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Movies / Upcoming / Danielson: A Family Movie
Danielson: A Family Movie

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Danielson: A Family Movie (2006)

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Reviews Counted:7

Fresh:3

Rotten:4

Average Rating:5.9/10

Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins

Genre: Musical & Performing Arts

Synopsis: Danielson: a Family Movie is a documentary about unbridled creativity vs. accessibility, Christian faith vs. popular culture, underground music vs. survival, and family vs. individuality. The film... Danielson: a Family Movie is a documentary about unbridled creativity vs. accessibility, Christian faith vs. popular culture, underground music vs. survival, and family vs. individuality. The film follows Daniel Smith, an eccentric musician and visual artist, as he leads his four siblings and best friend to indie-rock stardom. Beginning in 1995 when the youngest band member was 11 years old, the Danielson Famile performs in white, vintage nurse costumes to symbolize the healing power of the Good News, a recurring subject matter. Though tepidly received by the Christian music world, the South Jersey farmland-bred clan is widely embraced by the mainstream independent music community, written about in Rolling Stone, Spin, the New York Times and elsewhere as an outsider curiosity backed up by innovative, experimental music. But as with other family acts, and particularly those that don't make much money, members of the band begin to seek out their own paths as they go through college and Daniel eventually faces the struggle to become viable as a solo act. Along the way he mentors an unknown singer-songwriter named Sufjan Stevens whose own subsequent success stands in stark contrast to the music world's uneasy reception of Danielson just a few years prior. With production starting in 2002, at a high water mark for the band, all the drama is played out before the camera making Danielson: a Family Movie both engaging and entertaining. Collage, direct cinema, animation and memorable performances all contribute to this thoughtful and thought-provoking spectacle. The film was made with no capital investment from the Danielson Famile, its record label or any other third party. --© Official Site [More]

Starring: Daniel Smith, Sufjan Stevens

Starring: Daniel Smith, Sufjan Stevens

Director: JL Aronson

Director: JL Aronson

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Danielson: A Family Movie

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1 - 7 (sorted by date)
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... it's hard to imagine anyone not in the actual family (or at least the presold family of fans) being interested enough to stick it out for the entire hour and 45 minutes.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles CityBeat | comment Comment
01/21/07
Andy Klein
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

Shot on digital and layered with animated segments, performance footage and clips from Smith family home movies, Family Movie unfolds with a gentle, justified confidence in the power of its subject.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
01/19/07
Ernest Hardy
Ernest Hardy
L.A. Weekly

Aronson's film is a fond portrait, loaded with bizarre, haunting music and Smith's off-kilter inspirations.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
01/18/07
Michael Ordoņa
Michael Ordoņa
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

What Danielson doesn't do enough of is reveal [Daniel] Smith's music on its own terms.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
12/15/06
Tom Keogh
Tom Keogh
Seattle Times

J L Aronson's documentary is about Daniel Smith, a musician who performs Christian music that is a world away from most of what is heard under that label.

comment Comment
12/14/06
Neil Genzlinger
Neil Genzlinger
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

From his irritating squeak of a voice to an infantile stage presence that includes dressing himself as a multifruit-bearing tree, Smith's comical incompetence wins him the adoration of adolescent misfits.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
12/14/06
Bill White
Bill White
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

There is an undeniable quirky appeal to the creative world of Daniel Smith, though those who hope a behind-the-scenes look will explain his motivation or personality won't find the enigma resolved here.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
03/14/06
Dennis Harvey
Dennis Harvey
Variety
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