Brent Carver Movies
Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan explores his Armenian heritage, and how the country's tragic history has touched several generations of the nation's expatriates, in this ambitious drama. Edward Saroyan (Charles Aznavour), a veteran filmmaker of Armenian descent, is in Toronto shooting a film about the Siege of Van, in which invading Ottoman armies forced the evacuation of Armenian communities in 1915, leading to the genocide of over a million Armenian people at the hands of Turkish troops. Twenty-one-year-old Raffi (David Alpay) has been sent to Turkey to shoot background footage for the film; Raffi's mother Ani (Arsinee Khanjian), an author and historian, is also involved in the project as a consultant. Lately Raffi and Ani have been at odds; Raffi has been dating Celia (Marie-Josee Croze), Ani's stepdaughter, who is convinced that Ani is somehow responsible for the death of her father. Ani's first husband, who was Raffi's father, is also dead, after taking part in an assassination attempt on a Turkish political leader. As Raffi attempts to re-enter Canada with cans of exposed film, he's detained by David (Christopher Plummer), a suspicious customs official who has his own tenuous link to Saroyan's film -- David is struggling to come to terms with the gay lifestyle of his son Philip (Brent Carver), whose lover Ali (Elias Koteas) is playing the villain in the picture. Ararat also features Eric Bogosian and Bruce Greenwood. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Alpay, Charles Aznavour, (more)
Canadian filmmaker Thom Fitzgerald directs the sentimental ensemble drama The Event. Nick (Parker Posey) is a district attorney investigating several deaths in the gay community of New York City's Chelsea District. It seems that many AIDS sufferers have died under similar mysterious circumstances. Each case suggest the use of assisted suicide, which is illegal in New York. HIV-infected cellist Matt (Don McKellar) has died of a drug overdose following a large party in Manhattan given by his family and friends. Nick first questions his lover Brian (Brent Carver), who runs an HIV support clinic. Still looking for answers, she interviews Matt's closest family members, including his mother Lila (Olympia Dukakis), his younger sister Dana (Sarah Polley), and his older sister Gaby (Joanna P. Adler). Meanwhile, Nick battles with her own past secrets involving her family back in New Jersey. The Event premiered at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Parker Posey, Olympia Dukakis, (more)
This film, part of the HBO Young Inventor Series, looks at the great artist Leonardo da Vinci and his fascination with flight. Acclaimed filmmaker Allan King sets his 16th century story in Padua. The story follows da Vinci, played by Brent Carver, as he befriends a young boy named Roberto, acted by David Felton. The two explore their interest in birds, kites, and flight. The story line provides the backdrop for a portrait of the artist's genius, and a journey into his memoirs and notebooks. His drawings of parachutes, flying men, and flying machines were centuries ahead of their time. The film has been endorsed by Kid's First for its educational excellence. ~ Rose of Sharon Winter, All Movie Guide
On a remote island in Nova Scotia, teenaged Claire (Julia Brendler) slowly befriends Celia (Lynn Redgrave), an eccentric novelist who is working on a manuscript. The manuscript, which is set a half-century ago, tells the story of Silly (Kirsten Dunst), a young woman who tried to leave the island with the son (Trent Ford) of a WWII naval officer. Deeply cuts between past and present, contrasting the lives of the characters in the manuscript with those of Claire and Celia. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirsten Dunst, Lynn Redgrave, (more)
Set in upstate New York (but filmed in Québec), this made-for-TV version of Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow relates the familiar story of gawky 17th century schoolteacher Ichabod Crane, here played by Brent Carver. Fascinated with local damsel Katrina Van Tassel (Rachel Lefevre) -- and especially attracted to her family's wealth -- Ichabod sets his cap for the girl, much to the dismay of Katrina's erstwhile beau, brawny blacksmith Brom Bones (Paul Lemelin). Hatching a scheme to put Ichabod out of the way, Brom terrifies the timid schoolmaster with stories of the fearsome "Headless Horseman" who, legend has it, roams Sleepy Hollow in the dark of night. Inevitably, Ichabod and the Horseman are brought face to face (though they're actually one face short). The Legend of Sleepy Hollow made its Hallmark Channel bow on October 23, 1999, just in time for Halloween. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
- G
Lonely for a friend of his own, an 11-year-old boy invokes special plea to an ancient Egyptian goddess and has her turn his pet cat into a friend. Unfortunately, something goes a little haywire, for the boy's new pal acts like a 30-year-old man. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brent Carver, Michael Caloz, (more)
- 1997
Albert Schultz and Torri Higginson star in this comedy about a TV director whose work includes a show centered around a lottery drawing. Before long, the director and his assistant start wondering if there isn't some way they can manipulate the system to their advantage. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Albert Schultz, Torri Higginson, (more)
Love, jealousy, revenge and forbidden homosexual passion color this alternately campy and dramatic adaptation of a play by Michel Marc Bouchard. Operating at different levels, the story begins in 1952 inside a Quebec prison chapel where hard-core convict Simon Doucet offers confession to Bishop Bilodeau who has come especially to see him. But no sooner does the Bishop enter the confessional than he is locked in by other inmates and forced to watch them enact gay love scenes from the play The Death of San Sebastian. The story moves backwards to 1912 when Bilodeau and Simon were lusty young boys. Their affair falls apart when Simon takes up with Vallier. This angers Bilodeau who does something terrible in retaliation. Meanwhile, back in the present, Simon attempts to force Bilodeau into owning up to his actions. In keeping with the film's gay themes, all roles, male and female, are portrayed by men. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brent Carver, Marcel Sabourin, (more)
In this lively made-for-TV espionage comedy, an off-the-wall CIA agent involves an interpreter in his hunt for a professional hit man assigned to murder the President. The real craziness begins when they discover that the killer is one of their ex-wives and that she is living next door. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1989
While Love and Hate: A Marriage Made in Hell had its American network debut in July of 1990, it was not precisely a world premiere. The film had already been shown in 1989 on Canadian TV, where it was the highest-rated TV movie of that year. Small wonder: It was based on a true story that had dominated Canadian headlines since 1980. Kenneth Welsh stars as Colin Thatcher, a wealthy Saskatchewan rancher/ politician. Kate Nelligan plays his wife, who withstands years of physical abuse before filing for divorce. Using his political and financial clout, Thatcher carries on a brutal courtroom battle to gain custody of his children. His wife wins but the victory is brief, however; Mrs. Thatcher ends up murdered. Thatcher is almost immediately pounced upon as the prime suspect, and the film concludes with his trial--which develops into a real nail-biter. Based on a true story that had hogged Canadian headlines for nearly a decade, Love and Hate: A Marriage Made in Hell was the highest-rated TV movie to be shown on Canadian TV in 1989. Its below-the-border debut occurred on July 15 and 16, 1990; in syndication, the two-part film was trimmed to 153 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kate Nelligan, Kenneth Welsh, (more)
- 1989
- PG13
Where has director Michael Anderson been since Logan's Run? Earning his keep on such slick TV-style time-fillers as Millennium. Kris Kristofferson plays the head of an official committee investigating the head-on collision of two commercial jets. A thorough analysis reveals the presence of a weapon of unknown origin in the wreckage; it is also pointed out that some of the victims' watches are running backwards. This, coupled with the cryptic warnings by flight attendant Cheryl Ladd to drop the investigation, prompts Kristofferson to burrow further and uncover the truth: Ladd is a sentinel from 1000 years in the future, who has come back to the 20th Century to help repopulate her dying civilization. Plot pegs and obstacles are in the hands of such sideline characters as enigmatic professor Daniel Travanti and amiable android Robert Joy. Millennium was adapted by John Varley from his own story Air Raid. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kris Kristofferson, Cheryl Ladd, (more)
- 1988
- PG
In the thriller Shadow Dancing, the head of the Beaumont Theater of Dance has been haunted for decades by one of his dancers who died suddenly during a performance of "Medusa." Despite the bad memories surrounding "Medusa," the company is set to stage a production of the ballet nearly 50 years later, and a young dancer is obsessed with winning the title role. After she receives it, she begins to assume the physical and emotional characteristics of the woman who died years earlier, and as it gets closer to the actual production, it becomes apparent that she is headed toward her doom. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nadine Van Der Velde, Christopher Plummer, (more)
- 1985
One of Gilbert and Sullivan's best-loved operettas received yet another screen adaptation in this home video release, which preserves a 1985 production presented by Canada's Stratford Shakespeare Festival. Frederic was accidentally indentured to a gang of pirates as a boy; nearing his 21st birthday, he's eager to claim his freedom, until he's informed that since he was born on Feb. 29, he won't be officially free of his obligations until he's 84! When the pirates invade a small English town, Frederic falls in love with a lovely young woman named Mabel, but can his romance survive the presence of his comrades? Vocalist Brent Carver headlines this production of The Pirates of Penzance as the Pirate King; this presentation was originally taped for broadcast by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brent Carver
- 1984
Karen Woolridge plays Ann in this Canadian TV movie. Though an adult, Ann has yet to fully mature emotionally. Her problems can be traced back to a childhood rape. She must learn to overcome this trauma before it begins to affect her own children. Co-starring Brent Carver, Anne's Story made its American TV debut during a 1986 "Canada Week" on the Lifetime Cable Network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
Love and Larceny is a Canadian distaff version of The Sting. The film is set at the turn of the century; its protagonist is the fetching Jennifer Dale. An accomplished con artist, Dale tires of fleecing the provincial suckers. She heads to New York City to seek her fortune--or anyone else's fortune, for that matter. Also starring in Love and Larceny are veteran Canadian supporting players Kenneth Welsh and Douglas Rain (the voice of "Hal" in 2001: A Space Odyssey). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
Set in the years before World War I, this film is about Robert, a young man growing up in a wealthy family in Toronto who is burdened by a distant, cool mother and a father dedicated to duty, both highly conservative people. When Robert loses his beloved invalid sister in a car accident he is further tormented by the family's decision to kill her pet rabbits - and quarrels with them so intensely that he enlists in the army and goes off to war. Once "over there," he discovers brothels and romance, and in a climactic scene, decides to free a barn full of horses from certain death - in spite of contrary orders from his superiors. The juxtaposition of Robert's internal conflict and the external horrors of combat may have been intended to illustrate the nature of "war," although that is difficult to surmise since the evidence in the film is not that strong. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brent Carver, Martha Henry, (more)
- 1983
Jovana (Milena Dravic) is a cross-country runner training for the Olympics with the help of a kindly priest. She meets a poor man on one of her journeys but falls for his black brother-in-law, a worker at the local crematorium. The worker is killed by his jealous brother-in-law and the first man is sentenced to death, but the woman continues her running as if nothing had happened in this dark comedy with tinges of satire and slapstick. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Beymer, Nina Axelrod, (more)
- 1979
Adapted from a true story, a pole-vaulter (Aaron Kornylo) attempts to overcome the lack of a leg during the Olympic trials. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brent Carver, Kim Cattrall, (more)
- 1976
Richard Jordan plays Paul, a disillusioned American in search of the meaning of life. After his ex-wife attempts suicide, Paul retreats to Hong Kong. Here he tries to assuage his angst by becoming involved with several local lovelies. Still unsatisfied, Paul leaves the British protectorate, once more trying to find himself. Director Pierre Rissient co-wrote the existentialist script of One Night Stand with Michael White; the film was financed in France, lensed in Hong Kong, and performed in English. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Jordan
