The Man Who Cried

The Man Who Cried

Company type	Film
Industry	Motion picture
Founded	2000 (2000)
Founder	Sally Potter (writer and director)
Key people	Christina Ricci, Cate Blanchett, Johnny Depp, Harry Dean Stanton, John Turturro
Products	Drama film

The Man Who Cried is a drama film from 2000, both written and directed by Sally Potter. The cast includes Christina Ricci, Cate Blanchett, Johnny Depp, Harry Dean Stanton, and John Turturro. The narrative centers on a young Jewish girl who is separated from her father in Soviet Russia, grows up in England, and later relocates to Paris shortly before the outbreak of World War II. This film marks the final work of the French cinematographer Sacha Vierny.

Plot

Fegele Abramovich (Christina Ricci), a Jewish girl from Russia, becomes separated from her father (Oleg Yankovsky) in 1927 when he departs for America to seek a better life, promising to bring for her and her grandmother later. Before his departure, he sings "Je Crois Entendre Encore" from Bizet's Les pêcheurs de perles. After a violent pogrom devastates her village, Fegele escapes with assistance from neighbors and is sent to Britain carrying only a photograph of her father and a coin given by her grandmother.

Once in England, an official renames her "Susan" and places her with foster parents. Although she initially faces ridicule at school, a teacher who overhears her singing in Yiddish helps her acquire English. As she grows older, Suzie auditions for a singing and dancing troupe based in Paris, where she meets Lola (Cate Blanchett), an older Russian dancer with whom she shares an apartment. At a formal gathering, they perform alongside Cesar (Johnny Depp), a Romani horseman whom Suzie admires. They also encounter Dante (John Turturro), an Italian opera singer and Mussolini supporter who becomes Lola’s lover but distances himself from Suzie.

After discovering Suzie’s Jewish background through her father's photo, Dante alienates her. An elderly neighbor warns Suzie about the rising Nazi menace as Germany invades Poland and later France. With the Nazi occupation progressing, audience attendance at the opera company declines until only Dante and Suzie remain. When Suzie spurns Dante’s romantic advances, he exposes her Jewish identity and relationship with Cesar. Felix Perlman (Harry Dean Stanton), the company’s director, stands up for Suzie and shuts down the production as Nazis enter Paris.

Dante betrays Suzie by revealing her identity to a German officer. Lola cautions Suzie to escape Paris; both plan to emigrate to America. Meanwhile, Nazis attack Cesar’s Romani community, resulting in the death of a child. Cesar urges Suzie to flee and search for her father despite her desire to resist. They spend one last evening together.

During their ocean crossing, their ship is torpedoed; Lola dies while Suzie survives and arrives in New York. Searching for her father, she discovers he changed his name, abandoned his singing career, and relocated westward after believing his family perished. In Hollywood, she finds him as a studio executive with a new family and terminal illness. They reunite as she performs "Je Crois Entendre Encore" in Yiddish at his bedside.

Cast

• Christina Ricci as Suzie
• Oleg Yankovsky as Father
• Claudia Lander-Duke as Young Suzie
• Cate Blanchett as Lola
• Miriam Karlin as Madame Goldstein
• Johnny Depp as Cesar
• Harry Dean Stanton as Felix Perlman
• John Turturro as Dante Dominio
• Josh Bradford as extra
• Don Fellows as Joe (Final film role)

The vocal performances for Dante and Suzie were provided by Salvatore Licitra and Iva Bittova, respectively.

Release

The movie made its debut at the Venice Film Festival on 2 September 2000. It was subsequently showcased at several other festivals, including the London Film Festival, Argentina's Mar del Plata Film Festival, the Tokyo International Film Festival, and Iceland's Reykjavik Film Festival.

Reception

Critical response to the film ranged from mixed to unfavorable, with a 35% approval rating on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. Based on 69 critiques, the general consensus highlights an excessively complicated plot and underdeveloped characters. On Metacritic, the film earned a score of 40 out of 100 from 22 reviews, reflecting "mixed or average reviews."

Awards

Wins

• National Board of Review: Best Supporting Actress awarded to Cate Blanchett in 2001.
• Florida Film Critics Circle Awards: Cate Blanchett received Best Supporting Actress in 2002.

Nominations

• Venice Film Festival: Golden Lion nomination for director Sally Potter in 2000.

Soundtrack

The The Man Who Cried: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released on 22 May 2001. Composed by Osvaldo Golijov and produced by director Sally Potter, it includes performances by the Royal Opera House Orchestra Covent Garden, Salvatore Licitra, and Taraf de Haïdouks. Reviews for the soundtrack were generally moderately favorable.