A Texas Funeral

1999

Comedy / Drama / Fantasy / Romance / War / Western

10
IMDb Rating 6.2/10 10 858 858

Plot summary

It's 1968 and the Whit clan are reuniting for the burial of Grandpa Sparta. But Sparta still has some secrets to reveal to his family and wisdom to impart to his grandson.

Director

William Blake Herron Photo
William Blake Herron

Top cast

Robert Patrick Photo
Robert Patrick as Zach
Mona Lee Fultz Photo
Mona Lee Fultz as Nurse
Joanne Whalley Photo
Joanne Whalley as Miranda
Martin Sheen Photo
Martin Sheen as Grandpa Sparta
720p.WEB
927.84 MB
898*720
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 41 min
Seeds 2

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by Rodrigo_Amaro 6 / 10

Fine, just fine.

"A Texas Funeral" is one of those strange case of a small almost unnoticed film that gets the most brilliant acclaim from viewers here that see something peculiarly good about it enough to give it ten stars. Not my case. In fact, I think this was treated (in the very few reviews) a little bit overrated. But to each his or her own taste; I just don't see so much glory in this little picture. It's good, decent and pleasant.I've seen this theme before and to be fair, most of the time it's treated in a empty and shallow way, lacking on cinematic depth, other times treated pretentiously, intending to be artful. "The Myth of Fingerprints", "Eulogy" or even "Elizabethtown" are all similar in a way. They are good films, just like this one, but they're never dig deep enough, they don't look real, the characters emotions and thoughts constantly mixed with beautiful soundtracks, great landscapes and the strange sense humor that takes control of people during funerals. The only recent film I can quote as being the most fascinating over a similar theme is "Fireflies in the Garden", very dramatic, involving and hilariously funny when needed, to break the tension."A Texas Funeral" is what the name says and it takes in the 1960's. A family reunion after the patriarch's death, played by Martin Sheen. Gathered here are a somewhat dysfunctional family (played by Jane Adams, Grace Zabriskie, Joanne Whalley, Robert Patrick, Chris Noth and others), the black medical doctor (Isaiah Washington) friend of the family and whose father worked in the family property, and the sick camel, the last survivor of a long lineup raised by the family since the Civil War. And there's the most interesting and significant member of this family the Little Sparta (Quinton Jones), a young boy that decides to don't speak after a reprehension from his father. The frightened, shy and very peculiar boy somehow is the only one who can see visions of his grandfather, who tells the family's story, revealing some secrets and he also asks the boy to make some things to him during his funeral. The involvement between them, and this magical element are among the best things in the movie that also has to deal with dirty family secrets, neurotic parents, jealousy and other assorted things that you'd probably seen it before. But where's the challenge? If this was just to show that kids must face their fears in order to grow up and better individuals, or that all families have their problem and in a way they always work out and things are fine, then this just halfway through what could be a better movie. It could be worse considering that the writer had to include a family dispute over a saw and a tree that almost ended bad but then everybody laughed at themselves (this is s typical nowadays that is infuriating). As I said, could be. It doesn't get worse because one of the sisters starts to cry and exposes her pain to the others, which was a good moment.Enjoyable because of Sheen, the kid, Robert Patrick playing someone a little different than his action roles, Noth makes us forget of Mr. Big for a moment and deserves some credit, and the great Grace Zabriskie, with one of the most surprising moments of the film revealing why she cheated her husband. It's a feel good project but it's not one of those that stays with you after it ends. 6/10
Reviewed by philkundu 7 / 10

a refreshing change

I bought this movie at Blockbuster for about 6 bucks, I thought that it was a western and since it had Sheen and Patrick in it I thought "EH why not?" The movie wasn't really what I expected but it kept me watching all the way through. This is a great dramatic comedy, the acting was great all-round! A bit of a different role for Chris Noth, but I couldn't help but like his character. The script was really well written and movie doesn't really ever "drag" on. The comedy was pretty decent and I didn't find the story overly predictable. Well worth the 2 hours and 6 bucks that I put into it. I'd definitely recommend this one. Enjoy
Read more IMDb reviews

No comments yet

Be the first to leave a comment