User reviews

It is predictable, it has a lot of clichés, it doesn't aspire to be even nearer to what would be called a great film, or even a good one - or even a hit -, but its dialogues are fine and truthful, and reveal an experienced knowledge of a writer's craft and soul and suffering.

As the comment above put it, it's a film of real people with real problems, apparently common and minor problems to the viewer who expects to extract some titillation out of films - the characters here are not involved in intrigues, in hiding a murder or escape from it -, but problems hard enough for those involved. As we learn somewhere: there is no order of difficulty in problems, one is not "harder" or "bigger" than another. They are all the same.

The great psychologist Viktor Frankl, who spent four years in a concentration camp, tells in "Man's Search for Meaning", in an almost candid way, that his terrible sufferings there at the camp doesn't amount to anything bigger than anyone's. He makes a perfect analogy, and with the most frightening element an inmate of a concentration camp could think of: "A man's suffering is similar to the behaviour of gas. If a certain quantity of gas is pumped into an empty chamber, it will fill the chamber completely and evenly. Thus suffering completely fills the human soul and conscious mind, no matter whether the suffering is great or little. Therefore the 'size' of human suffering is absolutely relative".

Well, it seems a lot of thinking to draw from such an unpretentious film, but I think in that resides its merits. Keitel's outstanding performance adds a lot to it, it's on a level much higher than the whole production. It's amazing how great actors can have some of their great moments in lesser films, as Keitel here, or as Morgan Freeman unique, out-of-bounds performance in "Street Wise".

The 'Shadow Dancer' is a very defined and entertaining film. It delivered everything and met my very high expectations, after watching a box of delights flourish in an amazing backdrop of rural Italy. This film is such a light hearted treat it would be a crime if it did not get a worldwide release. The lead characters are awesome and the chemistry between them is a testament not only to their acting but Brad Mirman's script and direction of the movie.

A brilliant Harvey Keitel takes Joshua Jackson under his wing and the two deliver an entertaining insight into the world of writing with sublime performances. Then of course there is the beautiful Claire Forlani who adds sweetness and dexterity to a fabulous cast and story. I would like to see more films written and directed by Brad Mirman for here he has delivered a truly wonderful film that makes you feel alive and wanting to believe again. For this particular genre of film it is up there with the best. If you are a romantic and a dreamer then watch this film.

It was very nice to see the brilliant but often vulgar Harvey Keitel in such a breath of fresh air in newer movies. The plot, while typically formulaic and cheerier than life, is very interesting and captivating. There are a few scenes which are of the PG-13 variety, and a few mandatory obscenities, but overall the movie is done with great down-to-earthiness and honesty, and makes you really want to watch the whole thing.

Claire Forlani and Joshua Jackson are both relatively little-known actors in my mind, but each gives a likable, cozy performance worthy of mention. In fact, I am looking at their respective movie histories here now in order to have a few more good picks in mind the next time I order my Blockbuster Online movies.

Overall a very heartwarming, mildly comical family movie that I hope propels its actors and other participants on to further glory. See it.

When you hear about a romantic comedy in which an editor visited a secluded ex-writer won't impress you. And when the first fifteen minutes of the movie show some stereotypical images of rural Italy, you might even pass on it. Exactly out of these overplayed scenes bordering with B-comedy The Shadows in the Sun started to develop.

Eventually, we remained within romantic comedy genre, yet it gets the maximum out of it. At first the characters seemed as if they came from a regular romantic novel, but this evened out to create a framework for some genuine emotion, despite occasional cheesy moments.

If Harvey Keitel was the expected heavyweight in the artistic crew, Claire Forlani was an unexpected surprise. She looked better than ever and mastered a perfect Italian accent.

We might argue what the purpose of cinema should be, but Shadows in the Sun was one of those movies that made me feel good without boring me or making me feel stupid. And this is a rare quality, in particular in romantic comedy.

I also saw this movie at one of the advance screenings. This is my first time posting on this site, but after seeing this film I had to. I have always loved Italy, in particular, Tuscany. This movie captures the feel of small village life perfectly. Being a huge Joshua Jackson fan I was eager to see the film and I was not disappointed. Jackson and Keitel are wonderful together and the story of this young, reserved writer who is afraid to follow his heart and the older writer who is afraid he cannot be what he once was is magical.

We all live our lives with, hopes, dreams and desires and somehow through time they seem to fade away. This movie deals with the courage it takes to truly follow your heart and do the things you love most.

Of course it is more than that, because Jackson's character also falls in love with Keitels daughter... but will he find the strength and conviction to make it work?

The scenery is fantastic. Ah, Tuscany, the golden light, the stone buildings. Itr is almost as if the village they filmed in is another character in the movie. The lighting is wonderful, filled with shadows... but the key to the movie rests with the performances of Jackson, Keitel and Claire Forlani. Also the actors who play the priest and hotel owner are wonderful.

This is not a big movie... not a huge budget movie... it is a simple story about life... love... and finding it within yourself to reach out and take hold of the things that are most important.

A truly enjoyable movie

I saw this film at an advance screening. Jeremy (Joshua Jackson) works for a publisher in London and dreams of being a writer. When he is sent to a small village in Tuscany to find Weldon Parish (Harvey Keitel) a reclusive writer who has stopped writing, his life is forever changed. What follows is a funny and heart-warming story of two men and their journey to overcome their fears. Keitel and Jackson are wonderful in their roles. I was not quite sure what to expect from Jackson having only seen him play teenage roles before, but he shows that he can hold his ground and carry and film on his own.

While there Jeremy meets Weldon's daughter Isabella, played by the stunningly beautiful Claire Forlani and soon the two of them fall in love.

Another star of this film is it's locations. They are absolutely breath-taking. If anyone knows the name of the village they filmed in I would love to know.

The director lets the actors do their job without obtrusive camera moves. In my opinion there are too few movies like this made today. There is no action here, just real characters, with real problems. This is a movie about dreams and having the courage and faith to follow them.

A Beautiful, beautiful movie.

I started viewing this movie because of Toscana, Italy, I wasn't less than amazed by the beauty of its landscapes and sunset but I had a little bit of sour thing at the end, it wasn't what I was expecting, I even thought that the movie wasn't finished until I saw the credit. As I said is good for lunch time when you don't have nothing else to see.

I completely fell in love with this movie. Every once in a while a movie comes along that touches your heart and soul. The Shadow Dancer is such a film. I saw it at the incredible ancient amphitheatre in Sicily at the Taormina Film Festival with an audience of some three thousand people and was completely swept up in the story... and I was not alone. Several times during the screening the audience broke out in spontaneous applause.

This film is for anyone who has ever dreamed. It follows the story of Jeremy (Joshua Jackson) a young writer who works for an English publishing house. Jeremy dreams of being a novelist but can't quite get past his fear of making the commitment needed to do so. He is sent to Italy to find a world-famous reclusive writer Weldon Parish (Harvey Keitel) and convince him to write again. What follows is a journey of exploration as Weldon tries to break Jeremy out of his shell, forcing him to experience life… but the sword cuts both ways as Jeremy tries to make Weldon face his own fears.

Keitel is absolutely fantastic as the older writer afraid he can never be what he once was. It is definitely his best performance since The Piano. He makes you laugh with his crazy antics, but let's you see deep enough inside him to realise it is all a front to hide the pain he feels at not being able to write.

Jackson in the much more understated role shows that there is life after 'Dawson's Creek'. The character of Jeremy is a long way off from Pacey Witter and he shows that he has made the move to the big screen with confidence.

Claire Forlani (looking absolutely gorgeous) plays Weldon's daughter and Jeremy's love interest. The chemistry between them works very well. Giancarlo Giannini is the village priest and is absolutely wonderful.

The look of the movie is stunning. Golden light and shadows in a little village tucked away in the Tuscan hills. Brad Mirman has created a world that invites you in and makes you feel at times as if you are there with them. The characters endear themselves to you and pull you into their lives. You laugh with them, cry with them, sharing each emotional turn in the story. There are scenes in the film where you definitely want to have a tissue handy and others where you may need a towel.

In my movie-going experience very few films have moved me like this one did. For me movies are about moments. If you have enough of them to take away with you your memories of a film are good. The Shadow Dancer is filled with many of these moments. It has only been a few days since I saw it, but the thoughts and images from the film have stayed with me. Surely, that's the best testament there is to a great film. (10/10)

Jeremy (Josh Jackson) follows Weldon Parish (oscar nominated Harvey Keitel) to it-lee and asks him to come out of retirement and write a book. But Parish is done with writing. He pull all kinds of tricks to get Jeremy to just go home, but he's not buying it. He meets Parish's daughters, and maybe together they can convince (trick ?) Parish to start writing again. A silly song and dance number while Jeremy daydreams about one of the daughters. The daughter is quite pretty, but i guess they couldn't get the rights to Elvis' version of Now or Never, as they have someone who sounds JUST like him sing it....according to the soundtrack link. Anyway, that bit was just silly, and didn't add anything. About halfway through, the film just grinds to a halt while we admire the scenery and beauty of it-lee. Parish starts daring Jeremy to come out of his comfort zone, and he sings karaoke with Parish and his friends. But of course, it's Jeremy that wants to take Parish out of HIS comfort zone and start writing. It's all okay. The writer keeps taking it to a cutesy, silly place. You may recognize Giancarlo Giannini (the priest)... he has been in several james bond films! Written and directed by Brad Mirman. And Keitel currently has FIVE projeccts in production.

I am astonished that this woeful movie garnered an average score of 6.7 out of 10 on IMDb...!

For a movie about writers and writing, the script is particularly predictable and turgid. I am not sure what was worse - the relentless inevitability of the completely obvious happy ending, or the clichéd romantic subplot.

Keitel was clearly enjoying his holiday in Tuscany a little too much, with a performance that was at best, 'very relaxed'. Joshua Jackson, however, sounded like he was reading the script for the first time. And as for Claire Forlani ... "look, mum, I'm not just pretty, I'm ACTING!"

If you're ever forced to watch this movie, turn the sound down. That way you can enjoy the movie's only asset - its Tuscan setting - without needing to hear Keitel's character, allegedly a grand master of literature, reciting prose so clumsy it would have earned a creative writing sophomore a 'D' on their term paper.

I see this movie at the festival at Cannes. I liked it very, very much. It is a very charming and moving story of love, loss and passion. It is funny, but also very emotional and it capture nicely the feeling of Tuscana.

Harvey Keitel plays very well the older writer and you can feel the pain in him for not being able to write. Joshua Jackson (who I am a great fan) is excellent as the young writer afraid to open his heart to writing and life. Claire Forlani is beautiful as the girl he falls in love with and Giancarlo Gianinni... well it is Giancarlo Gianinni a very great actor. I also like very much all the other little characters who live in the little village. They give very much credibility to the film, but the real story is with Keitel and Jackson and there journey together. It is here two men struggle to find the way to their dreams. 'Chi cerca trova'.

Romantic, thought provoking and encouraging film with Intelligence and good humour. This film for me delivered from every angle in every different way, the cast were terrific, the scenery was mind blowing and the chemistry between the characters was like no other of this genre. It would have been very easy for Joshua Jackson to feel intimidated by Harvey Keitel, but instead brought out of him his best performance to date. Claire Forlani also delivered an awesome performance with a great Italian accent, after seeing her in Meet Joe Black and The Shadow Dancer it's hard to believe she was born in the UK.

Truly Magnificent, not to be missed by anyone.

Maybe I'm too cynical. I accept that. Maybe I grew up watching too may sickeningly heart-warming glory-hunting nice shy guys and gals struggle against adversity but always come out tops in the end, you know the type, Saturday afternoon Disney movies, designed to make geeky kids feel good about the world. You just got to be true to yourself, kid and then you will triumph. Well don't be fooled by the presence of Mr. Harvey Keitel, this is one of those movies that manage to turn my stomach into mulch. In fact the only thing good I can say about Harvey Keitel in this is that he looks like he feels the same as me, doing just enough to collect the pay check once the whole ordeal is over. Avoid!!

It would seem that you just can't please some people if the last review of this movie I read is deemed to be correct. As I was unable to find this movie on DVD locally I bought it from overseas.

I loved the story. OK, so it is a feel good movie, it doesn't contain violence, its not action packed and it won't give you the answers to life, the universe and everything, BUT it is a great movie for a rainy Sunday afternoon. It is filled with humour, wit and a touch of tenderness. It both puts a smile on your face and can bring a tear to the eye. The cinematography is beautiful, the actors are well cast, the dialogue snappy. Having watched this several times with friends and family, everyone has enjoyed it and its well worth the time.

There are so many implausibilities, clichés and saccharine moments in this painfully eye-averting paean to platitude, where even the dream sequences fail to be distinguishable from the "real", that it's all the more distressing to find the commendable performances by the cast marred by this juvenile plot. Those performances manage to deliver on the tasteful if bawdy humor to provide some relief from the otherwise almost unendurable silliness of this epitome of chick flicks, but not enough to finally pull this thing out of its writer's cramp. Make sure you're with someone warm and cuddly when you sit down to this one so the hour and a half isn't wasted.

Tuscany is like a magnet for sentimental Americans: the landscape, the people, the appreciation of life emanates from the sunscapes and offers a paradise to world-weary viewers. And so it is that Tuscany is the true star of this little romantic film. Yet writer/director Brad Mirman clearly knows how to script and move a story that, while predictable, still carries us along with wonderful characters from a fine cast.

Jeremy (Joshua Jackson) works for a publishing house in New York and is sent to Tuscany to coerce famous novelist Weldon Parish (Harvey Keitel) into ending his 20-year moratorium and write a new, 'bound to be best seller' novel. Parish has not written since he lost his beloved wife, becoming instead a rascal who spends his days basking in the lazy sun with his best friends the priest Father Moretti (Giancarlo Giannini), hotelier Gustavo (Armando Pucci) and his squeeze Amalia (Valeria Cavalli). He lives with his daughter Isabella (Claire Forlani) and is visited often by his other daughters Dinnie (Silvia De Santis) and Maura (Bianca Guaccero), each of whom hopes that their father will return to writing. Upon Jeremy's arrival he finds that everyone in the village is protective of Parish and when he finally meets the silent author, he discovers a man who loathes editors, publishers, press, and anyone else who wants him to start writing again. Gradually Jeremy and Parish begin to break down barriers: Jeremy admits that he longs to be a writer but fears failure and Parish admits that his silence at the typewriter is due to a similar fear. Jeremy falls in love with Isabella, becomes a part of Parish's drinking trio, undergoes some lessons in life .... and the ending is obvious from the start! Harvey Keitel gives a moving performance as the gritty but passionate writer, Joshua Jackson makes Jeremy a believably transitioned man, and the supporting cast is consistently excellent. It really doesn't matter that we know from the beginning just how things will turn out: it is the getting there that is the pleasure of this light but touching film. The only significant problems are in the editing: there appear to be stops and starts as though this were made for television with places for commercials. But other than that this is a film that only asks that we relax, nod recognition, and enjoy the theme of the importance of honesty and the quality of life available if we follow our dreams. Grady Harp

Now if only USA would print it and rent it out on Netflix! Actually, it was so good I may just have to purchase it (if I can find it) and add it to my collection. I've never seen Harvey Keitel in such a moving role. Joshua Jackson also played out of his norm and really has proved himself to be quite the up and coming actor. This type of romantic comedy is a good genre for him. The two together were a splendid pair of both comic and dramatic affect. I especially liked the scene where Weldon and his gang of Italian buds take Jeremy home from the bar, after a few too many drinks, and act as though they are dropping him into a lake, feet bound and arms tied to a tire rim. Then the town's priest proceeds to baptize Jeremy (in the very shallow pond as it turns out to be) although he's already Jewish. Very cute.

Too bad ... I had been hoping for a nice evening movie and then this! How predictable and awfully scripted and plotted can a script be? I was hoping for humor and all I got were childish lines, creamy smiles, and shiny eyes supposed to mirror the light of Tuscany's beautiful landscape. No deep or funny characters, no situational comedy, just a few weak and embarrassing tries at slapstick. I felt very sorry for Harvey Keitel to have had to endure this picture. His character, Parish, is supposed to be a world class writer but his prose is not even 3rd rate, shallow and pseudo-picturesque. The teacher-student relationship is not understandable at all - why would anyone bear this kid, why give him his daughter? Pathetic platitudes were all the viewer got. And this kid Joshua Jackson - or whatever is his name - was just a pancake of emotion and character: flat, boyish, unlikeable - nothing to identify or fall in love with. As for this picture, Claire Forlani should have been credited as Clearly Forlorn. Sadly, two thumbs down!

In the beginning of the film you see a young guy in a very fashionable apartment getting ready to go to work in busy London, England, and at that point, I figured I just might not want to watch this film. However, as the film progressed to Italy, I knew it had to become interesting and when Isabella Parish, (Claire Forlani), "Hooligans",'05, appeared in the film and the camera captured all her beautiful features and especially her sexy looking eyes and body. Harvey Keitel, (Weldon Parish),"Be Cool",'05, played a burned out famous writer who would not see any publishers and kept very much to himself. Joshua Jackson, (Jeremy Taylor),"Cursed",'05, was assigned from his London office to visit Weldon Parish and see if he could obtain a contract for his writing once again. There is lots of comedy and great local scenes in Italy, and all the actors were outstanding. The romance is charming, however, they could have left out the train and horses and explained the romance in a better way.

This is a heartwarming film I categorize alongside two of my favorites: Under the Tuscan Sun and A Good Year. It's beautiful, relatable and majestically immerse you in Italia.