caan's (now) mother - but as she lays mute and dying, her amazing tale is revealed by people he meets in Ireland, who remember......

As the viewer, be transported to the 30's in a country Irish town, where religion, social station, superstition and gossip is paramount. The wicked ways innocent love is destroyed, will tear at your heart - and the tragedy that unfolds left me in tears.

The equally ironic and sorrowful conclusion only adds to empowering humility Caan is left with in the end. The acting on all parts is superb, the accents, scenery, time and characters believable - and although the "present" scenes drag a tad, the film deserves to be watched to the finish.

Please....watch this movie, and take away from it that same humility - to lose all sense of self and movtivation, and then in such a short time learn so much about your parent's lives....things you never knew - that are so beautifully and painfully tragic, that it seems only legends are made of these.

You too would be able to stand taller in the end, introduce your story to others and say, "This is my father...." September 23, 2008

This Is My Father

Get set to watch a very emotional, thought provoking, entertaining love story. This cast is excellent! The movie will take you back and forth in time and will show you many "feelings of love". November 22, 2007

Irish and unlucky in love

Just like St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland, a bitter jealous widowed mother and the town priest conspire to keep Fiona and Kieran away from one another ... leading to tragic consequences.

When a middle aged Chicago teacher Kieran Johnson discovers an old photograph and inscription written to his mother it begins a search for his roots. Sadly, his mother Fiona is recovering from a stroke so she can't tell him the full story. Curiousity sends him back to Ireland to trace just what happened and what unfolds is a 1930's style forbidden affair between 17-year-old Fiona and a much older farmhand also named Kieran. Fiona has been expelled from school for her behavior but it doesn't calm her down much because the toan priest has to watch her moves at a community dance. Keiran Johnson's nephew Jack joins him on his ancestral quest and has a summer romance of his own.

Forces beyond their control eventually doom the pair and Fiona escapes to Chicago with travelling gypsies. Most of Kieran Johnson's data comes from the landlord of the B&B where he is staying and visits to his mother's abandoned childhood home. Between Irish fortune teller cards and interviews with the local villagers, Kieran pieces together the tragedy of his parents' relationship.

The saddest thing is that Kieran's mother, once a fiery and adventurous teenager, is a semi-catatonic old woman nearing the end of her life and rendered speechless in contrast to her young self. In one scene Kieran calls his mother in Chicago from Ireland after finding a long lost love letter writter by his dead father in a secret hiding place for decades. When Kieran reads out loud in his voice from Ireland his mother hears his father's voice instead and breaks out in tears. Another example of the futility that the passage of time heals a tragic memory. This film was based on a true story from Aidan Quinn's Irish parents and adapted into the screenplay.

If you love this film check out The Last Time They Met by Aniat Shreve or Cinema Paradiso (Director's Cut) from Guiseppe Tornatore.

March 13, 2007

The Brothers Quinn need to find a focus.Too much material,too little time

This film by the Three Brothers Quinn has alot going for it.It is not perfect by any means,especially in the screenplay itself.The romance between Kieran and Fiona is beautifully laid out and there are moments where the viewer will truly be touched. A fleshier-than-usual Aidan Quinn,a true chameleon of an actor,could not have given a more convincing performance as the ill-fated and misunderstood Kieran.His acting, alone, is worth the watch.The movie also gives good background into the incredible hold that the Irish Catholic Church had upon its communicants.But,with all this, the film lacks a true focus as it wanders from the present to the past and back again leaving some characters without much development-especially the modern day Kieran,the James Caan character. It was difficult to see this as HIS story,which the film starts it out to be,only to make the film much more about the past.John Cusack's All-American pilot character and the impending War in Germany was totally not germaine to the script.(Ah,but Cusack and the Quinns are great friends!)The movie is beautifully filmed,but as a screenplay there should have been much more thought as to "tightening-up" the script and developing the James Caan/son/present day piece of the film.Notat all unworthy,but I have seen similar films with better script development.Good companion movies on similar themes would be THE MAGDALENE SISTERS,DECEMBER BRIDE and THE NOTEBOOK.
For Aidan Quinn fans try out SONGCATCHER and AVALON. January 15, 2007

Irish Love Story

This movie really moved me and stayed with me for weeks after I saw it. It was filmed and acted so beautifully. I couldn't help but root for the young couple and laughed and cried with them. I would definetly recommend this movie to anyone who likes a good love story. November 10, 2006

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