In this historical drama with music, a gifted singer (Oleg Yankovsky) from a Jewish village in Russia travels to the United States in 1927, leaving behind his young daughter Fegele (Claudia Lander-Duke). Father has promised his family that he'll send for Fegele as soon as he can, but authorities make life hard for the Jewish population, and Fegele is forced to flee with relatives to England. Fegele is adopted by a British family, which renames her Suzie and raises her with little acknowledgement
of her ethnic heritage. As she grows to adulthood, Suzie (Christina Ricci) becomes a gifted vocalist and gets a job singing in a nighclub revue in Paris. Before she leaves England, her adopted family presents Suzie with a picture of her father, still believed to be living in America, and she decides she will go to the United States some day and find him. In Paris, Suzie makes friends with Lola (Cate Blanchett), a Russian showgirl in the market for a rich husband. Lola becomes involved with opera star Dante Dominio (John Turturro), and soon both Lola and Suzie are extras in Dominio's company, managed by Felix Perlman (Harry Dean Stanton). As Lola takes up with Dante, Suzie falls for Cesar (Johnny Depp), a poor but handsome gypsy horse trainer. Suzie soon becomes involved with the handsome Cesar, but their happiness proves to be short-lived when the Nazi war machine begins to roll through France. The Man Who Cried was written and directed by Sally Potter, who previously won acclaim for another unusual historical piece, Orlando. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
If [Potter] personally, in her 40s, can go to Argentina and become a tango dancer, then we can't complain about anything that happens to Suzie. Not that we'd want to.
Potter, unlike most, doesn't batter you with what she wants you to feel. As the lyrics of a song, this film is poetry. I suspect it will linger with me long after its details would normally fade. Beautiful.
This is a fairly basic Nazis = bad film. There's not much in the way of political acumen, and the characters and their storylines never escape from basic types. The acting is good until the characters begin the worst lip synching in film history. Potter's dialogue is fairly stilted, but the art direction and
cinematography is good.As a whole, the film needed to escape cliche and take greater advantage of its cast, all of whom are capable of strong, nuanced performances.
September 6, 2010
Jim Hunter
Super Reviewer
Really good movie. Depp and Ricci have a really intsense love scene. Depp tends to look at her longingly for a good 2/3s of the film. But I'll forgive..he's lovely. And Blanchett does a really flighty portrayal of a early 20th century gold-digger. All in all..great story of perserverance with a stellar cast..but
honestly...I don't understand the title.
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