A once-powerful, but now ailing movie director nears the end of his life. As he awaits death, he slips into a "dream" and is shown three "snippets" of the movie of his son's life. At first suspicious, then curious, and ultimately captivated, he watches his son's growth from mid-teens to mid-thirties as the son pursues his life-long love, Isabelle. The two constants through these snippets are his pursuit of Isabelle and the imagined voice of his father, telling him that he is worthless and unwanted. It is not until the story reaches its conclusion, that the old man discovers the surprising truth about his son and himself.
Acting
Douglas at 88, frail yet ferocious—his farewell to leading roles.
Direction
Goorjian crafts dream-logic that feels earned, not gimmicky.
Writing
The screenplay's nested structure reveals itself like a origami heart.
Director
Michael A. Goorjian
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Kirk Douglas insisted on performing his own wheelchair scenes despite multiple strokes; his slurred speech in the opening is genuine, not acted.
The film's 'life as movie' metaphor directly echoes Douglas's own 1952 film 'The Bad and the Beautiful'—a meta-commentary on Hollywood fathers and their damaged sons.
US
