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Magnolia film image; concerned-looking person against a blue background

Magnolia

If There Will Be Blood has eclipsed Magnolia as PTA’s most highly praised movie, this deeply personal 1999 California opus is ripe for rediscovery. TWBB is a vertical, linear story, trained on larger than life oilman Daniel Plainview. Magnolia, by contrast, unfurls like a flower, in every direction. It’s the story of a dying TV producer (Jason Robards), his male nurse (Philip Seymour Hoffman), his much younger, second wife (Julianne Moore), his estranged son, a sex guru (Tom Cruise in his greatest single performance), and also of two child game show quiz kids, past and present (PTA worked on a similar show as a teenager), a TV host (Philip Baker Hall), his estranged daughter (Melora Walters), her new boyfriend (John C Reilly)…

In sum, there are enough characters here to furnish a soap opera for several seasons, crisscrossing the San Fernando Valley in search of either recognition or reconciliation. Anderson keeps us invested in each of these strands, using the songs of Aimee Mann as a unifying thread. He takes big swings here, it’s his riskiest film, but if you are willing to go with it the pay-off is huge.

Enthralling and exhilarating.

Time Out

Magnolia is a plea for kindness — especially between parents and children. It appeals to the emotional heart rather than the logical brain, but there’s true greatness here — it’s a rare movie, about which one can feel true passion.

Andrew O’Hehir, Daily Telegraph

You don’t have to like everything [Anderson] does, but if you enjoy seeing the walls rattled and the roof raised in the Hollywood citadel, you’ve got to love it.

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

 

Media Partner

Director

Paul Thomas Anderson

Cast

Philip Baker Hall, Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman, William H Macy, Julianne Moore, Melora Walters

Credits
Country of Origin

USA

Year

1999

Language

English

19+
188 min

Book Tickets

Thursday August 27

7:00 pm
Hearing Assistance
VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema
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Credits

Executive Producer

Michael De Luca, Lynn Harris

Producer

Paul Thomas Anderson, JoAnne Sellar

Screenwriter

Paul Thomas Anderson

Cinematography

Robert Elswit

Editor

Dylan Tichenor

Original Music

Jon Brion

Production Design

William Arnold, Mark Bridges

90s, Baby!

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Wayne's World

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VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Unforgiven

Dir. Clint Eastwood
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VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Bram Stoker's Dracula

Dir. Francis Coppola
127 min

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VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Malcolm X

Dir. Spike Lee
201 min

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VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould

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93 min

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VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Dazed and Confused

Dir. Richard Linklater
102 min

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VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Groundhog Day

Dir. Harold Ramis
101 min

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VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Short Cuts

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187 min

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VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Chungking Express + Chen Baker: Cantopop

162 min

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VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Three Colours: Blue

Dir. Krzysztof Kieślowski
98 min

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VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Three Colours: White

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91 min

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VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

The Last Seduction

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96 min

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VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Serial Mom

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95 min

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VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Schindler's List

Dir. Steven Spielberg
195 min

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Free event.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

The Shawshank Redemption

Dir. Frank Darabont
142 min

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VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Three Colours: Red

Dir. Krzysztof Kieślowski
99 min

Irène Jacob plays Valentine, a runway model living in Geneva, who crosses paths with a retired judge (Jean-Louis Trintignant) who's a bit of an eavesdropper. Initially repelled, she becomes intrigued by this man, as do we... Kieslowski's sublime adieu.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Chungking Express

Dir. Wong Kar-Wai
102 min

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VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Four Weddings and a Funeral

Dir. Mike Newell
118 min

Four Weddings begins with an onslaught of fucks. It's the first signal that this rom-com will break from tradition, despite the ritualized structural conceit described in the title. The witty screenplay is by Richard Curtis — it's still his best.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

The Lion King

Dir. Roger Allers & Rob Minkof
88 min

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Image: © Disney, 1994

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

To Die For

Dir. Gus Van Sant
106 min

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VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre