“The kids need a future,” a city council member tells Dorothea (Tyne Daly) half way through the first of Patrick Wang’s two-part A Bread Factory: “they need to learn about the world.” Forty years prior to the exchange, Dorothea and her partner Greta (Elizabeth Henry-Macari) bought a bakery in the fictional upstate New York town of Checkford, and turned it into the Bread Factory, an arts center the married couple has fought hard to keep afloat through the years. Cash and funds have historically been finite and resources volatile—but while stage director Dorothea and actress Greta powered through the decades with indomitable determination and grit, the creation of a bigger arts institute in the opposite side of town, led by a couple of world-renowned Chinese performance artists, May Ray (Janet Hsieh and George Young), is poised to spell the end of the Factory’s illustrious work. The center...
- 11/26/2018
- MUBI
Chicago –Director Todd Solondz has made a career out of not shying away from the most uncomfortable negativities of life. From extreme disconnection (“Happiness”) to pedophilia (“Life During Wartime”) to the sad rejection of pre-teen years (“Welcome to the Dollhouse”), Solondz pulls no punches. He achieves that harsh intent yet again in “Wiener-Dog.”
Rating: 4.0/5.0
This is an anthology film, about a group of disparate people who somehow own the same female dachshund dog (the long bodied wiener dogs). It contains a quasi-sequel to “Welcome to the Dollhouse” (1995) – with Greta Gerwig portraying main character Dawn Wiener as an adult – and it tests the patience of any dog loving person as the pooch goes through a series of sorrowful circumstances. But this is what real life is, and Solondz to his credit is not afraid to expose it cinematically. It is tough stuff, and also tends toward the cynical dark side of human nature,...
Rating: 4.0/5.0
This is an anthology film, about a group of disparate people who somehow own the same female dachshund dog (the long bodied wiener dogs). It contains a quasi-sequel to “Welcome to the Dollhouse” (1995) – with Greta Gerwig portraying main character Dawn Wiener as an adult – and it tests the patience of any dog loving person as the pooch goes through a series of sorrowful circumstances. But this is what real life is, and Solondz to his credit is not afraid to expose it cinematically. It is tough stuff, and also tends toward the cynical dark side of human nature,...
- 7/20/2016
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Todd Solondz’s eighth film “Wiener-Dog” follows a single wiener dog on a life journey as he enters four separate domestic traps rife with dysfunctional and chaos: An uptight mother (Julie Delpy) and her fragile nine-year-old son (Keaton Nigel Cooke), the return of Dawn Weiner (now played by Greta Gerwig) and her classmate Brandon (played by Kiernan Culkin), a disgruntled film school professor (Danny DeVito), and a grumpy old grandmother (Ellen Burstyn) and her spoiled granddaughter (Zosia Mamet).
All of these stories explore Solondz’s recurring themes involving the futility of existence, the pain of suburban life, and the double punch of loneliness and regret. Watch an exclusive clip from the film below featuring Delpy’s character Dina teaching her son about spaying their new dog.
Read More: Sundance Review: ‘Wiener-Dog’ is Todd Solondz’s Angriest Movie
Todd Solondz first broke through with his 1995 film “Welcome to the Dollhouse,” about a shy,...
All of these stories explore Solondz’s recurring themes involving the futility of existence, the pain of suburban life, and the double punch of loneliness and regret. Watch an exclusive clip from the film below featuring Delpy’s character Dina teaching her son about spaying their new dog.
Read More: Sundance Review: ‘Wiener-Dog’ is Todd Solondz’s Angriest Movie
Todd Solondz first broke through with his 1995 film “Welcome to the Dollhouse,” about a shy,...
- 6/21/2016
- by Vikram Murthi
- Indiewire
Without fail, most Wiener-Dog reviews will start the same way: “How do you even begin to write about a Todd Solondz movie?” Yes, Solondz’s morose, glib sense of humor does present a stranger take on dramatic storytelling, but one question reigns supreme – does it work? You can be quirky, ambitious, and off-color for days, yet if execution falters, then all your absurdity is for nothing.
Like Wiener-Dog.
Solondz’s bleakest endeavor follows four different characters who all encounter an adorable Dachshund while they deal with life’s biggest questions. Young Remi’s (Keaton Nigel Cooke) curiosity is met with harsh answers, Dawn (Greta Gerwig) takes a roadtrip with an old crush, screenwriting instructor Dave Schmerz (Danny DeVito) tries to find passion once again, and Nana (Ellen Burstyn) deals with the mistakes of her past. Life might be getting them down, but they’ve always got their wiener to play...
Like Wiener-Dog.
Solondz’s bleakest endeavor follows four different characters who all encounter an adorable Dachshund while they deal with life’s biggest questions. Young Remi’s (Keaton Nigel Cooke) curiosity is met with harsh answers, Dawn (Greta Gerwig) takes a roadtrip with an old crush, screenwriting instructor Dave Schmerz (Danny DeVito) tries to find passion once again, and Nana (Ellen Burstyn) deals with the mistakes of her past. Life might be getting them down, but they’ve always got their wiener to play...
- 6/20/2016
- by Matt Donato
- We Got This Covered
Wiener-Dog, which has just premiered at Sundance, is "the eighth and perhaps most blithely eccentric feature to date from Todd Solondz," suggests Variety's Guy Lodge. Produced by Megan Ellison and Christine Vachon and shot by Ed Lachman, this collection of short stories connected by the titular dachshund stars Ellen Burstyn, Keaton Nigel Cooke, Kieran Culkin, Julie Delpy, Danny DeVito, Greta Gerwig, Tracy Letts, Zosia Mamet, Connor Long, Bridget Brown and Michael Shaw. We're collecting reviews as they come in. » - David Hudson...
- 1/23/2016
- Keyframe
Wiener-Dog, which has just premiered at Sundance, is "the eighth and perhaps most blithely eccentric feature to date from Todd Solondz," suggests Variety's Guy Lodge. Produced by Megan Ellison and Christine Vachon and shot by Ed Lachman, this collection of short stories connected by the titular dachshund stars Ellen Burstyn, Keaton Nigel Cooke, Kieran Culkin, Julie Delpy, Danny DeVito, Greta Gerwig, Tracy Letts, Zosia Mamet, Connor Long, Bridget Brown and Michael Shaw. We're collecting reviews as they come in. » - David Hudson...
- 1/23/2016
- Fandor: Keyframe
As uncomfortable a viewing experience it may be, the best films from Todd Solondz slowly reveal themselves with their character intricacies and distinct touches, burrowing deep inside as they replay in one’s mind. In his latest feature, Wiener-Dog, he’s crafted a series of incisive, perceptive vignettes mutually connected by the shifting owners of his title character. Aptly described by Solondz as Au Hasard Balthazar meets Benji, there’s no denying it bears his brand of humor and heartbreak in every scene.
After being dropped off at the local kennel by his owner, the first section finds the lovable dachshund as a gift to Remi (Keaton Nigel Cooke), a young boy recovering after being treated for cancer. As he learns the responsibilities of having the animal, which involves a cinematically unprecedented “Clair de Lune”-scored trail of dog shit, his mother, Dina (Julie Delpy), lectures on the necessities of putting the puppy to sleep.
After being dropped off at the local kennel by his owner, the first section finds the lovable dachshund as a gift to Remi (Keaton Nigel Cooke), a young boy recovering after being treated for cancer. As he learns the responsibilities of having the animal, which involves a cinematically unprecedented “Clair de Lune”-scored trail of dog shit, his mother, Dina (Julie Delpy), lectures on the necessities of putting the puppy to sleep.
- 1/23/2016
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
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