40/41
Based on the comic book “Here”; by Richard McGuire
Story
A generational story about families and the special place they live in, sharing love, loss, laughter and life.. It was first published as a strip in the comic book magazine “Raw”; in 1989 and was expanded into a 300-page graphic novel in 2014.. [from the trailer] Richard: You know, if you want, you can spend the rest of the night here.
Features Toast of the Town (1948)
Margaret: I could spend the rest of my life here.. 'Here' is the fifth film directed by Robert Zemeckis starring Tom Hanks and while it is not a 2.5 hour epic spanning 3 decades like “Forrest Gump”, it somehow manages to span 65 million years. This is achieved through the film’s trick of the camera staying in one place, focusing on the living room of a house built in the early 19th century (probably in New Jersey, USA), which includes a few flashbacks to what was there on that piece of land before the house was built, including a Native American tribe.
We then follow ~5 families at different times and their lives in the living room
It’s not all linear, but it’s not too confusing, with the main story following Al (Bettany) and Rose (Reilly) buying the house after World War II. There they raise their 4 children, with Richard (Hanks) played by an older/’Big’-era Hanks from ~16 years old. Then he meets the older Margaret (Wright), and we follow them as they age in the house over the decades.
The editing is sometimes good, but often unnecessarily annoying
There are some beautiful moments, some funny parts, and some sad scenes. Even though it’s a relatively short film, it probably didn’t need at least 2 of these stories! It tries to portray the little moments of life that add up to create the human experience.