Avalon (1990)

the audience applauded

A Brilliant Conflict

There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS: I missed this film when it came out and eagerly taped it when it recently came on television. The trailers emphasized the nostalgic feel and I vaguely remembered it being a period piece about how modern life--especially television--splintered close family ties. What I didn't expect is the movie's journey to hyper-realism. When a film starts out like it's going to be in the same vein as, say, "A Christmas Story", I didn't expect it to end up like a documentary on the indignities of old age. Imagine every report on senility and its toll on everyone and you get an idea of the end. It isn't this movie's fault that the trailers portrayed it as one thing, and it was something else. It isn't the movie's fault that I just wasn't in the mood to see what's happening in real life in homes all over this country. If the movie does have a fault, it's that the director/writer, actors, and set designers, etc., were so good at setting the tone for a gentle trip down memory lane, it was just so jarring when realism intruded at the end. I think the same thing could have been accomplished by stopping at the "hypnotized by TV" holiday dinner--with a lot less scenes of heartbreaking decline. I know that wasn't what the filmmaker wanted to do, but it would have been a film I would have enjoyed seeing more. We should be depressed by what this story says about us; I just wasn't expecting a lesson on the topic when I taped this film. That's my fault, but so many people use the terms "feel-good" and "nostalgic" to describe this film, and I didn't feel good after watching and I consider nostalgia to be something that leaves you with a happy, positive feeling about the past. For all this film's fine acting and great set design, it did not leave me with anything but regrets--maybe that was the point.

I have shown this movie in entry-level college geography classes, as it is first of all a fine film, but second because it so clearly illustrates concepts of acculturation, assimilation and the American "melting pot." The story certainly could be told, and re-told, from a number of other perspectives (i.e., another city, another ethnicity, even a different starting decade), but despite its length, Avalon captures so much of a way of life in our country that has eroded throughout time. College freshmen, on the whole, seem to really enjoy this film, and papers that I ask them to write on it have been thoughtful and provocative.The story is multi-generational, and centers on an immigrant arriving in Baltimore, MD in the early 1900s. It then traces his life forward through the generations, all the while noting how the impact of being in a new country changes him and his descendants. The cast does a fine job, Levinson's direction is superb, but pay attention to subtle nuances! This is one of those films that I can pick up something different every time I watch it.Highly recommended.

I love this film. It has it's soapy moments but the comment it makes on how life has changed in the last 100 years is profound. Family is not as important today as it once was. The television has replaced the dinner table as the spot for family gatherings. And yet our relatives and their legacy can shape our lives today if we let it. The stories of our parents and grandparents need to be passed on. Where we came from - who we are. Great things to remember and this film helps you do that. See it soon if you missed it in 1990. (Most people did) One more note - those of you who are interested in seeing a young Elijah Wood - here is your chance.

I felt as though I was a kid again, stuck at some family gathering with a bunch of old great aunts and uncles that babble on for 126 minutes with no let-up, about absolutely nothing. Why couldn't this movie be shortened? Only "Diner" was worse than this. Barry Levinson can really get the least from his actors with bad direction and a really bad script.Don't be fooled by the critics or the others that heap praise on this movie. There's only one heap that this one belongs on.Hey, the photography was good, but so what?