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Movies / On DVD / 51 Birch Street
51 Birch Street

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51 Birch Street (2006)

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Reviews Counted: 36

Fresh: 35

Rotten:1

Average Rating: 7.9/10

Consensus: A filmmaker's investigation of his parents' marriage renders an ordinary subject surprisingly powerful.

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 90 mins

Genre: Education/General Interest

Theatrical Release:Oct 18, 2006 Limited

Synopsis: Documentary filmmaker Doug Block had every reason to believe his parent’s 54-year marriage was a good one. So he isn’t prepared when, just a few months after his mothers’ unexpected death, his... Documentary filmmaker Doug Block had every reason to believe his parent’s 54-year marriage was a good one. So he isn’t prepared when, just a few months after his mothers’ unexpected death, his 83-year old father, Mike, phones to announce that he’s moving to Florida to live with "Kitty", his secretary from 40 years before. Always close to his mother and equally distant from his father, he’s stunned and suspicious. When Mike and Kitty marry and sell the longtime family home, Doug returns to suburban Long Island with camera in hand for one last visit. And there, among the lifetime of memories being packed away forever, he discovers 3 large boxes filled with his moms’ daily diaries going back 35 years. Realizing he has only a few short weeks before the movers come and his dad will be gone for good, the veteran documentarian sticks around, determined to investigate the mystery of his parents’ marriage. Through increasingly candid conversations with family members and friends, and constantly surprising diary revelations, Doug finally comes to peace with two parents who are far more complex and troubled than he ever imagined. Both unexpectedly funny and heartbreaking, 51 Birch Street is the first-person account of Block’s unpredictable journey through a whirlwind of dramatic life-changing events: the death of his mother, the uncovering of decades of family secrets, and the ensuing reconciliation with his father. What begins as his own intimate, autobiographical story, soon evolves into a broader meditation on the universal themes of love, marriage, fidelity and the mystery of family. 51 Birch Street spans 60 years and 3 generations, and weaves together hundreds of faded snapshots, 8mm home movies and two decades of verité footage. The result is a timeless tale of what can happen when our most fundamental assumptions about family are suddenly called into question. -- © 51 Birch Street. [More]

Director: Doug Block

Director: Doug Block
Studio: Truly Indie

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Release:

Aug 14, 2007

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Reviews for 51 Birch Street

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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
04/23/09
Michael Atkinson
Boston Phoenix

If it is the objective of a work of art to hold up a mirror to our own lives, then 51 Birch Street, in all its makeshift craftsmanship, is a great work of art.

Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
05/18/08
Beverly Berning
culturevulture.net

A portrait of a marriage, Capturing the Friedmans-style.

Full Review Source: Washington City Paper | comment Comment
02/29/08
Tricia Olszewski
Washington City Paper

a documentary for every Baby Boomer, and every Boomer parent, to ponder

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
11/08/07
Don Willmott
Filmcritic.com

Leads us through a nice range of emotions and invites us to contemplate our own parents' lives

Full Review Source: Movie Habit | comment Comment
08/30/07
Marty Mapes
Movie Habit

There is nothing more mysterious than the secrets of the people around us, and from the unraveling of this mystery Doug forms a beautiful portrait of an unfulfilled woman.

Full Review Source: DVD Review | comment Comment
08/17/07
Felix Gonzalez Jr.
DVD Review
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
07/21/07
culturevulture.net

Unfolds like an epistolary psychological mystery. Little about or in this movie is as simple as it seems.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
05/10/07
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Doug Block delves effectively into family mysteries without offending or showing disrespect to any of the parties involved.

Full Review Source: Cinematical | comment Comment
04/08/07
Jette Kernion
Cinematical

In families, especially, perceptions are relative . . . reminds us that the seemingly mundane, right at our dinner tables, can offer its own special, bittersweet poetry.

Full Review Source: Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada) | comment Comment
02/11/07
Brian Gibson
Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada)

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
02/03/07
Erin Clements
Time Out New York

It gradually turns into a vivid demonstration that truth can be stronger than fiction, and that compromise is necessary in any lasting relationship.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
01/12/07
John Hartl
Seattle Times

51 Birch Street, like the best of the recent wave of personal documentaries, is both a compelling story and an eye-opening bit of social history.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
01/11/07
Sean Axmaker
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

The overall effect makes one ponder how much we really know about our parents, as well as how much we really want to know.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
12/30/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Just as Doug starts looking at his own marriage through new eyes after reading about his parents', so will most viewers. "51 Birch Street" could be any address in America.

Full Review Source: Capital Times (Madison, WI) | comment Comment
12/15/06
Rob Thomas
Capital Times (Madison, WI)

The film grows in power as it goes, finding ever more universal levels of feeling.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
11/24/06
Ty Burr
Boston Globe
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Through haunting home movies, Mina's diaries and interviews with Mike, a raw, riveting portrait emerges of what a child sees in his parents' relationship and what lies beneath.

Full Review Source: Rolling Stone | comment Comment
11/13/06
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

We'd all be better off if we could find our grace without a camera's obstruction, but ironically, Block's film provides a useful direction to see our way.

Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | comment Comment
11/07/06
Peter Canavese
Groucho Reviews

Since the trend of documentary films as a vehicle for the camera operator's family therapy seems firmly established, we can only hope it produces more stories of this caliber.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
11/04/06
Colin Covert
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A resounding success because it touches on things every child has wondered about on the road to adulthood.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
11/03/06
Ruthe Stein
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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