Angela's Ashes - by Alan Parker (1999)

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Angela's Ashes - by Alan Parker (1999)

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Angela's Ashes - by Alan Parker (1999)

The film, an adaptation of Frank McCourt's best-selling memoir, tells the tragic yet hopeful story of a boy growing up poor in Limerick, Ireland.

Based on the best selling autobiography by Irish expat Frank McCourt, Angela's Ashes follows the experiences of young Frankie and his family as they try against all odds to escape the poverty endemic in the slums of pre-war Limerick. The film opens with the family in Brooklyn, but following the death of one of Frankie's siblings, they return home, only to find the situation there even worse. Prejudice against Frankie's Northern Irish father makes his search for employment in the Republic difficult despite his having fought for the IRA, and when he does find money, he spends the money on drink.

ANGELA'S ASHES is the true story of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Frank McCourt (played at various ages by Joe Breen, Ciaran Owens, and Michael Legge), whose personal memoir became a worldwide phenomenon. When eldest son Frank's baby sister dies and father Malachy (Robert Carlyle) can find no work, the McCourt family is forced to leave America and return to their native Ireland, where conditions are even more destitute than in Brooklyn. Malachy's northern accent is frowned upon in Limerick, keeping him on welfare and the family living in poverty. Things turn even more sour when two more children die and Malachy leaves the family to go to work (or, better yet, drink) in England. He never returns. Frank struggles through the poverty and his new role as man of the house, but throughout the seeming hopelessness his dream of traveling to America keeps him determined and optimistic. The three little-known actors playing Frank are impressive, and Emily Watson gives a quiet, impassioned performance as Frank's mother, Angela. Michael Seresin's photography underscores the deft direction of Alan Parker (COME SEE THE PARADISE), infusing the story with beauty even at its most desperate moments.

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Angela's Ashes - by Alan Parker (1999)

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Angela's Ashes - by Alan Parker (1999)

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Angela's Ashes - by Alan Parker (1999)

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Angela's Ashes - by Alan Parker (1999)

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Angela's Ashes - by Alan Parker (1999)

Close