Os Fragmentos de Tracey (2007)

15-year-old Tracey Berkowitz is naked under a shower curtain at the back of a bus, looking for her little brother Sonny, who thinks he's a dog.

Director:

Bruce McDonald

Writers:

Maureen Medved, Maureen Medved (novel)

Stars:

Ellen Page, Zie Souwand, Maxwell McCabe-Lokos

6 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ellen Page	...	Tracey Berkowitz
Maxwell McCabe-Lokos	...	Lance (as Max McCabe - Lokos)
Ari Cohen	...	Mr. Berkowitz
Erin McMurtry	...	Mrs. Berkowitz
Zie Souwand	...	Sonny Berkowitz
Stephen Amell	...	Detective
Leonard Dunbar	...	Laughing Man
Chris Ratz	...	Donut Shop Cashier
Daniel Fathers	...	Elegant Pimp Daddy
Ryan Cooley	...	David Goldberg
Jeffrey Bornstein	...	The Boy With Curious Hair
Jackie Brown	...	Mrs. Dorchester the Teacher
Kate Todd	...	That Knockout Bitch Debbie Dodge
Slim Twig	...	Billy Zero
Julian Richings	...	Dr. Heker

Storyline

Tracey Berkowitz, 15, a self-described normal girl, loses her 9-year old brother, Sonny. In flashbacks and fragments, we meet her overbearing parents and the sweet, clueless Sonny. We watch Tracey navigate high school, friendless, picked on and teased. She develops a thing for Billy Zero, a new student, imagining he's her boyfriend. We see the day she loses Sonny and we watch her try to find him. In bits and pieces, we see what leads up to her riding in the back of a city bus wrapped in a shower curtain. Coming of age, or just surviving?

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Plot Keywords:

dysfunctional family | bus | shower curtain | curtain | high school | 

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Taglines:

Something's Missing...

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

M/16

Did You Know?

Trivia

The name "Tracey" is an Anglo-Saxon name meaning "brave"; ironically, Tracey is defined in the film by her bravery, facing abuse, mental illness, homelessness, rape and bullies as she runs away from home in search of her brother.

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Quotes

Tracey Berkowitz: I am so happy. I have an amazing life. Now I'm gonna scratch my eyes out.
[suddenly angry]
Tracey Berkowitz: What, you think I'm funny? I'm an emergency. It's not my fault, all right? It's not. My DNA is fucked, okay? You can ask Dr. Heker. She's my psychiatrist. I don't know, I heard her say the problem's, like, congential or something? I don't know, I think she was on the phone.
[goes back to mock happy]
Tracey Berkowitz: I'd also like to thank my parents. And God. And my boyfriend. Especially my boyfriend. When we were together ...

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Alternate Versions

Numerous alternate versions of this film exist, as the raw footage was posted to the Internet under free Creative Commons license for anyone to re-edit as they saw fit. The filmmakers chose a few winning re-cuts for inclusion on this film's official DVD.

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Connections

References Psico (1998)

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Soundtracks

Who's Gonna Know Your Name (666)
Written and Performed by Dave Mackinnon (SOCAN)
Copyright Dave Mackinnon

User Reviews

77 minutes is the perfect length for this experimental film

Tracey Fragments is a very experimental film. 95% of the film is shot with two or more screens. Sometimes it's even split up as much as 100 screens! Not often do you see a film where there is more art in the editing than anything else in the film. In fact, some of the split screens act as shattered glass which seemed to be the symbolic meaning of the film where a girl's life is pretty much shattered throughout the film.

Tracey Berkowitz (played by Ellen page) is a fifteen year old girl who thought it would be funny to hypnotize her brother into being a dog. She hates her parents and her school mates. She dreams of starting a rock band with the boy of her dreams, Billy Zero. Very independent, she decides to run away from home to look for her brother. there she has her day from hell.

The first thing I'd like to comment about the film is I thought the script lacked. Ellen Page made this movie watchable but I disliked some of the scenes. In fact, some parts were so ridiculous it almost made me laugh nervously as if they were trying to make the movie corny at times. With that said, I'd have to say that Bruce McDonald did a very good job capturing Tracey with the budget that he had. It's obvious that the film was shot with a hand-held camera but it fit very well with the dark behavior and life that Tracey endured throughout the movie. I also loved the score. I read on one of the message boards for this movie that some replied that they loved and hated this movie. I agree. Some parts were so beautifully captured while some seems completely lacked and didn't fit (once again, the lacking script). The movie is exhausting at times but the last thirty minutes began to pick up again and make the movie interesting.

Ellen Page is a versatile actress and I like her a lot more when she plays darker roles such as this movie and her best performance to date, Hard Candy. I did love Juno but I like these type of roles more. The most memorial seen in the movie is when she stares her mom down and points her finger in her face while screaming at her. It's almost freaky but so well done.

If you love Ellen Page, this movie and Mouth to Mouth need to be seen with an open mind. 77 minutes of this film could feel like two hours.

My verdict 6.25/10

Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 March 2008 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

Os Fragmentos de Tracey

Filming Locations:

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

CAD750,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,002, 11 May 2008

Gross USA:

$32,645

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$42,318

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shadow Shows, Téléfilm Canada, Corvid Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

77 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1