'When Did You Last See Your Father?' Review

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Jim Broadbent & Colin Firth star in Anand Tucker's film.  Watch the trailer:  http://www.sonyclassics.com/whendidyoulastseeyourfather/

When Was The Last Time You Saw Your Father?  is based on a famous British memoir I haven't read. This movie was disturbing but not how you would think.  It's not a horror film but a well-crafted, bittersweet story about a son coming to terms with his father's death.  Colin Firth plays an award-winning poet who had a strained relationship with his rascally dad so ably played by Jim Broadbent. There's plenty of flashbacks explaining why Firth has so many mixed feelings and unresolved issues being a son to a man who meant so much to many.  Only after his death does Firth find the truth about his complex father or close to it, and comfort to his inner turmoil. There's some unanswered questions left behind but perhaps some things should be left unsaid and it's time to move on. Perhaps some things should be said while people are alive.  No easy answers in this movie or in life....

     This movie does have some sly humor but it hit home...rather too hard...  and left me in tears.  My father died almost two years ago at 95 and like the film's father who wasted away from cancer.  Dad wasn't anything like Broadbent's character and I'm not a famous poet but there were some unresolved issues at the time of his death. Hurt and pride are powerful enemies that don't heal wounds. Maybe some day I will write about him like Blake Morrison did with his father but for now, this movie made me miss Dad more than ever and regret certain things that happened between us..... 

    When Was The Last Time You Saw Your Father?  has so many good performances in one movie and its leisurely pacing builds to an emotional punch. You will think of several moments after you leave. We didn't take Mom because she doesn't care for British films using slang and we thought the cancer scenes would be too much for her. As if they weren't bad enough for us...