Emotional Arithmetic (2007)

A bond between three people in a German concentration camp is still there many years after they were split up, all deep scars from back then. One of them invites them to a reunion, and we're out for a night none of them will ever forget.

Director:

Paolo Barzman

Writers:

Matt Cohen (novel), Jefferson Lewis

Stars:

Susan Sarandon, Christopher Plummer, Gabriel Byrne

7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Susan Sarandon	...	Melanie Winters
Christopher Plummer	...	David Winters
Gabriel Byrne	...	Christopher Lewis
Roy Dupuis	...	Benjamin Winters
Max von Sydow	...	Jakob Bronski
Dakota Goyo	...	Timmy Winters
Domini Blythe	...	Jane Radley
Kris Holden-Ried	...	Young Jakob (as Kris Holden-Reid)
Regan Jewitt	...	Young Melanie
Alexandre Nachi	...	Young Christopher
Maéva Nadon	...	Girl on Bicycle (as Maeva Nadon)
Jean-François Blanchard	...	Red Cross Worker
Renee Madeline Le Guerrier	...	Red Cross Worker (as René-Madeleine Leguerrier)
Yvon S. Aubé	...	Gendarme
Robert Richard	...	Soldier

Storyline

Semi-retired university professor David Winters and his wife and former student Melanie Winters née Lansing live on a hobby farm in the Eastern Townships of Quebec with their adult son Benjamin Winters and Benjamin's son, Timothy Winters. Their life is not totally harmonious due to David's chronic infidelity and Melanie's emotional instability, a result in large part of her growing up which she refuses to speak of to Benjamin, who knows nothing of his mother's childhood directly from her. Melanie has been institutionalized many times in her life and is on medication to deal with her mental issues. Melanie's passion in life is to follow many cases of political oppression in the world, this passion again due to her past life. In September 1985, Melanie, through this work, reconnects with Jakob Bronski who she knew during World War II when she was only a teenager when they were both interred at Drancy, a transit station outside of Paris where the government, in cooperation with the Nazis...

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Plot Keywords:

based on novel | 

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Taglines:

To open their hearts they had to learn to love again.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements and brief strong language

Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 April 2008 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Autumn Hearts: A New Beginning

Box Office

Budget:

$6,800,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$887,065

Company Credits

Production Co:

Productions Bleu Blanc Rouge, Triptych Media, Arithmetic Ontario Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Timmy Winters: This is stupid.
Benjamin Winters: Why?
Timmy Winters: Because you're not supposed to separate the yolks from the whites. That's not why eggs were invented.

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Crazy Credits

Dedicated to Matt Cohen(1942-1989)

User Reviews

Oscar caliber acting on display.

What an amazing cast this film has, an amazing cast, an amazing story, a beautiful setting and wonderful performances by every one of the actors (even the young boy). I am shocked that these actors in this good of a film and I hadn't heard a word about it until a good month before it came out on DVD, then imagine my surprise when it is a measly 5.6 on IMDb, what a joke that is. I can't say enough about his cast everyone plays their roles perfectly, the writing is fantastic, even going places and touching on subjects that other movies have been afraid to tackle. I'm not going to go into any details hoping that anyone that sees this film goes in cold turkey like I did knowing nothing about it, I think that made it even better for me. The location where this film was shot is beautiful, the film uses a recurring color scheme through out that really makes the audience not just see it but feel it as well. The same can be said for the style and camera work in the flashback scenes, scenes that are not over used and that could easily be the emotion of the film but wisely in my opinion the director doesn't go that route and leaves the emotion in the here and now. Summed up this film was easily my biggest surprise film of this year, which is my favorite kind of film, one that I expect nothing and am rewarded with some thing truly great. Because this film is from Canada I do believe and may be some kind of mad for TV movie or so I've heard, I'm not sure of it's Oscar eligibility but if it is for some reason not eligible or is snubbed by either it's release date or just plain stupidity it would be a shame.