The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation (2005)

The Moon and the Son, a 30-minute autobiographical animated film by John Canemaker, explores the difficult emotional terrain of father/son relationships as seen through Canemaker's own ... See full summary »

Director:

John Canemaker

Writers:

John Canemaker (script), Joseph Kennedy (script),

Stars:

Eli Wallach, John Turturro, Mary Bringle

Won 1 Oscar. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Eli Wallach	...	Father (voice)
John Turturro	...	Son (voice)
Mary Bringle	...	Mom (voice)
Peter Schlosser	...	Lawyer (voice)
Larry White	...	Judge / Defense Attorney (voice)

Storyline

The Moon and the Son, a 30-minute autobiographical animated film by John Canemaker, explores the difficult emotional terrain of father/son relationships as seen through Canemaker's own turbulent relationship with his father. Featuring the voices of noted actors Eli Wallach and John Turturro in the roles of father and son, The Moon and the Son combines memory, fact, conjecture, trial transcripts, audio recordings, home movies, photos, snapshots, and original animation to tell the story of an Italian immigrant's troubled life and the devastating consequences of his actions on his family.

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Plot Keywords:

italian immigrant | dysfunctional family | father son relationship | arson | italian american | 

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Genres:

Animation | Short | Biography

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 January 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Moon and the Son

Company Credits

Production Co:

John Canemaker Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

28 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in 2005 Academy Award Nominated Short Films (2006)

User Reviews

Self-indulgent, tiresome and whiny.

Self-indulgent, tiresome and whiny. I saw this with the other films nominated for the 2005 Animated Short Oscar. This one generated the least audience response (no clapping afterward)of the five. There's a second act, so-to-speak, that tells the father's story that is interesting and better than the first and third acts. But it's pretty much a downer of a film. The animation is simple and interspersed with home movies and photographic stills. The animation shifts among visual styles for no apparent reason. Reminded me a lot of a Woody Allen film -- if you like his work, you'll like this. If, like me, you don't, give this a pass. Many other works have examined the tensions of the father-son relationship much better.