A Walk on the Moon (1999)

The world of a young housewife is turned upside down when she has an affair with a free-spirited blouse salesman.

Director:

Tony Goldwyn

Writer:

Pamela Gray

Stars:

Diane Lane, Viggo Mortensen, Bobby Boriello

1 win & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bobby Boriello	...	Daniel Kantrowitz
Diane Lane	...	Pearl Kantrowitz
Anna Paquin	...	Alison Kantrowitz
Tovah Feldshuh	...	Lillian Kantrowitz
Liev Schreiber	...	Marty Kantrowitz
Julie Kavner	...	P.A. Announcer (voice)
Stewart Bick	...	Neil Leiberman
Jess Platt	...	Herb Fogler
Mahée Paiement	...	Mrs. Dymbort (as Mahee Paiement)
Star Jasper	...	Rhoda Leiberman
Ellen David	...	Eleanor Gelfand
Lisa Bronwyn Moore	...	Norma Fogler
Viggo Mortensen	...	Walker Jerome
Victoria Barkoff	...	Selma Levitsky (as Vicky Barkoff)
Tamar Kozlov	...	Wendy Green

Storyline

Summer, 1969: men on the moon, and Woodstock happening near the cabin where the Kantrowitz family stays every summer. The camp's a Jewish fish-bowl. Marty's there weekends; he repairs TVs in Brooklyn. He's square and decent. His wife Pearl and his mother camp with Alison (she's 14) and their younger son. Pearl got pregnant at 17 and feels she missed her youth. While Alison experiences her first date, first kiss, first period, and stealing off to Woodstock with the lifeguard, Pearl has her own sexual awakening with "the blouse man," a peddler who sells at the camp. They too go to Woodstock. Marty confronts Pearl about the affair; she and he have to decide what to do next.

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Plot Keywords:

cheating wife | scantily clad female | female removes her clothes | adulterous wife | leg spreading | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

14A

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Grateful Dead were invited, their manager wanted the promoters to add another act he managed; he offered them two. They tossed a coin, chose Santana, and the rest is history. There is no Santana music in this movie, but perhaps they are subtly represented by the act the promoters did NOT choose, It's a Beautiful Day, with their hit "White Bird"

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Goofs

During the scene where people are watching the moon landing, the TV image shows the Moon's surface taken from the LEM as it descends and lands. This video was not available for viewing until after the astronauts returned to Earth.

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Quotes

Lilian Kantrowitz: You gonna hold onto that the rest of the afternoon, Selma?

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Crazy Credits

The producers wish to thank ... The Merchants of St-Viateur Street ...

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Connections

Featured in Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: The Mod Squad/Doug's 1st Movie/A Walk on the Moon/Edtv/Among Giants (1999)

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Soundtracks

Sally Go Round the Roses
(1963)
Written by Abner Spector
Performed by The Damnations TX (as The DamnationsTx)
Produced by Andy Paley
Courtesy of Sire Records Group

User Reviews

A Tasty 'Period Piece' from the 1960s!

A WALK ON THE MOON as written by Pamela Gray ("Music of the Heart") and directed by actor Tony Goldman conjures up more atmosphere for the year 1969 than any film to date. Remember Woodstock, the Jewish summer retreats in the Catskills, hippies, face and body painting, threats from the Vietnam era and promises of space habitation by the famous first walk on the moon? It is all faithfully created here as the background for a lovely little sentimental tale about family and fidelity.

The Kantrowitz family - Pearl (Diane Lane), Marty (Liev Schreiber), Alison (Anna Paquin), Daniel (Bobby Boriello) and Marty's mother Lilian (Tovah Feldshuh) - are spending their usual summer away form New York in a Catskill settlement bungalow along with other Jewish families of the same ilk. All seems swell, except that Marty must spend the weekdays returning to his job as a TV repairman, leaving the family under Pearl's and Lilian's care until his weekend visits. A hippie blouse salesman Walker Jerome (Viggo Mortensen) peddles his wares to the settlement and casually but inevitably Pearl feels an attraction to Walker, the man of adventure who represents all the lost dreams of becoming a mother and wife at the too early age of 17. Life has slipped her by but feels salvageable in Walker's advances.

Woodstock is close by and Pearl and Walker spend a day of hippie love-in in the crowd, not knowing that teenage Alison is also there observing their free love antics. This crisis event affects the family's unity and the way Pearl faces her moment of indiscretion with Marty and her children builds to a terrific climax.

Diane Lane, Viggo Mortenson, Liev Schreiber and Tovah Feldshuh completely inhabit these simple characters and pull us into accepting all aspects of the predicament of this family crisis. The confrontation among Lane, Schreiber and Mortenson is a trio of acting not to be forgotten. Tony Goldwyn has paced his film beautifully and proves that he has as great skill as a director as well as an actor. The cinematography by Anthony B. Richmond is as recreative of a special time on our history as has been captured. This little film will stay with you long after the credits are over. Grady Harp

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 April 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Pleine lune à Woodstock

Filming Locations:

Québec, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$14,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$78,709, 28 March 1999

Gross USA:

$4,750,660

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,750,660

Company Credits

Production Co:

Miramax, Punch 21 Productions, Groucho Film Partnership

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1