Ithaca (2015)

This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

Excellent, a Must See

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

Based on the William Saroyan novel "The Human Comedy," "Ithaca" attempts to put a human face on the tragedy of war. The main character is named Homer, which is derived from the bard who sang the praises of the war heroes who fell at Troy. In this twentieth-century adaptation, Homer is a telegram delivery boy who shows up on the doorsteps of the mothers to inform them of their sons' deaths in World War II.The setting is Ithaca, New York, which bears no resemblance to the ancient Greece citadel that was home to Ulysses (Odysseus). The filmmakers' concept has been to create a Norman Rockwell-like atmosphere for the small town.The best performance in the film is that of Alex Neustaedter, who races around town to deliver the tragic news of the war dead. Unfortunately, the film never fleshed out the characters, so that the audience may empathize them. The main problem was the over-emphasis on the narrator's voice at the expense of the words of the characters themselves.While the scenery and location filming (in Virginia, not New York) was beautiful, "Ithaca" never confronted the contradictions of World War II as "the good war," yet one that left a vacuum in lives that could never be filled.

It is good to see that there is movies made not for sale. Movies that bring some meaning and help to think. My English is poor so I cant good express myself, but I hope main point is clear. This movie will make you think,will leave something after to think about. And it is much deeper that it looks at the first time. War is big problem, and it is still actual , right now there is so many fights, pain, destroyed families, and people avoid to think about it. It is not fun, it is not comfortable, it is better pretend that its not exist. Thats why I think this kind of films will make word a bit better. Thanks to everyone who invested to this film.

'There will always be pain in this world, Homer. And a good man will seek to take the pain out of things.' William Saroyan's 1943 novel THE HUMAN COMEDY, a quiet, gentle statement of finding meaning in becoming a man, has been lovingly and subtly transformed into a film by Erik Jendresen and directed with straightforward simplicity by Meg Ryan. Some viewers fine this film slow and lifeless, but the true beauty of this little gem is that the actors, director, cinematographer and production crew allow it to let the tine slice of Americana speak for itself.The year is 1942 and the film opens with black and white broadcasts by President Roosevelt about the tragedy of Pearl Harbor. We meet the Macauley family. Fourteen- year-old Homer Macauley (Alex Neustaedter) is determined to be the best and fastest bicycle telegraph messenger anyone has ever seen. His older brother Marcus (Jack Quaid) has gone to war, leaving Homer to look after his widowed mother (Meg Ryan – his father appears as Tom Hanks), his older sister Bess (Christine Nelson) and his 4-year-old brother, Ulysses (Spencer Howell). And so it is that as spring turns to summer, 1942, Homer Macauley delivers messages of love, hope, pain... and death... to the good people of Ithaca. His telegraph office is run buy the elderly Grogan (Sam Shepard) and Tom Spangler (Hamish Linklater) who are supportive of their underage worker, offering sage advice and love to a frightened lad. Homer will grapple with one message that will change him forever. ITHACA is a coming-of-age story about the exuberance of youth, the abruptness of change, the sweetness of life, the sting of death, and the sheer goodness that lives in each and every one of us.Put away your need for high action films and comic book heroes and CGI effects and re- visit a time in America when small towns reflected the strengths of youngsters and families affect by World War II. The film is deeply moving.

maybe the story is good, but the way it was presented made it a boring flick. some actors are delivering a good performance, the majority aren't.better go look at grass growing because you get the exact feeling from that as from this movie. it looks like they filmed at rehearsal and didn't bother to shoot it again.there wasn't much attention put into this movie overall and it shows, from the camera shots to the actors delivering the lines. sound is awful, but this is a thing seen in almost all movies. are they shooting with phones? wth...Meg isn't yet ready to direct movies, plain and simple.