Around the Bend (2004)

Around the Bend concerns four generations of Lair men. There's eccentric patriarch Henry (Michael Caine), prodigal son Turner (Christopher Walken), bitter grandson Jason (Josh Lucas), and great-grandson Zach (Jonah Bobo). Shortly after Turner arrives in L.A. for a surprise visit, the ailing Henry dies. The remaining three take off on the road trip he had insisted on before his untimely passing. Jason is none too pleased--after all, his father ran out on him 30 years ago--but it was his Henry's dying wish. So there they are on the way to New Mexico, where long-buried secrets will finally be revealed. Heartwarming, if predictable, Around the Bend represents the softer side of its three leads and Walken is particularly effective in an uncharacteristic role (i.e., miles away from The Deer Hunter). His Turner is a bit odd, to be sure, but mostly he's just a regular guy who's made a few--rather substantial--mistakes. --Kathleen C. Fennessy Amazon.com

From Death Valey to Albuquerque and some desolate rock in New Mexico

Four generations of fathers and sons without any wife, mother or daughter (vaguely one in the far distance at the end of the film). When the oldest one of these four musketeers, the great grandfather, decides to die he prepares, under the vigilant eye of his great grand son, the rite, ritual and mourning ceremony he wants for after his death. And there is a big chunk of money behind it if it is respected, though it is far from being known from the very start. The real objective is to bring his son, the grand father, to confessing what he did to his son, the father, which he will eventually do just before dying in his turn on the way to the rock where he "knew" his wife, his son's mother, where a new ritual will take place but only with the last two generations of the tribe, the father and the son. The point here is that the film is never emotional. It is funny most of the time and each desire appears as a whim, a caprice, and they probably are, at least up to the moment when some deep motivation comes to the surface, like the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants. Some of the scenery is beautiful in California, Arizona and New Mexico. It is true I would have liked a slightly more emotional treatment, even more physical, because there is such a level of reserve and shyness that some elements are nothing but a vague whisper behind a loud music and we hardly get it. The film is also funny for the systematic re-visitation of the music of the 60s, of the hippy times.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines
January 31, 2008

quiet little gem of a film

If you need lots of action in your movies or a huge story arc, this might not be for you. But if you like great acting, quirky charcters and sweet, unexpected moments that will touch you, watch this movie! July 8, 2007

Fathers and Sons, Love and Forgiveness

It's just that it's so true to the story line. The movie moves inevitably, in measured moments, toward the final words between father and son that leave us feeling drained and redeemed. It's wacky and has moments of madness, like the friend's mother who has dementia and disrupts the reading of the will, part of which is written on Post-It notes. But the defining moment of sweetness that signals the son's immediate, unquestioning forgiveness of the father's long-ago cruel act, leaves the viewer gently stunned at how right we humans can get it, once in a very great while. It's about how fathers and sons can love each other wholly and completely, no matter what, and it's about how that love, and the healing it brings, can be such a fine thing. February 26, 2007

Good cast, good story, funny and tugs at your heart

What a great movie for me to discover, and I wonder why I missed it before. A great cast with Michael Caine and Christopher Walken. Both have great roles, good scripts, and good acting. Michale Caine plays the Grandfather who has a shattered family that re-unite at the very end of his life. Christopher Walken is the absentee son who returns unexpectedly, Josh Lucas the grandson, and Johna Bobo the great grandson. With Caine's death, he sends his "Tribe" on a journey as his last wish. With the journey comes the runiting of a family, mending of souls, and a whole lot of Fried Chicken. This has plenty of laughs, and several twists. Even though Michael Caine is in the movie for only about 15 minutes, his role has got to be one of his best pieces ever done. Christopher Walken is his own stellar self, funny yet dark, just what his role needed. Josh Lucas plays his role of bitter son to a T, and Jonah Bobo is excellent in the innocent child slot. I highly recommend this movie.
September 11, 2006

Intimate

This is what is known as a "mid-sized movie", full of recognizable, but good, character actors, engaging dialog, strong intimacy, and no need to dazzle and impact a viewpoint of the audience. As that, it is perfect.

The plot involves four generations of the Lair family, a cooky great-grandfather who deals with his impending death by thinking up alternative funerals, a grandfather who has been missing for decades due to a history of alcoholism and theivery, a son who "just wants to be normal" (we always know how well that works in family-driven films...), and a grandson who wants to go along for the ride because it will be fun. Once the grandfather (Walken) comes home, the great-grandfather makes some plans... only he has to die to make sure his progenitors will carry it through. Enter a roadtrip, some spice-of-life, and a generous heaping of self-discovery, and voila, you get the prototype for this film.

I think what's interesting about this movie is that it's full of dazzling panoramic longshots of New Mexican sunsets, and yet in those shots maintains a close intimacy with the characters. Intimacy is the defining word in every case for this movie, as even when the characters are trying their darnedness to reject their family, their words bleed a need to be together. And they all know it.

This movie isn't the type to last on the conscious of many viewers because it's so quiet and devoted, but it has strong sticking power to those few who really enjoy its color and colorful characters.

--PolarisDiB June 20, 2006

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