the audience applauded

Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Understated, thoughtful documentary about different recent generations in America, and how their politics and upbringings intermeshed and evolved. As a film student in 1969 Ralph Arylck made a 15 minute short about a bright 4 year old boy who lived upstairs with hippie parents in Haight-Asbury. 4 year old Sean had tried pot, refused to wear shoes, etc. Now Arlyck sets out to find out what happened to Sean 30+ years later – was he a mess as some predicted? Had his upbringing left him free as others hoped? Of course the answer is far more gray and complex. And in examining Sean and his family, film-maker Arlyck also looks at his own. A quiet film, not deeply emotional, but a very interesting and worthy essay about parental ideals, family, and life.

Beyond the portrait of Sean's family, from his grandparents to his son, this film does such a great job of showing the evolution of generational values--from the Old Left to the New Left to the current generation. It not only shows these transitions from a cultural standpoint, it adds a very important socio-material layer to our understanding of this transformation.Also, I'm normally tired of the documentary trend of including the author/director in the narrative in order to reflect some sort of participatory ethos, but Arlyck's presence really adds depth to the changes mentioned above. Great documentary.

Stumbled across this gem on PBS the other night. I was initially spellbound by the storytelling ability of the narrator (Ralph Arlyck), but drawn in even further by the tapestry of lives involved. When we think of the 60's and early 70's, we think of Woodstock, hippies, free love, San Francisco, etc. What we don't often dwell on are the lives implicated in the thick of the hippie lifestyle. What lead to those lives? Who were the parents? Grandparents? What impact did this lifestyle have on the children? Grandchildren? Not a judgmental piece of film-making, but it does raise a lot of questions. And no, it doesn't offer a lot of answers. But does life? An amazing piece of film-making.

I know we tend to rate most highly those movies we've seen most recently, but I cannot recommend _Following Sean_ too highly. Engaging, funny, brilliant, simultaneously comforting and uncomfortable, and observant, the movie asks us to confront our own lives' narratives; received wisdom about the 1960s and more recent American history; the meaning of adulthood, and a thousand other things. It made me think in a way films rarely can -- the way books more often can -- but couldn't possibly give me a headache. And as for technical elements, the editing and narration are perfect, and the granular texture of the film itself complements that of the families' stories. I actually loved _Following Sean_, and came to IMDb to look for information about whether it will ever be released as a DVD. (The message board says it'll be released as a DVD in Oct. 2006.) I rarely buy movies, but I'll buy this one.