Wildflowers is a 1999 drama film directed by Melissa Painter and starring Clea DuVall, Daryl Hannah, Tomas Arana and Eric Roberts. It features former United States Poet Laureate Robert Hass reading some of his own poetry.[1] Filmed in San Francisco and Marin County, California, it was given a limited theatrical release and received a mixed reception from critics.

Wildflowers
Region 1 DVD cover
Directed byMelissa Painter
Written byMelissa Painter
Produced byTimothy Bird
Thomas Garvin
Zachary Matz
StarringClea DuVall
Daryl Hannah
Tomas Arana
Eric Roberts
CinematographyPaul Ryan
Edited byBrent White
Music bySam Bisbee
Distributed byFries Film Group
Release dates
  • May 15, 1999 (1999-05-15) (Cannes)
  • September 1, 2000 (2000-09-01) (U.S.)
Running time
98 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$5,365 (sub total)

Premise

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Clea DuVall stars as Cally, a 17-year-old who has been raised by her father, not knowing her mother. When Cally meets a mysterious woman called Sabine, she becomes obsessed with her.

Cast

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Distribution

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Wildflowers premiered at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. It was given a limited theatrical release in the United States on September 1, 2000. In the US it grossed $5,365.[2]

Reception

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At the 2000 SXSW Film Festival, Melissa Painter won the SXSW Competition Award for best Narrative Feature.[3] Review website Rotten Tomatoes gave Wildflowers a rating of 57% based on seven reviews.[4] Metacritic gave it a "generally negative" rating of 28% based on seven reviews.[5] In a review for The New York Times, A. O. Scott called the film dreamy and impressionistic, but ultimately empty. He praised Clea DuVall for her "intuitive grasp of emotion".[1] Writing for The Austin Chronicle, Barry Johnson called the film poignant. He praised Painter for her "lyrical, intimate direction" and DuVall for her "impressive, nuanced performance".[6] Christopher Null called the film bizarre and incomprehensible, "utterly hopeless as cinema".[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b Scott, A. O. (September 1, 2000). "Film Review; A 60's Marin County Map With Vietnam Left Off". The New York Times. Retrieved October 9, 2007.
  2. ^ "Business Data for Wildflowers". IMDb. Retrieved October 9, 2007.
  3. ^ Zeman, Josh. "South by Southwest Film Festival". Filmmaker Magazine. Retrieved January 25, 2008.
  4. ^ "Wildflowers (1999)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 9, 2007.
  5. ^ "Wildflowers (2000): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved October 9, 2007.
  6. ^ Johnson, Barry (March 10, 2000). "SXSW Film Festival: Five in Focus". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved January 25, 2008.
  7. ^ Null, Christopher (2000). "Wild Flowers Movie Review". FilmCritic.com. Retrieved January 25, 2008.
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