Truly Original (USA): 2

An American drama film, A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006), is based on a memoir written by Dito Montiel. The story follows Dito’s youth in Astoria, New York during the 1980s. In present day (2005), we find Dito living in Los Angeles and working as a successful writer. Upon the urging of his mother, Flori, and friend, Nerf, he returns to his childhood home in Astoria when his father falls ill. The movie shifts between present day and flashbacks of Dito’s memories from the summer of 1986. During this time, Dito meets up with Nerf in a parked car to talk without interruption, since it wasn’t ...

The American indie comedy-drama film, The Squid and the Whale (2005), written and directed by Noah Baumbach, is set in 1986. Bernard Berkman, an arrogant novelist whose career has been on a downward spiral, is struggling to find an agent. Meanwhile, his wife Joan’s work is gaining widespread recognition, causing tension between them. One day, the couple informs their two sons- 16-year-old Walt and 12-year-old Frank- of their separation. They agree to joint custody and spending equal time with the kids, but after they split up, their relationship becomes even more combative than before as Bernard moves to a house ...