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Starring: Elpidia Carrillo,  Aomawa Baker,  Miguel Sandoval,  Mary Pat Dowhy,  Andy Umberger, 
Directed By: Rodrigo García, 
Rated: R (Restricted)
Release Date: 2004
Studio: Sony Pictures
Format: AC-3,  Color,  Dolby,  DVD-Video,  Subtitled,  Widescreen,  NTSC, 

Editorial Reviews and DVD Information

Product Description
A moving exploration of the individual experiences of nine women as told through nine single unbroken takes. As characters from one story reappear in supporting roles in others Rodrigo Garcia interweaves a grand tapestry of universal resonance that hinges on performances from an incredible ensemble. By depicting nine different characters at emotional crossroads NINE LIVES examines how we so often find ourselves captive in relationships both past and present.System Requirements:Running Time: 112 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: R UPC: 043396134218 Manufacturer No: 13421

Amazon.com
Nine Lives is a collection of related short stories, each a snippet from a woman's life, each shot in one uninterrupted ten-minute take. Remarkably, this never becomes a gimmick; the skillfully writing and directing make the restriction feel essential to each story. A woman in prison (Elpidia Carillo, Bread and Roses) struggles to maintain some kind of balance despite her circumstances; the ex-wife (Amy Brenneman, Judging Amy) gets a cool reception at the funeral of her ex-husband's second wife; a mother (Glenn Close, Dangerous Liaisons) and her daughter (Dakota Fanning, War of the Worlds) have a picnic at a graveside. Each story deftly escalates the emotional circumstances; only one story feels at all forced. The acting is superb throughout--hardly surprising from a cast that includes Sissy Spacek (In the Bedroom), Holly Hunter (The Piano), Aidan Quinn (Benny & Joon), Molly Parker (Deadwood), and many more, all superb and clearly relishing the opportunity to perform such a long and complex scene (most movies rarely have more than thirty seconds without an edit). If there's a criticism, it's that the stories are almost unrelentingly serious; anxiety, melancholy, yearning, and regret are thoroughly explored--a little more humor might have provided more contrast and variety. Written and directed by Rodrigo Garcia (Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her), who shares with his father Gabriel Garcia Marquez a fascination with interconnected lives. --Bret Fetzer

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Customer Reviews

Nine of the Best Movies You've Never Seen
What a remarkable oversight we've got here! Imagine if somebody walked up to you and said, "Hey, I just saw this incredible movie! It's about 9 different women, each with their own short story that lasts about 10 minutes. Oh, and each story is told in a single camera shot."

The premise alone was enough for me to check out NINE LIVES, a captivating collection of short dramas with an even more impressive cast. But as neat a concept as this film is, I was instantly hooked from the opening footsteps and expressions of an incarcerated mother. Think of a movie shot very similar to Hitchock's ROPE, except that instead of convenient reel changes after 10 minutes, writer-director Rodrigo Garcia utilitzes incredible techniques and transitions. Garcia has worked on various HBO series, most notably IN TREATMENT. In that show, Garcia again used a similar real-time format to shoot the 30-minute therapy sessions. Like him or not, Garcia has mastered photography and pacing.

The casting is perfect. Each story focuses on a woman struggling with various aspoects of her life. They could be as simple as a mother and daughter having a picnic at a graveyard, or as complicated as woman attending the funeral with a former lover. Then again, those examples are only simple at the outset. You have no idea how each story is going to play out; they remain powerful even after repeat viewings. My personal favorite (and probably most people's, too) is Diana's.

Robin Wright Penn and Jason Isaacs should've won Oscars for their uniterrupted, unedited work. Diana is a pregnant mother just grocery shopping, when she unexpectedly encounters Damian, her former lover. Watching these two actors convey their buried feelings is an absolute joy. Anyone can perform a single emotion, but Isaacs and Wright Penn can deliver multiple subtleties that command encores. This particular segment is some of the finest acting you'll ever see, and I encourage any drama professor to take a good look at it.

I think Diana's story is my favorite because I've experienced some of those conflicts, myself. But the true genius of NINE LIVES is that it will reach audiences on various levels. Any story compilation like this is going to by its very construction. To me, it is both the greatest strength and weakness of Rodrigo Garcia's otherwise-perfect film. Frankly, one or two stories just didn't do much for me. I knew I was watching terrific performances and crafty camerawork, but I didn't know what to take from a couple of Garcia's tales. It's frustrating to watch a 10-minute long scene, with no reprieve - if you're not hooked, you'll just have to wait until Garcia's gone onto the next chapter.

But my confusion could also be a strength to Rodrigo Garcia's genius. Every one of the NINE LIVES is unique and compelling in their own way. Each moviegoer will have his/her own way of relating to the diverse lot of protagonists. Even if your experience isn't the same as mine, NINE LIVES will reach you in ways you've never imagined.

It was ok
The movie wasn't what I expected, It just dragged and there wasn't a whole lot of important things, well to me anyway. It is kind of boring

Unintentional comedy.
After a couple of vignettes I was ready to throw in the towel. My wife had had enough and went off to vacuum the house. But the vignette of the deaf sex guy at the funeral redeemed this maudlin pig of a film. It was so over-the-top funny that my sides were splitting. The rest of the film evoked fits of laughter at the self-parody it became. Definitely a candidate for an MST3K party!

I'll give it five stars..
Definitely ! It's about nine women, nine important moments, glimpses...This movie is very clever in a way that you don't especially see the end of every story, why ? Because it's about life, relationships or family...don't expect finals,it could be 12 minutes of your life, and it looks so realistic, so human, things people live or go through. What I really liked in this movie is that every actor, famous or not, doesn't look/sound like an actor..It could be you, it could be me. I still have a weird aftertaste after seeing this movie...

superb journey through subtle interconnections
This is not a coherent novelistic film with a linear story line, but a kind of intersection of lives through people who have some contact. The acting is absolutely wonderful and believable, bringing raw emotion in the way that only film can. It is like a long tapas meal with multiple friends dropping by to share, enjoyable yet sometimes disagreeable. There are so many allusions unexplained, which the viewer can try to connect - it just begs for reviewing. I loved every minute of it and felt deeply moved by the realism. I also barely noticed the technique of a continuous shot for each segment, which means it succeeds unobtrusively.

Warmly recommended.

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