Year by the Sea
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAlexander Janko
Written byAlexander Janko
Based onA Year by the Sea: Thoughts of an Unfinished Woman
by Joan Anderson
Produced byLaura Goodenow
Alexander Janko
Dale Armin Johnson
Bill Latka
StarringKaren Allen
CinematographyBryan Papierski
Edited byNoriko Sakamoto
Music byAlexander Janko
Production
companies
Montabela Productions
Rivet Entertainment LLC
Distributed byReal Women Make Waves
Release date
  • April 9, 2016 (2016-04-09) (Vail)
Running time
114 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Year by the Sea is a 2016 American independent comedy-drama film starring Karen Allen, Yannick Bisson, S. Epatha Merkerson, Michael Cristofer, and Celia Imrie.[1][2][3][4][5] It was written, directed and scored by composer Alexander Janko in his directorial debut.[6] The film is based on Joan Anderson's 2000 The New York Times best-selling memoir A Year by the Sea: Thoughts of an Unfinished Woman.[7][8]

Premise

Hoping to reclaim who she was before marriage and children, an empty nester retreats to Cape Cod where she embarks upon a quest to set herself free.

Cast

Locations

Year by the Sea was filmed in Massachusetts at various locations on Cape Cod, including Wellfleet, Orleans, Chatham and Eastham.[9]

Release

Year by the Sea" opened at the 2016 Vail Film Festival in Vail, Colorado, where the film won the Audience Award and Karen Allen was honored with the Vanguard Award for her role, along with her lifetime achievements in film.[10] The film played at a total of 18 film festivals throughout 2016, earning a total of 16 awards. In January 2017, the film was released by independent distributor Real Women Make Waves at select Florida theaters. In May 2017, the film was released in select New England theaters. In September 2017, the film launched its national release at Lincoln Plaza Cinemas in New York City, ultimately playing in more than 100 theaters nationwide. In late 2017, the film became available for rent and purchase on Amazon.com in the US and on iTunes in the US and Canada. It launched for rent/sale on Amazon UK in July 2019.

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 50% based on 24 reviews.[11] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 43 out of 100 based on nine critic reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[12]

Glenn Kenny of The New York Times gave the film a positive review, calling it "refreshing in its depiction of diverse, older female characters."[13] Sheri Linden of The Hollywood Reporter also gave the film a positive review, saying, "In Allen's spark and grace, there's a real sense of discovery."[14] Alan Scherstuhl of The Village Voice wrote that "the film has soothing, even therapeutic value."[15] Conversely, Bill Goodykoontz of The Arizona Republic awarded the film a score of two stars out of five,[16] and The Washington Post's Susan Wloszczyna gave the film two stars out of four.[17] Ty Burr of The Boston Globe awarded the film one-and-a-half stars.[18] Al Alexander of The Patriot Ledger gave the film a negative review and wrote that it "is little more than a lame excuse for good actors to embarrass themselves by uttering eye-rolling bromides about aging gracefully."[19]

Awards

Audience Choice: Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival;[20] Naperville Independent Film Festival;[21] Berkshire International Film Festival (tie);[22] Vail Film Festival[23]

Best Feature: On Location: Memphis International Film and Music Festival[24]

Best Screenplay: Grand Prize - Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival;[20] (Honors) Outstanding Achievement - Newport Beach Film Festival[25]

Best Music: Alexander Janko - Hamilton Film Festival[26]

Overall Awards: Carpe Diem Andretta Award - Woodstock Film Festival[27]

Actor Awards: Best Actress (Karen Allen) — Naperville Independent Film Festival & Hamilton Film Festival;[21][26] Women in Film Award (Karen Allen) — St. Louis International Film Festival;[28] Creative Vision Award (Karen Allen) — Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival;[20] Vanguard Award (Karen Allen) — Vail Film Festival;[29] Best Ensemble Cast — Best Actors Film Festival[30]

References

  1. ^ "Year by the Sea". IMDb. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  2. ^ Linden, Sheri (September 6, 2017). "'Year by the Sea': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  3. ^ Ayuso, Pilar (February 23, 2017). "'Year by the sea', sensiblero y demodé". El Nuevo Herald. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  4. ^ Olszewski, Tricia (September 8, 2017). "'Year by the Sea' Review: Female Empowerment Comedy Is Insufferably Twee". TheWrap. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  5. ^ Goldstein, Gary (December 28, 2017). "Review Karen Allen is a wonder, but she deserves better than 'Year by the Sea'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  6. ^ Means, Sean P. (September 28, 2017). "'Year by the Sea' is a soggy tale of self-discovery". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  7. ^ "Paperback Best Sellers: October 29, 2000". The New York Times. October 29, 2000. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  8. ^ Horwitz, Simi (September 6, 2017). "Film Review: Year by the Sea". Film Journal International. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  9. ^ "Movie Review: 'Year By The Sea' Proves That It's Never Too Late To Reclaim Your Life". The Enterprise. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  10. ^ "Vail Film Festival announces 2016 award winners". Vail Daily. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  11. ^ "Year by the Sea". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  12. ^ "Year by the Sea Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  13. ^ Kenny, Glenn (September 7, 2017). "'Review: 'Year by the Sea' in Search of Answers to Life's Riddles". The New York Times. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  14. ^ Linden, Sheri (September 6, 2017). "'Year by the Sea': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  15. ^ "Tracking Shots: This Week in Film". The Village Voice. September 5, 2017. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  16. ^ Goodykoontz, Bill (September 21, 2017). "'Year by the Sea' stranded by cliches, bad writing". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  17. ^ Wloszczyna, Susan (September 21, 2017). "'Year by the Sea': Only sporadic melodrama in this vicarious trip to Cape Cod". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  18. ^ Burr, Ty (September 21, 2017). "Karen Allen is the one true thing in 'Year by the Sea'". The Boston Globe. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  19. ^ Alexander, Al (September 21, 2017). "Movie review: 'Year' is lost at sea". The Patriot Ledger. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  20. ^ a b c "2016 Film Festival Award Winners Announced". Rhode Island International Film Festival. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  21. ^ a b "Naperville Independent Film Festival (2016)". IMDb. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  22. ^ "The Berkshire International Film Festival Wraps an Eleventh Star-Studded Year". Berkshire International Film Festival. June 21, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  23. ^ "Vail Film Festival announces 2016 award winners". Vail Daily. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  24. ^ Hodgdon, Dan (September 1, 2016). "17th Annual On Location: Memphis Winners Revealed". On Location: Memphis. Archived from the original on July 29, 2019. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  25. ^ "17th Annual NBFF Announces 2016 Award Winners". Newport Beach Film Festival. May 2, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  26. ^ a b "Awards Archive". Hamilton Film Festival. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  27. ^ "Woodstock Film Festival (2016)". IMDb. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  28. ^ "2016 SLIFF Awards". Cinema St. Louis. Archived from the original on August 4, 2019. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  29. ^ "Vail Film Festival announces 2016 award winners". Vail Daily. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  30. ^ "Best Actors Film Festival (2016)". IMDb. Retrieved July 28, 2019.

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