50 Years of SIFF: Boyhood
November 12 - 25, 2023
Richard Linklater made a triumphant return to his independent roots with this dazzling coming-of-age micro-epic. Shot over the course of 12 years in and around Austin, Texas, Boyhood tracks the evolution of a single American family through the eyes of a young boy.
A dazzling micro-epic shot for 39 days over the course of 12 years in and around Austin, Texas, Boyhood follows the tumultuous lives of Mason Sr. (Ethan Hawke), Olivia (Patricia Arquette), and Mason Jr. (Ellar Coltrane) and his older sister Samantha (Lorelei Linklater) from around the time Mason is six until he begins his freshman year of college. Within that timeframe, relationships ebb and flow, loved ones pass away, romantic entanglements develop, and life generally takes its course. The beauty of Linklater’s film is in its observation of these in-between times, those bookend moments before and after major life events, when growth happens and lessons are learned. As we see these characters mature on-screen, we develop a new appreciation not only for their individual narrative arcs, but also for the craftsmanship employed by Linklater and his ensemble cast to bring these characters to life over the span of time covered by the film. Today, we’re accustomed to bells, whistles, and CGI pyrotechnics deployed in the hopes of holding our attention on screen. What Linklater and his top-notch cast offer is just the opposite—small, intimate moments of the type we may witness every day in our own homes but never stop to appreciate. Boyhood is a glorious achievement in filmmaking, one that celebrates the hidden beauty of the moments we take for granted each day.
- Director: Richard Linklater
- Principal Cast: Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke, Ellar Coltrane, Lorelei Linklater
- Country: USA
- Year: 2014
- Running Time: 164 min.
- Producer: Richard Linklater, Cathleen Sutherland
- Screenplay: Richard Linklater
- Cinematographers: Lee Daniel, Shane Kelly
- Editors: Sandra Adair
- Awards: Berlin Film Festival 2014 (Silver Bear) SXSW 2014 (Louis Black “Lone Star” Award) Cesar Awards 2015 (Best Foreign Film Nominee)
- Filmography: Hit Man (2023), Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood (2022), Where’d You Go, Bernadette (2019), Last Flag Flying (2017), Everybody Wants Some!! (2016), Boyhood (2014), Before Midnight (2013), Bernie (2011), Me and orson Welles (2008), Inning by Inning: A Portrait of a Coach (2008), A Scanner Darkly (2006), Fast Food Nation (2006), Bad News Bears (2005), Before Sunset (2004), School of Rock (2003), Tape (2001), Waking Life (2001), The Newton Boys (1998), SubUrbia (1996), Before Sunrise (1995), Dazed and Confused (1993), Slacker (1990)
- Language: English
- US Distributor: IFC Films