Stories We Tell
Actress, writer and director Sarah Polley (Take This Waltz) explores the secrets of her own family in this documentary portrait. Made over five years, Polley attempts to "be a detective in my own life" and in the process, discovers the secret life her mother lived. In an effort to understand this long-held family mystery, Polley revisits old 8mm home movies, has her father relay his account of events, and interviews every member of her family.
- Director:
- Sarah Polley ('Take This Waltz', 'Away from Her')
- Writer:
- Sarah Polley
Reviews & comments
Flicks, Matt Glasby
flicks“Love is so short, forgetting is so long,” quotes a major character in Canadian actor/writer/director Sarah Polley's gorgeous, quietly daring family documentary. A memorial to her late mother, Diane, an actress who smiled like Marilyn Monroe and conducted her love life just as chaotically, it consists of frank interviews with the extended Polley clan interspersed with extraordinary amounts of sun-bleached Super-8 footage.
"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...
Variety
pressThis playful and elegiac documentary is wholly of a piece with Sarah Polley's fiction work, and just as rewarding.
Time Out
pressEveryone has a different story. I found myself holding my breath listening to them talk. The story twists like a thriller.
The New York Times
pressHas a number of transparent virtues, including its humor and formal design, although its most admirable quality is the deep sense of personal ethics that frames Ms. Polley's filmmaking choices.
The Guardian
pressPolley's cine-tribute is a gripping and absorbing meditation on the unknowability of other lives.
Hollywood Reporter
pressSkilfully deploys some ambitious creative gambits to explore the director's own family background.
Empire Magazine
pressPolley's fearless personal journey is a huge achievement, a genuine revelation - but the less detail you know beforehand, the better. Go in cold, come out warmed.
Flicks, Matt Glasby
flicks“Love is so short, forgetting is so long,” quotes a major character in Canadian actor/writer/director Sarah Polley's gorgeous, quietly daring family documentary. A memorial to her late mother, Diane, an actress who smiled like Marilyn Monroe and conducted her love life just as chaotically, it consists of frank interviews with the extended Polley clan interspersed with extraordinary amounts of sun-bleached Super-8 footage.
Variety
pressThis playful and elegiac documentary is wholly of a piece with Sarah Polley's fiction work, and just as rewarding.
Time Out
pressEveryone has a different story. I found myself holding my breath listening to them talk. The story twists like a thriller.
The New York Times
pressHas a number of transparent virtues, including its humor and formal design, although its most admirable quality is the deep sense of personal ethics that frames Ms. Polley's filmmaking choices.
The Guardian
pressPolley's cine-tribute is a gripping and absorbing meditation on the unknowability of other lives.
Hollywood Reporter
pressSkilfully deploys some ambitious creative gambits to explore the director's own family background.
Empire Magazine
pressPolley's fearless personal journey is a huge achievement, a genuine revelation - but the less detail you know beforehand, the better. Go in cold, come out warmed.
"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...
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