LilMtnCbn
02-20-2004, 05:49 AM
http://washingtontimes.com/entertainment/20040218-115738-2972r.htm
Compelling look at dynamic mom's 'Flesh and Blood'
By Gary Arnold
"It's been an up-and-down year," observes Susan Tom at the conclusion of
"My Flesh and Blood," an exceptionally stirring and humbling family chronicle
that opens exclusively at the Landmark E Street Cinema today. A distinguished
leftover from last year's bumper crop of auspicious documentary features, the
movie revolves around her ongoing willingness to be the adoptive mother to
several children, many with conspicuous physical disabilities.
The stout, bespectacled and stoical Mrs. Tom is divorced and the mother of
two grown biological sons, no longer residents of her teeming suburban home in
Fairfield, Calif. She endears herself as a master of understatement long before
the "up-and-down" remark. Discussing the dim prospects for a second marital
alliance at her point in life, Mrs. Tom reflects, "I seem to attract people who
want me to take care of them."
A mate who couldn't lend a hand with the Tom brood would be of little use
to this woman of the house. Mrs. Tom shelters nine children as the movie
begins. Tensions are evident with Mrs. Tom's most loyal helper, 18-year-old
Margaret, the senior of the adopted children. An entering student at the local
community college, Margaret suffers a powerful attack of self-pity at one
point, demoralized by the thought that all her unpaid labor around the house
goes unappreciated and threatens to be indefinitely confining.
An early Halloween interlude dispels expectations of a mawkish portrait of
a family that must cope with disabilities. The vivacious Xenia, a 13-year-old
of Russian extraction who has no legs, is gleefully recruited for an amateur
version of the magician's illusion of sawing a woman in half. Joe, a
15-year-old born with cystic fibrosis, does the honors as the man with the saw.
The focus of episodes both gratifying and alarming, Joe is the most
mercurial presence in the movie. He scares everyone time and time again, and
it's easy to see why. The filmmakers even put us on alert during the prologue,
which finds Joe fuming and muttering death threats. The movie would earn an "R"
rating solely on the basis of Joe's obscene remarks to Susan.
Nevertheless, the rage to live in this boy whose hold on life is so
precarious may remain the single most poignant aspect of a movie that scarcely
needs to overreach to generate overwhelming pathos. All Jonathan Karsh and his
associates really need to do is keep the camera and recording equipment open to
domestic life and caretaking obligations in the raw.
Susan Tom's background and personal history emerge in a methodical and
revealing way, usually with the subject herself as our principal informant. But
not always. A visit by Susan's mother clarifies some parts of the past that
would probably remain obscure without her participation.
Some spectators will probably be reminded of an Oscar-winning documentary
of a generation ago, John Korty's "Who are the DeBolts? And Why Did They Get
Nineteen Kids?" Also set in Northern California, the Korty film observed a
well-to-do couple who had adopted numerous orphans, often foreign-born and
physically handicapped to some degree.
Susan Tom depends on public assistance to subsidize her titanic domestic
vocation. Only the churlish are likely to question the wisdom of encouraging
such dedication, but it obviously exacts a price in sorrow and loneliness.
***1/2
TITLE: "My Flesh and Blood"
RATING: No MPAA Rating (adult subject matter, involving documentary
depictions of some children with severe physical handicaps; fleeting profanity;
and episodes of intense domestic conflict)
CREDITS: Directed by Jonathan Karsh. Cinematography by Amanda Michel. Sound
by Craig Burton. Music by B. Quincy Griffin and Hector Perez. Editing by Eli
Olsen.
RUNNING TIME: 86 minutes
MAXIMUM RATING: FOUR STARS
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
Compelling look at dynamic mom's 'Flesh and Blood'
By Gary Arnold
"It's been an up-and-down year," observes Susan Tom at the conclusion of
"My Flesh and Blood," an exceptionally stirring and humbling family chronicle
that opens exclusively at the Landmark E Street Cinema today. A distinguished
leftover from last year's bumper crop of auspicious documentary features, the
movie revolves around her ongoing willingness to be the adoptive mother to
several children, many with conspicuous physical disabilities.
The stout, bespectacled and stoical Mrs. Tom is divorced and the mother of
two grown biological sons, no longer residents of her teeming suburban home in
Fairfield, Calif. She endears herself as a master of understatement long before
the "up-and-down" remark. Discussing the dim prospects for a second marital
alliance at her point in life, Mrs. Tom reflects, "I seem to attract people who
want me to take care of them."
A mate who couldn't lend a hand with the Tom brood would be of little use
to this woman of the house. Mrs. Tom shelters nine children as the movie
begins. Tensions are evident with Mrs. Tom's most loyal helper, 18-year-old
Margaret, the senior of the adopted children. An entering student at the local
community college, Margaret suffers a powerful attack of self-pity at one
point, demoralized by the thought that all her unpaid labor around the house
goes unappreciated and threatens to be indefinitely confining.
An early Halloween interlude dispels expectations of a mawkish portrait of
a family that must cope with disabilities. The vivacious Xenia, a 13-year-old
of Russian extraction who has no legs, is gleefully recruited for an amateur
version of the magician's illusion of sawing a woman in half. Joe, a
15-year-old born with cystic fibrosis, does the honors as the man with the saw.
The focus of episodes both gratifying and alarming, Joe is the most
mercurial presence in the movie. He scares everyone time and time again, and
it's easy to see why. The filmmakers even put us on alert during the prologue,
which finds Joe fuming and muttering death threats. The movie would earn an "R"
rating solely on the basis of Joe's obscene remarks to Susan.
Nevertheless, the rage to live in this boy whose hold on life is so
precarious may remain the single most poignant aspect of a movie that scarcely
needs to overreach to generate overwhelming pathos. All Jonathan Karsh and his
associates really need to do is keep the camera and recording equipment open to
domestic life and caretaking obligations in the raw.
Susan Tom's background and personal history emerge in a methodical and
revealing way, usually with the subject herself as our principal informant. But
not always. A visit by Susan's mother clarifies some parts of the past that
would probably remain obscure without her participation.
Some spectators will probably be reminded of an Oscar-winning documentary
of a generation ago, John Korty's "Who are the DeBolts? And Why Did They Get
Nineteen Kids?" Also set in Northern California, the Korty film observed a
well-to-do couple who had adopted numerous orphans, often foreign-born and
physically handicapped to some degree.
Susan Tom depends on public assistance to subsidize her titanic domestic
vocation. Only the churlish are likely to question the wisdom of encouraging
such dedication, but it obviously exacts a price in sorrow and loneliness.
***1/2
TITLE: "My Flesh and Blood"
RATING: No MPAA Rating (adult subject matter, involving documentary
depictions of some children with severe physical handicaps; fleeting profanity;
and episodes of intense domestic conflict)
CREDITS: Directed by Jonathan Karsh. Cinematography by Amanda Michel. Sound
by Craig Burton. Music by B. Quincy Griffin and Hector Perez. Editing by Eli
Olsen.
RUNNING TIME: 86 minutes
MAXIMUM RATING: FOUR STARS
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
