Thirteen Conversations About One Thing (2002)

I wanted to but couldn't!

Admirable film.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

Highly inspired in Inãrritu's Amores Perros, Thirteen conversations about one thing follows the same non-linear narrative which made the first an absolutely masterpiece of the post-modern cinema. But yes, it don't has a third of the quality of Amores Perros. First of all, the lack of depth in the drama: the subject explored here, the happiness, barely turns into 'The Thing', which the title refers to. It's way too shallow. The characters stories looks like fairy tails that met each other in the end, instead of a story that leads the characters to met each other. Forced in my opinion. Also, the hell is the motivation of the girl to try suicide throwing herself in front of a car? She could've jumped from some building(actually, it's what most people do).But what bothers me a little bit more than the unconvincing and somewhat forced plot,was the interpretation of the actors. Apart from a somewhat good performance by Alan Arkim, the rest of the cast either overacted or underacted. This alone would change the film(to worse) even if the plot were so good as the one in Amores Perros.It's not worth a watch. 5.7/10

A Robert Altman-style film, but written and directed by women. Several characters ponder what happiness means as they slog through their daily lives. The cast is impeccable, and includes Clea Duvall, Matthew Mc., John Turturro and Alan Arkin, who steals the show amid a very large cast. He plays an embittered, divorced middle manager well past retirement age with a junkie son. On a whim, Arkin commits an irresponsible act that will come back to haunt him. Duvall is an accident victim whose life can never be the same. If you like Altman movies, in all probability you will like this one. All others, beware. No wild car chases, explosions or shoot-outs here.

Like many films of the last few years, this one has a complex, multi-layered, interwoven story structure, but it's worth the effort to follow. It IS a film in which you literally listen to "13 conversations about one thing" – a film which is both linear and non-linear at the same time. It is definitely worth your viewing. Expect a film that is moody, downbeat, and thoughtful, yet tinted with optimism that ALL of the characters seem only begin glimpsing. You'll want to SLAP them sometimes! The acting is good (many stars), the scoring very supportive, the photography rich, and the lessons to be learned: very useful. Pay attention.

It's always pleasing to unexpectedly stumble across an intelligent and thought-provoking film such as this. Essentially a study on both the fickle nature of happiness and our (mis)understanding of it, and of the random manner in which complete strangers can alter the path of a person's life with neither being aware of the fact, 13 Conversations interweaves the tales of a handful of characters with deceptive ease and no little skill. Not only does the film smoothly pull all the strands together, it also does so by telling a tale that is not chronologically linear, but which overlaps in the same way that its characters' lives overlaps.Perhaps the only flaw is that a disproportionate amount of screen time is given to Alan Arkin's character at a cost to the others. John Turturro's professor and Matthew McConnaughy's yuppie lawyer in particular seem to be the casualties of this, but it has to be said that Arkin gives a masterful performance and carries his part of the film with ease. The dialogue is sometimes a little too clever for its own good – we get a sense of people making speeches to each other rather than holding conversations on occasion – but, having said that, what the characters have to see is always interesting and absorbing. A very good film, worthy of its high rating.