American Splendor (2003)

Directed by

Robert Pulcini, Shari Springer Berman

Genre

drama film, comedy film, biographical film

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 36m

Rated

R

Rating

7.2 of 10 from 541 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

The film mixes live action, documentary, and animation to tell the story of Harvey Pekar, a real underground comic book writer. It follows his everyday life, his work as a file clerk, and his relationships. Harvey and his wife Joyce also appear as themselves to comment on how the actors portray them.

reflectiveunderstatedquirkyobservationalwryintimatebittersweetmeta

What happens

American Splendor is a 2003 American biographical comedy drama film written and directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini. The film, which chronicles the life of comic book writer Harvey Pekar, is a hybrid production featuring live actors, documentary, and animation. It is based on the 1976–2008 comic book series of the same name written by Pekar and the 1994 graphic novel Our Cancer Year written by Pekar and Joyce Brabner. The film stars Paul Giamatti as Pekar and Hope Davis as Brabner. It also features appearances from Pekar and Brabner themselves (along with Pekar's long-time co-worker Toby Radloff), who discuss their lives, the comic books, and how it feels to be depicted onscreen by actors. The film was filmed entirely on location in Cleveland and Lakewood in Ohio. American Splendor premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2003, and was released in the United States on August 15, by Fine Line Features. The film received critical acclaim. It was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 76th Academy Awards. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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