Rotten Tomatoes Logo Do you want to see ‘The Windmill Movie’?

The Windmill Movie (2008)

tomatometer

67

Average Rating: 6.4/10
Critic Reviews: 6
Fresh: 4 | Rotten: 2

No consensus yet.

audience

52

liked it
Average Rating: 3.2/5
User Ratings: 1,543

My Rating

Movie Info

As conceived and edited together by Alexander Olch, this documentary pays homage to the life of the late filmmaker and professor Richard P. "Dick" Rogers (Pictures from a Revolution). Director of the Harvard University Film Study Center, Rogers died in July 2001. He left behind boxes upon boxes of footage intended for an unrealized autobiographical film; working together with Rogers's wife and creative partner, Susan Meiselas (who assumed the role of producer here), Olch began assembling the

Unrated, 1 hr. 20 min.

Documentary, Drama, Special Interest

Mar 22, 2011

Film Forum

All Critics (22) | Top Critics (6) | Fresh (19) | Rotten (4) | DVD (1)

A remarkable documentary attempt to reconcile Rogers's sense of personal, professional, and artistic malaise, which culminated in his decades-long attempt to make a film about his life.

July 16, 2009 Full Review Source: Boston Globe | Comment
Boston Globe
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Olch doesn't make it easy to identify with Rogers and his stylish existence, but that choice begins to pay off gradually as the fragments start to add up to something more.

July 1, 2009 Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | Comment
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The examined life may be the only one worth living, but as The Windmill Movie profoundly illustrates, it's no guarantee of happiness.

June 18, 2009 Full Review Source: Newsday | Comment
Newsday
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A warm portrait of the fascinating Richard P. Rogers, an experimental filmmaker.

June 17, 2009 Full Review Source: New York Post | Comment
New York Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The Windmill Movie is a version of the autobiography of Richard P. Rogers that might have been.

June 17, 2009 Comment
New York Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

In finishing what was left undone, Olch's tribute to his mentor is more an act of hubris than humility.

June 16, 2009 Full Review Source: Village Voice | Comment
Village Voice
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A better question, it seems to me, is not whether one has a right to complain about one's life, but whether or not one can make an interesting film about it. There's not much evidence here that Rogers would ever have succeeded...

June 28, 2011 Full Review Source: Playback:stl | Comment
Playback:stl

In embracing Richard Rogers' style and adopting his tone, Alexander Olch creates a documentary that's as much a respectful, moving tribute to Rogers, as it is the projected realization of Rogers' intended cinematic autobiography.

March 19, 2011 Full Review Source: About.com | Comment
About.com

Late in this meandering film, Rogers' romantic infidelities and the onset of illness add some much-needed dynamics, but even when it's just shooting the breeze, The Windmill Movie is captivating.

September 30, 2009 Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | Comment
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

This movie should be unbearable; instead it's grotesquely fascinating. Rogers' striking early short Quarry precedes the main feature, demonstrating the man's considerable talent.

July 31, 2009 Full Review Source: Oregonian | Comment
Oregonian

Although the format will be familiar to fans of Tarnation and Capturing the Friedmans, the result comes closer to Fellini's autobiographical 8 1/2.

July 23, 2009 Full Review Source: Seattle Times | Comment
Seattle Times

Unfortunately, a man died (from cancer) in the making of this explicitly introspective life tome; it was the only way he saw to complete his masterpiece.

July 16, 2009 Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | Comment
Boston Phoenix

There hasn't been as good a film of this type in this country since Tarnation, which means Olch's movie is a treat and a surprise no one should pass on.

June 25, 2009 Comment
L.A. Weekly

The ongoing, deeply personal introspection that permeates the picture gives it the haunting feel of a séance.

June 22, 2009 Full Review Source: Critic's Notebook | Comment
Critic's Notebook

One gets swept up in the first soapy, then tragic melodrama of the life matter that overwhelmed Rogers' desire/compulsion/ability to make art.

June 21, 2009 Full Review Source: Cinematical | Comment
Cinematical

Maybe Edwards has some crazy intent to try and offer his reel to God himself and get a pass. Whatever the case, he leaves one heck of a masterpiece for us mortals.

June 19, 2009 Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | Comment
Boxoffice Magazine

There's something worth valuing in a documentary that would be a worthy companion piece to both Grey Gardens and Synecdoche, New York.

June 18, 2009 Full Review Source: Metromix.com | Comment
Metromix.com

From the wall-to-wall piano score to Rogers' tedious navel-gazing, The Windmill Movie renders prosaic and pretentious the churning conflict behind the process of artistic creation.

June 18, 2009 Full Review Source: AV Club | Comment
AV Club

a heady combination of Synecdoche, New York, Annie Hall, Peeping Tom, and It's All True but all the more compelling because The Windmill Movie is all true.

June 17, 2009 Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | Comment
Filmcritic.com

A mind-bending autobiography by proxy.

June 17, 2009 Full Review Source: Time Out New York | Comment
Time Out New York
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for The Windmill Movie

Interesting. Wallace Shawn and Bob Balaban could probably switch roles in any movie!They are both good/ So is Susan Meiselas.Alexander Olch's direction is good too.This movie is... interesting!

June 19, 2009
Olliewoodfilms
Abbie Cotton

Fascinating movie about a man incapable of making a movie. Very cool how they tried to piece all the footage together and how compelling yet melancholy as well.

August 18, 2011

The Windmill Movie Quotes

No quotes approved yet for The Windmill Movie. Logged in users can submit quotes.

Latest News for The Windmill Movie

June 18, 2009:
Critics Consensus: Year One Fails To Beget Laughs
This week at the movies, we've got Biblical bloopers (Year One, starring Jack Black and Michael...

What's Hot On RT

Critics Consensus
Critics Consensus

Journey 2 Not Worth the Trip

Luis Guzman
Luis Guzman

What are his 10 best movies ever?

<em>Amazing Spider-Man</em>
Amazing Spider-Man

See the all-new action-packed trailer!

The Avengers!
The Avengers!

Five new Marvelous pictures

Top Movie Quizzes

LEGO Mania: 2011 Best Picture Nominees
by natalie - 18,590 taken
created 12 months ago
How Much Do You Know About Leonardo DiCaprio?
by natalie - 44,505 taken
created 15 months ago
Pixar Movies!
by jdikwlzviv - 27,194 taken
created 15 months ago
The Wizards of Harry Potter
by jdikwlzviv - 27,687 taken
created 15 months ago
Help | About | Jobs | Newsletter | Critics Submission | API | Licensing | Blog | Developers | Mobile