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IMDbPro

Stories We Tell

  • 20122012
  • PG-13PG-13
  • 1h 48m
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
13K
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
1 Video
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.
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
13K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Sarah Polley
  • Writers
    • Sarah Polley
    • Michael Polley(narration)
  • Stars
    • Michael Polley
    • John Buchan
    • Mark Polley
Top credits
  • Director
    • Sarah Polley
  • Writers
    • Sarah Polley
    • Michael Polley(narration)
  • Stars
    • Michael Polley
    • John Buchan
    • Mark Polley
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 73User reviews
    • 181Critic reviews
    • 91Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 25 wins & 43 nominations

    Videos1

    Theatrical Version
    Trailer 2:32
    Theatrical Version

    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
    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(narration)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    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 reviews73

    Review
    Top review
    9/10
    "Stories We Tell" is rich and affecting storytelling at it's finest.
    Sarah Polley has set the stage in mind for many years to tell a simple story. Much like the process of forming a story, things are always taken back to the storyboard and new influences are introduced. Sarah ultimately made the natural choice to deliver this story by simply setting the basis and allowing each party to tell the story as they know it, in every detail from each individual memory.

    Stories We Tell works a unique twist on the documentary format and allows the audiences into the life of the family and friends who knew the filmmakers mother, Diane Polley. An eccentric ball of energy with the appearance of an open book, she might have really been a big mystery and her secrets could cause a rift throughout all those connected. Family and friends from all corners step up to the plate and what's heard are a melding of scripted order and the unscripted nature of each individual and their memories of the events that unfolded. At times it's an interview, at others it's a humorous interrogation; we witness the mystery unfolding in a truly compelling, warm and emotional fashion. It's a wonderful case study on human beings and how we shape ourselves throughout a lifetime and the events that can change our lives forever. It's fascinating to see how we all perceive moments and how our memories contain them. Different characters have different takes and yet the feelings resonate the same.

    Sarah Polley took the right path and remained on the sideline and behind the camera until it was absolutely paramount. The real people tell their stories and actors portray history with an uncanny authenticity. It delivers the reality and the real people involved without bogging down the narrative. This is rich and affecting storytelling at it's finest.
    helpful•27
    10
    • swp_1988
    • Jul 22, 2013

    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

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