Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsABFFPride MonthOutfest OutfrontsSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Stories We Tell

  • 2012
  • PG-13
  • 1h 48m
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
14K
YOUR RATING
Stories We Tell (2012)
A film that excavates layers of myth and memory to find the elusive truth at the core of a family of storytellers.
Play trailer2:32
5 Videos
46 Photos
Documentary

A film that excavates layers of myth and memory to find the elusive truth at the core of a family of storytellers.A film that excavates layers of myth and memory to find the elusive truth at the core of a family of storytellers.A film that excavates layers of myth and memory to find the elusive truth at the core of a family of storytellers.

  • Director
    • Sarah Polley
  • Writers
    • Sarah Polley
    • Michael Polley
  • Stars
    • Michael Polley
    • John Buchan
    • Mark Polley
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    7.5/10
    14K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Sarah Polley
    • Writers
      • Sarah Polley
      • Michael Polley
    • Stars
      • Michael Polley
      • John Buchan
      • Mark Polley
    • 75User reviews
    • 175Critic reviews
    • 91Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 25 wins & 44 nominations

    Videos5

    Theatrical Version
    Trailer 2:32
    Watch Theatrical Version
    Stories We Tell: At Some Point
    Clip 1:07
    Watch Stories We Tell: At Some Point
    Stories We Tell: Hi Harry
    Clip 0:33
    Watch Stories We Tell: Hi Harry
    Stories We Tell: Tremendous Story
    Clip 1:03
    Watch Stories We Tell: Tremendous Story
    Stories We Tell: Other Children
    Clip 0:53
    Watch Stories We Tell: Other Children

    Photos46

    Sarah Polley and Michael Polley in Stories We Tell (2012)
    Sarah Polley and Michael Polley in Stories We Tell (2012)
    Sarah Polley in Stories We Tell (2012)
    Sarah Polley in Stories We Tell (2012)
    Stories We Tell (2012)
    Sarah Polley at an event for Stories We Tell (2012)
    Sarah Polley at an event for Stories We Tell (2012)
    Sarah Polley at an event for Stories We Tell (2012)
    Sarah Polley, Trevor Groth, and John Cooper at an event for Stories We Tell (2012)
    Sarah Polley at an event for Stories We Tell (2012)
    Stories We Tell (2012)
    Stories We Tell (2012)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Michael Polley
    Michael Polley
    • Self - Storyteller
    John Buchan
    John Buchan
    • Self - Storyteller
    Mark Polley
    Mark Polley
    • Self - Storyteller
    Joanna Polley
    Joanna Polley
    • Self - Storyteller
    Harry Gulkin
    Harry Gulkin
    • Self - Storyteller
    Susy Buchan
    Susy Buchan
    • Self - Storyteller
    Cathy Gulkin
    • Self - Storyteller
    Marie Murphy
    Marie Murphy
    • Self - Storyteller
    Robert MacMillan
    • Self - Storyteller
    Anne Tait
    • Self - Storyteller
    Deirdre Bowen
    Deirdre Bowen
    • Self - Storyteller
    Victoria Mitchell
    Victoria Mitchell
    • Self - Storyteller
    Mort Ransen
    Mort Ransen
    • Self - Storyteller
    Geoffrey Bowes
    Geoffrey Bowes
    • Self - Storyteller
    • (as Geoff Bowes)
    Tom Butler
    Tom Butler
    • Self - Storyteller
    Pixie Bigelow
    Pixie Bigelow
    • Self - Storyteller
    Claire Walker
    • Self - Storyteller
    Rebecca Jenkins
    Rebecca Jenkins
    • Diane Polley
    • Director
      • Sarah Polley
    • Writers
      • Sarah Polley
      • Michael Polley
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    Away from Her
    7.5
    Away from Her
    Take This Waltz
    6.5
    Take This Waltz
    Women Talking
    6.9
    Women Talking
    Hey Lady!
    8.0
    Hey Lady!
    The Sweet Hereafter
    7.5
    The Sweet Hereafter
    All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
    7.5
    All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
    EO
    6.8
    EO
    The Thin Blue Line
    8.0
    The Thin Blue Line
    My Life Without Me
    7.4
    My Life Without Me
    Tár
    7.5
    Tár
    In the Bedroom
    7.4
    In the Bedroom
    White Material
    6.9
    White Material

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Sarah collected all the stories first. She went through all the period footage she had available. After that, she hired actors to recreate and reenact bits filmed on 8mm to complete the missing period footage. This explains why there is always "proof" of all the raconteurs stories. It works rather as flashbacks to place us in situation.
    • Quotes

      Michael Polley - Storyteller: When you're in the middle of a story, it isn't a story at all but rather a confusion, a dark roaring, a blindness, a wreckage of shattered glass and splintered wood, like a house in a whirlwind or else a boat crushed by the icebergs or swept over the rapids, and all aboard are powerless to stop it. It's only afterwards that it becomes anything like a story at all, when you're telling it to yourself or someone else.

    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: Venice Film Festival 2012 (2012)
    • Soundtracks
      Tranquility
      Written by Abraham Lass

      From PLAY ME A MOVIE (Folkways Records/AH 3856)

      Courtesy of TRF Production Music Libraries and Alpha Music Inc. and Smithsonian Folkways Recordings.

      © 1971 Used by permission.

    User reviews75

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    Stories They Tell
    Intriguing, but not as emotionally overwhelming for the audience as it is for the storytellers. There is ever so palpable, cold detachment from the story's emotional spine. Maybe, it's because of the lack of perspective of the person who wanted this story to be out there- Sarah Polley herself. You can sense subtle reactions coming from her whenever she is on screen, for however little time, and build her point-of-view in your head. But that would be just another version of story in this baggage of different perspectives. Also, I would rather she hadn't filmed dramatized clips of real-life incidents and trust the audience's imagination.

    All that being said, it does not take away anything from the fact that "Stories We Tell" is a fascinating concept. If nothing else, it works as a brilliant think-piece on subjectivity of memories and distorted truth by different perspectives.
    helpful•7
    7
    • DexIMF
    • Oct 22, 2013

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 17, 2013 (Greece)
    • Country of origin
      • Canada
    • Official sites
      • Official site
      • Official site (Japan)
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Истории, которые мы рассказываем
    • Filming locations
      • Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    • Production company
      • National Film Board of Canada (NFB)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $1,600,145
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $27,053
      • May 12, 2013
    • Gross worldwide
      • $2,641,053
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 48 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Stories We Tell (2012)
    Top Gap
    By what name was Stories We Tell (2012) officially released in India in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.