Five Senses

Pros: good cast, good dialog, richly sensual images
Cons: somewhat disappointing plot conclusion for one character

Last week, Columbia Film Society did a wonderful thing! They hosted a fundraising wine tasting get-together, complete with heavenly food from the best places in town (oooh, even some petits fours sized cheesecake bites, in four flavors). The...

Pros: Well defined and thoroughly interesting characters / Each of the stories is compelling in its own way / Flawless acting by entire cast
Cons: Weak ending / The sense gimmick is about all that connects some of the stories

Why do mainstream audiences prefer A to B plots? Is it because they do not want to have to think while they are watching a movie? Is it because they are so used to them that they have just become expected? Or is it because they are more concerned with...

Pros: Interesting look in to relationships.
Cons: Some of the story lines were a little weak.

This was an interesting film, but a little light on story line and substance. The Five Senses was a rather honored film. It was the winner of the 1999 Toronto International Film Festival as the Best Canadian Feature Film. It was also the Official...

Pros: Unusual premise, cinematography, gorgeous soundtrack from Daniel Taylor
Cons: None

"The Five Senses" is a profound film about what it means to be human, and about the loss of innocence and the yearning for touch, for comfort, for love. Set in Toronto, it follows the lives of around a dozen characters over a three-day period. The ...

Pros: Original perspective on a compelling urban story
Cons: Some subplots work better than others - it's uneven

"The senses are elemental, and in connecting us to the world, they connect us to each other," says Canadian writer/director/producer Jeremy Podeswa. In this compelling urban story, he delicately interweaves five separate crisis situations...

Pros: Nice atmosphere and a few good performances lend some credibility for about 25 minutes.
Cons: Then the film's idiotic central gimmick starts to kick in, the story stops going anywhere and the movie ends on a truly baffling note.

Hey kid -- c'mere. I see your face. I know what you're wondering: if Atom Egoyan was a hack (instead of the best filmmaker currently working in the English language), what kind of films would he make?

Wonder no longer -- instead, run to your...

Pros: Cast, direction, score, cinematography and a fine premise that's delivered on.
Cons: Pacing may render it dull for some.

I must admit that I found it taxing to fully
comprehend all that was going on in
Jeremy Podeswa's The Five
Senses . I suppose, then, that
I ought to be surprised to learn that,
when all was said and done, I rather...

Pros: good story, good acting
Cons: a bit complicated story line

After seeing a bunch of crappy mainstream movies for the past month, it was refreshing to go to a theatre and see something good, something worthwhile, and something that made me think.

The Five Senses explores two days in the lives of five...

Pros: Starmaking turn by Daniel MacIvor
Cons: Occasionally gets too soap-operatic

Critically lauded year in its native Canada, THE FIVE SENSES is an overwrought but affecting domestic drama about the inability to connect meaningfully in modern life. Writer/director Jeremy Podeswa has found a clear theme for his interwoven storylines...

Pros: Fine performances all around.
Cons: Xenophobe alert: one of the stories is in French.

(Dir: Jeremy Podeswa, Starring Mary Louise Parker, Daniel MacIvor, Pascale Bussieres, Richard Clarkin, Brendan Fletcher, Marco Leonardi, Nadia Litz, Molly Parker, Gabrielle Rose, Tara Rosling, Philippe Volter, Elize Frances Stolk, Clinton Walker, and...

Pros: Fine, character-centered film with beauty a-plenty
Cons: A bit too full of itself at times

Canadian films are really starting to have a feel of their own. Maybe it’s their emphasis on character over flashy plot-based big-budget extravaganzas, or the use of ensemble casts rather than single star vehicles. Or maybe it’s just because they...

Pros: Strong acting, interesting characters
Cons: A bit contrived

This movie uses the theme of the five senses to explore a group of people who are having troubles with relationships and human interactions. Several intersecting storylines are tied together by a missing girl. Although the concept is interesting and...

Pros: Stuff
Cons: Stuff

ANOTHER ensemble piece, this time from Canada. The
connection with touch, taste, hearing, smell and vision is a
snap-on gimmick to give the film a raison d'être, which it
...

Pros: A few
Cons: @ many senses

No doubt Jeremy Podeswa, writer/director of The Five Senses envisions himself as some offspring of Atom Egoyan, what with his crosscutting between several disparate characters, muted color scheme, languorous pacing, and, well, the fact that he set this...