Nostalgia (I) (2018) User Reviews

"We live our lives and ask - what do we leave behind?"

[classicsoncall · 6/10 · 16 August 2018]

Well this was just a bit depressing wasn't it? I'm all for nostalgia, but this sure isn't what I think about when it comes to pulling up past memories. I try to reserve that for the warm, comforting moments that lend resonance to a person's life. Even something inspirational that might have occurred in the past that glows with fondness over time. So I'm not sure what the film maker was trying to do here. To be sure, there were some defining moments in the picture, as when the insurance adjuster (John Ortiz) stated to some clients - "Every story has details I've never heard before". And two very emotional scenes had exceptionally well written dialog; one was between Helen (Ellen Burstyn) and the memorabilia shop owner (Jon Hamm), the other occurred in the diner between crash survivor Kathleen (Mikey Madison) and the parents of Tallie (Annalise Basso). But gee, having the young teen die in a car accident seemed like an awful way to frame a story about nostalgic moments. More than anything, I felt bad for mother Donna (Catherine Keener) who initially nixed the road trip that ended in her daughter's death, and then relented when it became apparent that Tallie had no inclination to hang around with her Mom and Uncle Will. Now Donna would be left to contemplate her measure of blame in Tallie's death, even if irrational.

On top of all that, it was quite apparent that the scriptwriters did no homework at all regarding that Ted Williams signed baseball. The figure cited by Will the shop owner was in the range of eighty to a hundred thousand dollars, and his phone conversation with another collector hinted at a reasonable profit for him upon resale. But all it takes is a quick internet search to reveal that a similar ball sells in the neighborhood of three hundred fifty to four hundred fifty dollars. They're just not that rare, no matter how pristine the condition. Internet auction sites will suggest more, but usually in conjunction with other famous player autographs as well.

But the kicker for me personally in this story was the name of that insurance guy who opened the story with Ronnie Ashmore (Bruce Dern). His name was Daniel Coleman in the story, and the reason it's so poignant is because I knew a Daniel Coleman from my hometown who died years ago as a young adult from leukemia. That's a bit of nostalgia that depressed me even more as this picture unfolded.

Noatalgia (2018)

[rockman182 · 6/10 · 19 February 2018]

Didn't know a whole lot about this, and I assume it really wasn't in many people's radar this month. I haven't really seen much of Mark Pellington's work outside of The Mothman Prophecies (which I liked quite a bit). Main reason for wanting to check this film out was the fact that the film employs a really talented cast. I'm always a fan of Jon Hamm getting more roles in film as he is a great actor. This film was tedious, slow, and a failed attempt at an interesting idea.

This film links a few stories and characters together through a common thread of loss, love, and memories from objects. We start off by seeing an insurance agent and eventually his story links with another character who in turn links with a different one for segments of different stories. I like the idea quite a bit and I've seen this type of storytelling work in the past, but this film can't utilize this method with success. Its a dull affair.

The cast is great as expected, especially Catherine Keener in a nice standout role. The characters don't carry any weight and its easy to lose track of one's story as its just boring and bland. You sit there thinking that nothing even goes on. This is okay if there's some sort of style or intriguing dialogue that adds to the story, but none of that happens here. Near the end I was just hoping for it to end.

There may be few who will find this film to be a moving experience but for me its a film that tries to hard to be spiritual and emotional while never leaving first gear. I see what is being attempted but the film has no weight to its characters or their turmoils. Not in any rush to see anything else from Mark Pellington unfortunately.

6/10

Nostalgia - Heavily Leans Toward Melancholia

[krocheav · 6/10 · 10 January 2019]

Could this have been one of the year's most promising off-beat movies? There's much style to be admired, with a good deal of thoughtful dialogue delivered by a cast of impressive performers. So what went wrong? Right from the opening it has the power to draw you in - giving you good reasons to be interested in each introduced character. You actually can't help becoming emotionally involved in their varied situations - you want to feel for them, and hope for the best outcomes as you learn more about their stories. John Oritz might arguably own the movies most interesting character as insurance assessor Daniel Kalman but, there are many good characters and performances introduced as the story/stories continue to unfold. This is possibly where it begins to unravel - it strives for one too many sombre situations, becoming like one of those seventies French dramas - where for one reason or other everyone seems to die. Its heart is in the right place but it's so unrelenting the viewer starts to seek some relief or simply to go back to the beginning and learn more about the earlier characters - who are never heard of again.

There are some interesting observations examining the value we tend to place on 'things', be they photos or artefacts gathered, as we journey through life. The stories have an odd linking device that doesn't work as well as it should, creating an overall episodic feel. Direction, writing style, photography, impressive cast, and thoughtful music score almost save it but fold under the weight of unrelenting loss. Pity, the screen needs more movies with emotional feelings - if only this picture didn't strive to serve up so much in one sitting.

Well-acted but overly episodic treatment of unsual subject

[lor_ · 12 February 2018]

Casting Jon Hamm, with his "Mad Men" iconic persona adding much to the role, in "Nostalgia" was the best decision made by the movie's writer and director. Otherwise, they seem to have fumbled the ball.

This morbid look at how people become attached to the objects accumulated in a "life lived" to quote the show's most moving term is loaded with arbitrary and contrived connections that attempt to link individual story vignettes into a cohesive whole. With the absence of action, which is what moving pictures are really all about (I learned that early in my formative movie buff years watching foreign films from around the globe without English subtitles as a crutch), we are left with a cold, gloomy movie.

First half is quite promising, with an unusual central character played by John Ortiz. He's an insurance investigator, visiting people either inheriting a home or possessions or those in a position to bequeath same. He doesn't appraise but checks out the scene and gives advice on getting an appraiser for example. And he's about as welcome as a coffin-maker in a Western doing body measurements on somebody before they go out to have a gunfight.

Ortiz' character reminded me of Marvin Miller in "The Millionaire" TV series, one of my favorites as a kid growing up in the '50s. Miller would give a check for a million bucks made out by the enigmatic (never shown) J. Beresford Tipton to a seemingly random person, and we in TV land would watch for half an hour how the moolah would change that person's life.

Opening scene elegantly establishes the movie's main theme, as Ortiz sits in a diner admiring waitress Shinelle Azoroh's necklace, which she reveals is a treasured family heirloom. He goes to the home of Bruce Dern to check out his lifelong accumulation of stuff, and octogenarian Bruce is cavalier about the importance or value of it, clearly not wishing to play Ortiz's game. We see that Bruce has an estranged pregnant daughter who doesn't care about him, and the film suffers from our not finding out anything about Dern's character, other than gazing at various photos of the actor in his youth, circa his screen breakthrough so long ago in Hitchcock's "Marnie".

Next up Ortiz interviews Ellen Burstyn amid the ashes of her burnt-out home. She survived a fire but only had time to save some jewelry and a baseball (signed by Ted Williams, hint, hint) that her late husband treasured. She's now living with her kid and mate, and clearly they feel she's just a burden to them, so she heads to Las Vegas to have the ball appraised. At this point Ortiz disappears from the movie, never to return, and I missed him as potentially the central character and unifying force.

Burstyn's expert acting makes her vignette work dramatically, but she too is given short shrift as we meet Jon Hamm, running a sports memorabila store (and expert in the field), who informs her in cliched Antiques Roadshow fashion that the ball is worth perhaps $80,000 to $100,000. Ellen was never directly attached to it, now only treasuring it as a connection to her late husband, so she sells it to him. No matter that it is clear Hamm is cheating her to some extent (could be worth a million bucks perhaps?), he takes over the movie from here to fadeout.

SPOILER:

Not to be outdone, Catherine Keener as Hamm's older sister provides the emotional punch in the later reels, where a contrived plot twist has Hamm moving from uninvolved spectator (a la the Ortiz role early on) to "shoe is on the other foot" deeply involved protagonist when tragedy strikes his family on cue.

Writer Alex Ross Perry and director Mark Pellington (whose thriller "Arlington Road" packed the wallop missing from "Nostalgia") key the show to objects and artifacts, but as a lifelong collector (from baseball cards, to philately, to ultimately valuable Jazz LPs) I found this morbid approach to be off-point. One can be nostalgic over the ephemeral, namely memories just as mine of "The Millionaire" came rushing back without material objects to prompt them. Similarly, for all the assiduous accumulation of Jazz albums over the years, it is the memory of the artists performing live, and getting to meet and even interview them, that linger with me rather than the collection itself - Hamm in the attic examining Rollins and Coltrane LPs left there by his dad drove home that point specifically.

Even if the auteurs are ultimately arguing (it's questionable given the emphasis on loss, as in a key scene comparing the ephemeral nature of photos stored in the Cloud via smart phone and lost, compared to tangible and treasured snapshots retained the old-fashioned way) the obvious point of memories of a life lived being so much more important than mere talismans of same, the movie fails to deliver that message forcefully.

Good Intentions But Just Too Much of a Melancholic Slog

[larrys3 · 4/10 · 2 May 2018]

Very slow-paced, cerebral, and melancholic movie that centers on the artifacts and objects we accumulate over our lifetime that contain so many memories of the lives we've led. They usually come to the forefront when we lose loved ones, have a tragedy such as a fire or natural disaster occur, or simply decide to pick up and move.

About 2/3rds of the way through the film a sudden tragedy occurs which sends the movie into even more of a depressive dive. There is a most solid cast here, with varying amounts of screen time, but the movie never seems to coalesce into the dramatic effect that the filmmakers intended

Nostalgia?

[przemyslawstroinski · 7/10 · 1 December 2019]

It was interesting, quite atmospheric sometimes, sometimes it were just tries. Bad title, "Nostalgia" make me to expect something much deeper, more atmospheric, more nostalgic. Simply title is too direct. In Lodz Film School students make short movies excercises for this kind of inspiring words like "Love" etc. I have seen some of them in school cinema. Maybe some more shallow title could be better, like "Things" for example. It's great example that title can be so important for impression of movie.

Meditation on the "Objects in your Life" proves a fruitless endeavor

[Turfseer · 4/10 · 23 February 2018]

Nostalgia is director Mark Pellington and screenwriter Alex Ross Perry's collaborative effort that could have been aptly subtitled, "The Objects in Your Life." The big question that's raised here is whether (for example) all that bric-a-brac you've accumulated up in the attic over the years is worth saving (and perhaps venerating) or is simply a collection of junk that needs to be thrown out. Nostalgia focuses on these objects and one in particular (an old baseball signed by Ted Williams) that becomes a MacGuffin of sorts, connecting two disparate stories which constitute the bulk of the proceedings in a narrative that can be best classified as an ensemble piece.

Perry's tale begins deceptively, focusing on Daniel (John Ortiz) an insurance assessor/adjuster, who appears to revel in listening to claimant's confessions regarding the aforementioned objects. Daniel's first visit is with a curmudgeon, Ronald (Bruce Dern), who balks at going through his accumulated "stuff" looking for valuables to the chagrin of his granddaughter, Bethany, who obviously feels that parting with some of the bric-a-brac, is a practical and worthwhile idea (owing to the potential financial remuneration involved).

Daniel's meditation on the existential value of these nostalgic remnants sets the stage for his second visit with Helen (Ellen Burstyn), who has just lost her home in a fire. As Chuck Bowen writes in Slant, all the characters are "suffering saints" and "every scene concerns people's attachments to things that trigger past moments."

Perry hands Bustyn a very long-winded monologue who meditates on the importance of her late husband's baseball, so intricately tied up with their life together. At first she appears overly attached to the baseball and just like Bethany, her son and daughter-in-law feel such an attachment unhealthy.

But eventually Helen comes around and decides on a trek to Las Vegas where she agrees to sell the ball to a collector, Will (Jon Hamm). Before we move on to the third story, the ball inspires another long monologue about the scourge of old age where Helen mournfully acknowledges she'll pass on and will be forgotten.

Once the baton is passed, Will is now the focus of a narrative that emphasizes his lack of fulfillment, due a heartbreaking divorce with his ex-wife. He visits his sister at the family home where they need to clean out the attic. The objects there (including the swimming pool) evoke childhood memories for Will but all the meditation brings the narrative to a virtual standstill.

Suddenly, out of the blue, Perry injects a family tragedy to spice up the drama in the form of the death of the sister's daughter, killed in a freak car accident. Catherine Keener, as the sister, gives the strongest performance in the film, as she breaks down over the death of her child. Nonetheless Perry's handling of his theme about the objects in your life goes awry when he has the father of the girl (James Le Gros) bemoaning how all her photos have been lost once her cell and iPad are destroyed in the car accident.

Ray Green writing in The Wrap correctly notes Perry's faux pas: "Apparently Hamm and LeGros have never heard of social media, where the average teen's every meal, night out and camping trip is chronicled across friends' profiles in greater detail than Boswell gave to his "Life of Samuel Johnson." It's a straw-man argument, and a fusty old-guy one at that."

Ultimately Nostalgia doesn't have much to say and is dependent on its classical sounding score, which intrudes into almost every scene, and attempts to create more feeling than what is actually written on each page of this well-meaning but shallow screenplay.

Too Somber & Slow To Ever Get Its Message Across

[zkonedog · 3/10 · 10 May 2018]

If one thinks hard enough, there are some interesting topics thrown around in "Nostalgia". The trouble is, it takes slogging through and hour and 45 minutes of the most somber, melancholic film you've ever seen in order to actually get to those themes. It isn't worth the wait, at that.

For a basic plot summary, "Nostalgia" is told over a series of vignettes that loosely work together to create a theme. In one, an old woman (Ellen Burstyn) loses her home (and nearly everything in it) to a fire, and must come to terms with the importance of objects vs. memories. In another timeline, siblings Will (Jon Hamm) & Donna (Catherine Keener) must clean out their old childhood home, and then face their own personal tragedy.

Like I said, there are some interesting themes to chew on here, especially involving the concept of memories vs. physical items from loved ones. As we all grow older, it is interesting to consider what we will leave behind and what of that will be considered "important" to future generations.

A few good themes do not a good film make, however, and in pretty much all capacities "Nostalgia" is a complete mess. This is a film that really needed a stable environment all the way through, but instead it takes the opposite approach and skips from scene to scene and time to time with very little (if any) connective tissue to bind it all together. By the time the movie had ended, I was left wondering exactly what the first half had to do with the back half (besides a few concurring themes), and that's not good.

The acting is pretty good here (notably Hamm, who seems to be doing great work everywhere these days), but too often it only involves characters staring off into the distance or "reflecting", which doesn't come off all that well on the big screen.

Overall, I was mostly disappointed with "Nostalgia" for its inability to create any sort of substantial narrative (disjointed or otherwise) and being so somber all the way through. Whether intentional or not, this comes off as one of the most depressing movies you'll likely have watched in awhile.

a lifetime movie on the big screen

[cdcrb · 5/10 · 1 March 2018]

The actors-ellen Burstyn, Catherine keener and mikey Madison, almost, almost make the movie worth seeing. this is one maudlin mess about loss. loss of things, loved ones. it's a long downhill ride that leaves you feeling worse than before you came in. move on. again, though. that acting. wow.

You'll either like it, or you won't

[vecda-39097 · 9/10 · 3 March 2019]

My comments: 1) I expect this movie will appeal (generally) to an older viewer. 2) Although the movie does talk a lot about the 'things' that are left behind, we see the people who are left behind coming to terms with the inevitable march of time. 3) The movie highlights interpersonal relationships by using realistic dialog. 4) The actors all do a good job with their roles - very believable. 5) I can see how this movie will not appeal to everyone. 6) An excellent topic to talk about with your family. 7) Please support independent film makers.

It is a movie

[nvaspider · 4/10 · 16 May 2018]

Well, it is a movie. They definitely hired actors and filmed a...movie.

Depressing

[ladyhenry1 · 1/10 · 23 May 2018]

This movie was depressing. I don't write reviews but this movie was awful. I thought it might be the kind of movie my mom would have liked and I am in my 60's. Nope.

Some people thought this was thought provoking. Based on this movie get rid of everything you own before you die as no one wants it. What mean something to you is junk to them.

I am still trying to figure out the scenes were somebody would be staring at something and the camera just stayed on them for 30 seconds.

Fortunately I got to see this for free. I still paid to much.

Don't watch it, don't even look at it.

[josharmendariz · 1/10 · 3 November 2018]

Your time is better spent watching paint drying and thinking of slightly sad memories. The DVD doesn't even deserve coaster status, it's too good for it. Time is a precious commodity, and your time is better spent going on a long, dull road trip, remembering that you forgot something you need about halfway there, turning around and getting it, and then starting the whole road trip all over again. At least doing that would be slightly less painful, even if it will be over all longer than the movie runs.

Something You Have to Live

[travelmail-54879 · 9/10 · 18 July 2018]

After clearing out deceased parents' home with brother and sister and experiencing the nostalgia associated with objects, to experiencing younger generational grief,, Thought this film really hit the nail on the head. it was acted superbly and the many moments with sister and brother, grieving parents, death expectant elder man, and especially the contained and deep emotion of the insurance agent, made this a very quality film. for some reason we have become hardened and inexperienced in sharing intense moments of life openly and a lot of the reviews of this film are so superficial to the point of tragic. Good one to see.

Nostalgia

[yeoperson-90652 · 9/10 · 11 August 2018]

There were moments when I thought this was a film about eyes as they communicate emotion. Sadness, compassion, confusion, frustration, and so on.

This is a difficult subject, how to handle the physical articles - or lack thereof - of a loved one after their passing. I, my siblings, and my mother's sisters went through this with my 97 year old grandmother's effect six months ago, so my grief at her passing is still fresh. It was often agonizing. So many random moments of laughter, tears and memories. Yet, life goes on and decisions have to be made. This film is respectful of this process. Not for everyone, true, but definitely one to re-visit at those times in your life when you so-so-so need to know you aren't alone in your feelings of loss and the need to move on.

Beautifully thoughtful.

[iangordonmiller · 10/10 · 3 February 2020]

A beautifully adapted story illustrating the joy and pain of nostalgia (in all its forms) and how it impacts on the lives of the characters we are introduced to in the movie. But it's much more than that. The movie is a work of art. The performances are believable. The screenplay is spot on and the soundtrack is sublime. What a pleasure.

Poignant...Perhaps it's my age

[drummly · 10/10 · 1 July 2018]

One of the few films that have hit me so hard recently. It's as if the writers reached into my brain and heart. I had Such a visceral reaction. Excellent performances by a superior group of actors. I'd give a 20 if I could!

A movie that will get you thinking

[michelle_kummer · 10/10 · 1 May 2018]

This film was fantastic, it pulls on the heart strings and makes you realise that everyone has a story, is going though a heartache or struggle of some sort. It is also the actors that stand out in their performances, I felt as though I was there with them on their journey through pain and suffering as none of us are immune. The film shows the lives of 3 different families, and how getting old and being alone is not the way one should live. Some of the children want their piece of the pie where others have nostalgia over memories shared as children and realise that a house is just a house and nothing is forever. We accumulate so many items in our lives and to whom are they special for once we depart this earth. I highly recommend this film. You won't be disappointed as it will definitely get you thinking and stop sweating on the small stuff like most of us do.

Great Acting!!

[polyinhoe · 9/10 · 14 December 2018]

I happened to stumble across this movie one night and just started to watch it. It was really really great acting. From one character to another. Especially Jon Hamm acting. Of course it was a sad kind of movie with slow pace, but realistically talking, it's just the kind of live that people should really prepare for when reality hits you with a nail. It's either you just stay strong or back down from what life has to offer. True love of having a brother and sister being there for each other its not something like you see in every movie. The nostalgic things is not really the highlight of the story-line. But having someone there for you when you struggled at one point in life is the real deal. Can't be more true than it has to. Pain of losing someone and trying to get over it is not like everyone prep for it. Spend some time watching it you'll learn a thing or two about how life can turn you down and what you really need to cope with the situation. Trust me, everyone needs to see this kind of movie at some point.

Mindblowing acting worth the slightly wandering journey

[tkn10015 · 8/10 · 18 February 2018]

I love good movies. This wasn't quite one. I love great acting between seasoned and new pros. This was full of shivers. Ellen Burstyn (she still lives here) and Jon Hamm (no longer just a pretty face) at the pawn shop. Bruce Dern's pauses and smiles are still tops (the old track star's still got it). Sadly, no Dern/Burstyn scenes (since 1972?) . Hamm and James LeGros ( super good) with stupendously blowsy and full-blown Catherine Keener (who knew, when she finally let go?). Not sure about the epic preceding review but if you want to see old and new pros in action, directed with care and excellence, see this. And take as many old people as you can find. They'll put you in their wills.

Depressing but rings true

[pamela-53766 · 9/10 · 26 August 2018]

I found this film to be very worthwhile, albeit not a cheery experience. It offers a glimpse into the ephemeral quality of our lives and the people and things with which we fill them. This is a subject that has had my attention for the past few years, as I seek to let go of things and seek experiences in their place. It kind of started with my reading about Swedish death cleaning!

Intense

[funndsunxoxo · 9/10 · 5 February 2020]

I thought it was a topic no one has touched on in a movie so intense, real and raw. The levels of human emotion unfolded as each story played. This will reach far into the depths of your emotions if you are a widow, lost a home, or a child. Interesting perspectives on many sides all resulting from loss, remembrance, holding on and letting go but mostly of the value. Its deep.

Great treatment of themes not generally addressed

[john_hagie · 9/10 · 27 December 2019]

What an intelligent script, superbe acting and strong directing! I unexpectedly came across this exceptional film and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Thought provoking film!!

[carpediemjc-843-811857 · 10/10 · 28 April 2018]

Why didn't Jatherine Keener get an Oscar is really beyond me! She is such a good actresses who deserves every accolades that she can get. Especially in her roe in this film! This is a great film! It truly helps me think about the things/objects in life that we pisses. Do they have a story of just for the sake of collecting?