Stars: Cate Blanchett, Christina Ricci, John Turturro, Johnny Depp, Harry Dean Stanton

Director: Sally Potter

Summary: Set in 1927, this is the story of a young Jewish girl who was sent from Russia to England where she was adopted by a family who re-named her Suzie. When Suzie reaches adulthood she sets off for a new life in Paris where she works with an opera company. Her happiness is short-lived and she is forced to move on again when the Nazi invasion begins and she must leave everything that she loves behind.

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Sally Potter's The Man Who Cried, like her acclaimed Orlandobefore it, is an ambitious exploration of identity, richly intoxicated with the sensual possibilities of cinema. Photographed by one of Europe's greatest cinematographers, Sacha Vierny (Last Year at Marienbad, Belle du Jour, Hiroshima Mon Amour), with extravagantly beautiful costumes by Oscar-winner Lindy Hemming (Topsy-Turvy) and set in the vibrant milieu of a Paris slowly building towards World War II, visually this is European cinema at its bigger-budget best. The costumes in a Parisian can-can club are some of the most sumptuous ever created, and the sombre hues in the misty Russian village of the opening sequence haunt the screen throughout the film, yet they promise an excellence and a mystery that is never quite delivered. Potter's ambition isn't justly rewarded largely because of her strange choices of lead actors. Perhaps due to the weight of a hefty budget and the perceived box-office pull of American stars, some odd casting choices were made. To see Christina Ricci as a displaced Russian peasant, not to mention Johnny Depp as a Romanian Gypsy and John Turturro as a fascist Italian theatre director, jars to say the least. Perhaps this was part of Potter's design in a film that is once again obsessed with the splintered and shimmering surfaces of European identity (or maybe the cod accents are a mark of Potter's reputedly cheeky humour?).

On the DVD:The DVD itself is disappointingly devoid of extra features, but this digital version beautifully showcases the glorious craftsmanship on offer. --Tricia Tuttle

Aspect Ratio:	1.85 Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Year:	2000
Release Date:	April 10, 2003
Runtime:	110 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	820 058 4
Keywords:	Man, Who, General, Cried, Drama
Genre:	Drama