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The Moderns (1988) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
6.6/10   767 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 4% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers (WGA):
Alan Rudolph (written by) &
John Bradshaw (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Moderns on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
May 1988 (USA) more
Genre:
Plot:
Nick Hart is a struggling American artist who lives amongst the expatriate community in 1920s Paris... more | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
2 wins & 3 nominations more
User Comments:
Quirky, Fun, Interesting more (16 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Keith Carradine ... Nick Hart

Linda Fiorentino ... Rachel Stone

Wallace Shawn ... Oiseau
Geneviève Bujold ... Libby Valentin (as Genevieve Bujold)
Geraldine Chaplin ... Nathalie de Ville
Kevin J. O'Connor ... Hemingway
John Lone ... Bertram Stone
Charlélie Couture ... L'Evidence (as Charlelie Couture)
Elsa Raven ... Gertrude Stein

Ali Giron ... Alice B. Toklas
Gailard Sartain ... New York Critic
Michael Wilson ... Surrealist Poet
Robert Gould ... Blackie
Antonia Dauphin ... Babette
Véronique Bellegarde ... Laurette (as Veronique Bellegarde)
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Additional Details

Runtime:
126 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby (as Dolby Stereo)
Filming Locations:

Fun Stuff

Quotes:
Oiseau: [while observing his own faked funeral] If it weren't for me, these people would think surreal was a breakfast food! more
Soundtrack:
Really the Blues more

FAQ

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3 out of 5 people found the following comment useful.
Quirky, Fun, Interesting, 21 January 2004
8/10
Author: Dane (dane11) from Loveland, CO

Alan Rudolph does not make movies for everyone to see. His movies seem like personal projects that interest him at the time. Some of his movies I haven't been able to get involved in (Trixie, Mortal Thoughts, Afterglow) but with The Moderns, I was pulled in quickly. The story focuses on Keith Carradine's ex-patriot Nick Hart, a painter who has the ability to duplicate famous works of art with his brush. He's hired to create forgeries by Mademoiselle de Ville (Geraldine Chaplin).

But the story doesn't stop there. There are other ex-patriots around, including young Ernest Hemingway, comically portrayed by Kevin J. O'Connor; who is constantly drinking, philosophizing and pursuing women. It's not a flattering look at Hemingway, but somehow it adds to the whole ambience of the film and seems to ring true. And then there is Linda Fiorentino, a former lover of Nick's, and her husband, the rich and icy Bertram Stone (John Lone). The characters are odd and quirky, the story is uneven at times, and meanders a bit, but it is never boring. This movie has such style and depth that it pulls the viewer in, like we're trying to see the work that is under the painted canvas. That's what this movie is about -- the greater depth of art. What is art and what is crap? What is love and what is hate? What is real and what is illusion? As a director, Alan Rudolph pulls us along cleverly, with a hint of intrigue, the dichotomy of Nick's love and Hemingway's carousing, a taste of passion and the beauty of art. Then there are the characters who are well-layered works of art themselves. Maybe this movie isn't a masterpiece, but it leaves us chipping away at the paint trying to see what treasure is underneath. It's a movie to be enjoyed on many levels, just like a work of art.

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