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

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

Touching, beautifully acted, deliberately paced drama

A group of survivors from a French based concentration camp in WWII gather for a weekend at a country home in Quebec, more than 30 years after the war.

Most critics either praised this to the skies, calling it as powerful as Bergman. or they damned it for being slow, too familiar, sappy and not special. I lean more towards the positive.

First of all this is a wonderful bunch of older actors (Max Von Sydow, Susan Sarandon, Gabriel Byrne, Christopher Plummer) and, as one would expect, they each bring a lot to their roles.

It is also beautifully photographed.

If not quite Bergman, I do buy it as 'Bergman-lite'; the same sense of the confusing complexities of the human heart, and the way earlier damage always comes back to haunt us. Yes it has a few over-the-top moments, and it ultimately didn't pack quite the punch I expected, but I was never bored, despite the deliberate pace, and found each of these lost souls quite compelling.

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