Off the Map (2003)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Campbell Scott

Writers (WGA):

Joan Ackermann (play)
Joan Ackermann (screenplay)

Release Date:

4 April 2007 (Australia)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

A Very Powerful Place

Plot:

An 11-year-old girl watches her father come down with a crippling depression. Over one summer, she learns answers to several mysteries and comes to terms with love and loss. |

Plot Keywords:

Depression | Countryside | Boat | Anti Depressant | Coyote

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Amy Brenneman	...	Adult Bo
Valentina de Angelis	...	Young Bo
Joan Allen	...	Arlene
Sam Elliott	...	Charley
J.K. Simmons	...	George
Boots Southern	...	Rusty
J.D. Garfield	...	Romero
Jim True-Frost	...	William Gibbs
Matthew E. Montoya	...	Store Clerk
Kathy Griego	...	Consuela
William Hart McNicholas	...	Interpreter
Timothy Martinez	...	Priest
J.D. Hawkins	...	Jack
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kevin Skousen	...	Don

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for nudity and thematic elements.

Runtime:

108 min (Sundance Film Festival) | USA:105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Brazil:12 | Australia:M | Singapore:NC-16 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Argentina:13 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Holedigger Films

Quotes:

George: [about his psychiatrist] I might ask her to marry me.
Arlene: Marry you? George, really?
George: She's a gentle person. She's very thoughtful. She cares.
Arlene: You pay her to care. George, you ought not to confuse romance with business.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Anatomy of a Scene: Off the Map" (2004)

So glad this film finally got distribution!

I just loved this movie. Anyone who values character driven indie films lucky enough to be near a screening of this film should rush to see it. I left the film feeling I really knew these fascinating characters, and felt lucky to have known them for the last two hours. This film would be perfect for the film festival circuit, I don't know why they didn't go that route, for that would have built word of mouth for a better placed release. It deserves the art house circuit, but is screening in multiplexes that won't nurture it; and audiences that prefer this kind of movie never venture into these theaters. OK, the film: Magical New Mexican vistas, wonderful paintings, sensitive direction, breathtaking acting by all. Every character had their own story, whether it was coming-of-age, sensual awakening, recovery, or fulfillment. Yet all these stories seamlessly integrated into the whole. Just go and enjoy.