IMDb RATING
7.0/10
3.6K
YOUR RATING
A chronicle of the tragic love affair between American poet Elizabeth Bishop and Brazilian architect Lota de Macedo Soares.A chronicle of the tragic love affair between American poet Elizabeth Bishop and Brazilian architect Lota de Macedo Soares.A chronicle of the tragic love affair between American poet Elizabeth Bishop and Brazilian architect Lota de Macedo Soares.
- Awards
- 9 wins & 20 nominations
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaFour paragraphs appear between the end of the film and the beginning of the credits.
1. "Few women write major poetry. Only four stand with our best men: Emily Dickinson, Marianne Moore, Elizabeth Bishop and Sylvia Plath." - Robert Lowell
2. "I'd rather be called the 'The 16th Poet' with no reference to my sex, than one of 4 women - even if the other three are pretty good." - Elizabeth Bishop
3. Elizabeth Bishop died in 1979 in the United States. She is considered on the most important poets of the English language.
4. In 2012, UNESCO declared the city of Rio De Janeiro a World Heritage site. The Flamengo Park is one of its main attractions.
- GoofsOpening in 1951 but Bobby Vinton singing Blue Velvet was not until 1963.
- Quotes
Elizabeth Bishop: It's OK. I'm not drunk. I'm just crying in English.
- Crazy creditsNine of the main performers (the first 10) are listed in the credits without the name of their character. Only Treat Williams is credited as his character, Robert Lowell.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Programa do Jô: Episode dated 26 August 2013 (2013)
Featured review
Elegant, rapturous throwback to old Hollywood
Reaching for the Moon is the kind of movie everyone hopes for but no one makes: a gay romance where "gay romance" is not the premise. Director Bruno Barreto focuses instead on how Elizabeth Bishop and Lota de Macedo Soares challenged and changed the world and each other in other ways, and that was absolutely the right choice - these women and their story are fascinating and make for top class entertainment.
And it is entertaining. Considering the characters' issues and the story's ending it could have been drab, but the film is always lively and engaging. It flies by. Bishop takes herself very seriously, but Barreto maintains a sense of humor about it and makes fun of her just enough to keep her melodrama under control. An added bonus is that Miranda Otto gets to show off her underrated and underused comedic chops; one particular drunk scene is priceless. Glória Pires is dynamic and fiery as Lota but Otto is the real star, channeling Greta Garbo and Deborah Kerr in a gracefully commanding performance. She doesn't shy away from Bishop's spikiness, but her screen presence is so compelling that as much as we might be frustrated with her character, we can't take our eyes off her. Thanks to her constantly surprising performance, an eclectic ensemble cast, breathtaking visuals, and assured direction, Reaching for the Moon pulses with energy and is a breath of fresh air in an era of stuffy and bland biopics.
Highlights: Shots of Rio de Janeiro that belong on postcards; a performance from Miranda Otto that would have won an Oscar in 1937; the assertion that some things are more important than whether a person is gay
Verdict: Watch this with your parents instead of Blue Is the Warmest Color
And it is entertaining. Considering the characters' issues and the story's ending it could have been drab, but the film is always lively and engaging. It flies by. Bishop takes herself very seriously, but Barreto maintains a sense of humor about it and makes fun of her just enough to keep her melodrama under control. An added bonus is that Miranda Otto gets to show off her underrated and underused comedic chops; one particular drunk scene is priceless. Glória Pires is dynamic and fiery as Lota but Otto is the real star, channeling Greta Garbo and Deborah Kerr in a gracefully commanding performance. She doesn't shy away from Bishop's spikiness, but her screen presence is so compelling that as much as we might be frustrated with her character, we can't take our eyes off her. Thanks to her constantly surprising performance, an eclectic ensemble cast, breathtaking visuals, and assured direction, Reaching for the Moon pulses with energy and is a breath of fresh air in an era of stuffy and bland biopics.
Highlights: Shots of Rio de Janeiro that belong on postcards; a performance from Miranda Otto that would have won an Oscar in 1937; the assertion that some things are more important than whether a person is gay
Verdict: Watch this with your parents instead of Blue Is the Warmest Color
helpful•355
- Emma_Stewart
- Jan 7, 2014
- How long is Reaching for the Moon?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- The Art of Losing
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $45,502
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $14,573
- Nov 10, 2013
- Gross worldwide
- $1,534,391
- Runtime1 hour 58 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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