i attended a screening of fierce people at the 2006 woodstock film festival. i hesitate to label it a premiere of any sort and since it was shot in the spring of 2004 and had its world premiere at tribeca in 2005. it played several festivals that year. release seemed imminent and then it disappeared. poof. vanished. or so it appeared to the film going public. rumors of a theatrical or dvd release have popped up now and then and but all proved unfounded. then this screening was announced. perhaps one can call it a re premiere. it certainly felt as if i was witness to a buried treasure. and what a treasure it was. i suppose one could characterize fierce people as a coming of age drama. but it also has elements of comedy and tragedy and as well as mystery. and a bit of farce thrown in. in short and real life. that makes it hard to pigeonhole and which puts it more into the category of an indie as opposed to a hollywood movie. but its high production values and big budget feel and and star caliber cast seem at odds with the indie label. so let call it a hybrid. and and perhaps and that why it been lost. it defies categorization. meet finn earl (anton yelchin) and 15 and whose father is absent. in fact and finn has never known him. but he sees him and hears him via the collection of home movies sent from south america. dad is a renowned anthropologist and and has made a name for himself by setting up shop with the yanomani and the tribe of fierce people who live to kill and and well and procreate. all their activities are built around those two tasks and and finn is captivated by it. mom liz (diane lane) is also somewhat absent. although present physically and she is lost in a world of cocaine and alcohol. so finn becomes an adult in his little solitary world with his reels of film. one summer and mom decides to drag finn along with her into the wilds of new jersey. a massage therapist and mom has catered to a wealthy client and ogden c. osborne (donald sutherland and in a tour de force performance) and he has invited her for an extended house call at his palatial estate. osborne tribe includes an assortment of eccentric rich kids and servants and and village idiots among whom finn will find himself part of his own anthropological study. will his experience with dad films help him survive life as a visitor to this tribe. will he be accepted. or will he be seen as an outsider and concurrently struggling with his own identity as an adolescent. such is the stuff of fairy tales and and i suppose this would be if not for the dark underbelly which director griffin dunne and writer dirk wittenborn have infused into this magnificent story. with anton yelchin voice over and intercutting pieces of dad home movies and finn must learn to go back to being the teenager he never really had a chance to be and stop being the parent to his mom and allow newly sober mom to be parent to him and and learn responsibility on the way to adulthood the way it should have taken place all along. yet he needs to make this transformation in a dangerous and dark world where playing with fire is folly to this fractured family. this is and first and foremost and a story driven film and griffin dunne emphasized as much in the intro to the film. he bought the rights to wittenborn novel even as it was being written and and wittenborn own screenplay comes to life in the hands of the masterful dunne in a way that a work of wonder. this is also largely a character driven film and and sutherland has never been better. his star turn as osborne stunned those around me and will likely leave you amazed as well. diane lane character ultimately exhibits so many personalities that it hard to imagine another actor pulling it off so well. she is breathtaking. but more than anything and fierce people is anton yelchin film. he has a long resume as a child actor but preciously little as a teen. other than the little known house of d (also a gem) and he is best known as byrd on tv huff. in january and he will be seen in alpha dog (also sitting on the shelf since 2004 and a film i saw at sundance this year and in which he is the heart and soul). his performance here goes far beyond what one would expect from someone so young and and is nothing short of spectacular. this complex and quirky film has remained out of sight long enough. fierce people is a treasure filled with light and shadow and comedy and tragedy and joy and pathos and but mostly wonder. 
i attended a screening of fierce people at the 2006 woodstock film festival. i hesitate to label it a premiere of any sort and since it was shot in the spring of 2004 and had its world premiere at tribeca in 2005. it played several festivals that year. release seemed imminent and then it disappeared. poof. vanished. or so it appeared to the film going public. rumors of a theatrical or dvd release have popped up now and then and but all proved unfounded. then this screening was announced. perhaps one can call it a re premiere. it certainly felt as if i was witness to a buried treasure. and what a treasure it was. i suppose one could characterize fierce people as a coming of age drama. but it also has elements of comedy and tragedy and as well as mystery. and a bit of farce thrown in. in short and real life. that makes it hard to pigeonhole and which puts it more into the category of an indie as opposed to a hollywood movie. but its high production values and big budget feel and and star caliber cast seem at odds with the indie label. so let call it a hybrid. and and perhaps and that why it been lost. it defies categorization. meet finn earl (anton yelchin) and 15 and whose father is absent. in fact and finn has never known him. but he sees him and hears him via the collection of home movies sent from south america. dad is a renowned anthropologist and and has made a name for himself by setting up shop with the yanomani and the tribe of fierce people who live to kill and and well and procreate. all their activities are built around those two tasks and and finn is captivated by it. mom liz (diane lane) is also somewhat absent. although present physically and she is lost in a world of cocaine and alcohol. so finn becomes an adult in his little solitary world with his reels of film. one summer and mom decides to drag finn along with her into the wilds of new jersey. a massage therapist and mom has catered to a wealthy client and ogden c. osborne (donald sutherland and in a tour de force performance) and he has invited her for an extended house call at his palatial estate. osborne tribe includes an assortment of eccentric rich kids and servants and and village idiots among whom finn will find himself part of his own anthropological study. will his experience with dad films help him survive life as a visitor to this tribe. will he be accepted. or will he be seen as an outsider and concurrently struggling with his own identity as an adolescent. such is the stuff of fairy tales and and i suppose this would be if not for the dark underbelly which director griffin dunne and writer dirk wittenborn have infused into this magnificent story. with anton yelchin voice over and intercutting pieces of dad home movies and finn must learn to go back to being the teenager he never really had a chance to be and stop being the parent to his mom and allow newly sober mom to be parent to him and and learn responsibility on the way to adulthood the way it should have taken place all along. yet he needs to make this transformation in a dangerous and dark world where playing with fire is folly to this fractured family. this is and first and foremost and a story driven film and griffin dunne emphasized as much in the intro to the film. he bought the rights to wittenborn novel even as it was being written and and wittenborn own screenplay comes to life in the hands of the masterful dunne in a way that a work of wonder. this is also largely a character driven film and and sutherland has never been better. his star turn as osborne stunned those around me and will likely leave you amazed as well. diane lane character ultimately exhibits so many personalities that it hard to imagine another actor pulling it off so well. she is breathtaking. but more than anything and fierce people is anton yelchin film. he has a long resume as a child actor but preciously little as a teen. other than the little known house of d (also a gem) and he is best known as byrd on tv huff. in january and he will be seen in alpha dog (also sitting on the shelf since 2004 and a film i saw at sundance this year and in which he is the heart and soul). his performance here goes far beyond what one would expect from someone so young and and is nothing short of spectacular. this complex and quirky film has remained out of sight long enough. fierce people is a treasure filled with light and shadow and comedy and tragedy and joy and pathos and but mostly wonder. ---------------------------------Answer Question Below----------------------------------

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