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    The Film Club: A True Story of a Father and a Son
    Unavailable
    The Film Club: A True Story of a Father and a Son
    Unavailable
    The Film Club: A True Story of a Father and a Son
    Ebook213 pages3 hours

    The Film Club: A True Story of a Father and a Son

    By David Gilmour

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    From the 2005 winner of the Governor-General’s Award for Fiction and the former national film critic for CBC television comes a delightful and absorbing book about the agonies and joys of home-schooling a beloved son. Written in the spare elegant style he is known for, The Film Club is the true story about David Gilmour’s decision to let his 15-year-old son drop out of high school on the condition that the boy agrees to watch three films a week with him. The book examines how those pivotal years changed both their lives.

    From French New Wave, Kurosawa, and New German cinema, to De Palma, film noir, Cronenberg and Billy Wilder, among many others from world cinema, we read about key moments in each film, as the author teaches his son about life and the vagaries of growing up through the power of the movies. Replete with page-turning descriptions of scenes and actors and directors, the narrative is framed with the tender story of his son’s first bittersweet first loves.

    This is a charming and poignant story about a very special time in a father and son’s relationship. David Gilmour is a novelist who has earned critical praise from literary figures as diverse as William Burroughs and Northrop Frye, and from publications as different as the New York Times to People magazine. The author of six novels, he also hosted the award-winning Gilmour on the Arts. He lives in Toronto with his wife Tina Gladstone.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDundurn
    Release dateFeb 2, 2008
    ISBN9780887628139
    Unavailable
    The Film Club: A True Story of a Father and a Son
    Author

    David Gilmour

    Sir David Gilmour is one of Britain’s most admired and accomplished historical writers and biographers. His previous books include The Last Leopard, The Long Recessional, The Ruling Caste, and The Pursuit of Italy.

    Read more from David Gilmour

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    Reviews for The Film Club

    3.5/5

    26 ratings25 reviews

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    • 2/5
      This guy is a jackass. I'm pretty sure he wanted to be praised for his cool guy solution for his son who wanted to drop out of high school. He says no problem, just watch three movies every week with me. You want to drink? Sure. Drugs? Okay. Sex here in the house? No problem. Sleep until 5? Yes! Just watch movies with me! Idiot. And when your book is titled "The Film Club" you should probably talk about films instead of just naming a few you watched. What a waste of time.
    • 1/5
      I really didn't like this book. I know the only reason why I got through the whole thing and didn't stop and throw the book was because I didn't have anything better to do.
    • 3/5
      3-3.5. While I liked many things about the book, there were parts that contained too many spurious details. It does do a good job of getting into the teenage/young adult angst over love and life.That said, I enjoyed reading about so many movies that have been on my list for years. I appreciated the insight into why they each move is a classic. I'm motivated to start working through the list.
    • 3/5
      I don't really know what to say about the meat of this memoir. I picked up this book because I was interested in the movies and what David had to say about them. I am not a father, or a son so I did not identify with the relationship and I still can't believe that he let his son drop out of high school. I do now have a list of the 100 movies they watched, and plan to add a few to my list of things to see.
    • 3/5
      David Gilmour's memoir seems to unsure of itself. Is it a father-son story, a tragic love story, or an homage to film? Perhaps it is all three, but none of the elements stand out. Rather, the book remains mediocre...too afraid to be assertive in any direction. I enjoyed Gilmour's critical insight to films, but near the end he waned from that approach. His writing seemed choppy and inconsistent. Though it lacked solidity, it remains a heartful story about a father and son's exposure to film.
    • 2/5
      Utterly neutral on this book. I can see the pros and cons of Gilmour's decision to let his troubled son quit school and watch films with his dad. As someone who struggled mightily with not fitting in a organized school system I relate to the futility of forcing formal education on those who it doesn't fit. However, I question the idea of Gilmour being the one to provide the alternative mainly because he comes across as quite egotistical and really has a viewpoint on women that I would hate to see passed on to his son. But combining all these pros and cons I'm just left feeling meh about the book. An interesting idea that I would have liked to see executed better but at least Gilmour acknowledges he was flying by the seat of his pants and had doubts about the whole thing too.
    • 4/5
      Canadian author David Gilmour agrees to let his fifteen-year-old son drop out of school on one condition: Jesse must sit down and watch films with his father three times a week. Part memoir, part movie trivia, part intro to French New Wave, this book was an entertaining easy read. It really hasn't any great insights, except to say if you stay in touch with your kids, your kids will come to you with their troubles. It's obvious the author loves his son and the three years of the "Film Club" created a bond between them that wouldn't otherwise exist. It isn't the films, but the conversations between father and son that keep their relationship grounded. Jesse could so easily have drifted away, but David Gilmour wouldn't allow that. Jesse's "girl troubles", while annoying, really keep the feel of the memoir authentic. The ending is a bit rushed though. Jesse's problems are solved off stage so to speak. I would be interested in read a book by this author focusing solely on his love of films. He has some funny things to say.
    • 3/5
      I had to think about this book in two sections. One section is a man who decides that the best way to educate his teenage son would be to allow him to quit school, then try to teach him about life through movies. The second part is a man with an interesting take on movies.Several thoughts:As far as I am concerned, the idea of allowing your kid to quit school is ... well, a little goofy. But then I am not a parent, and I have no place from which to talk. It just is about the LAST thing I would have done, I guess. If I were writing the book I think I would have found something else fill one third of a book rather than teen hormones and agony over the boy's girlfriends. What I did like was the trip down film lane with a man who obviously loves them. THIS made it worth the time spent reading through the girlfriend crap.
    • 2/5
      A near-perfect exhibition of the impotence of the Boomer ideal of tolerant love—especially when cast against the raunchy pop culture of the modern youth. The memoir starts with a 16th century quote identifying the mysterious challenge of educating youth. It was an encouraging start. Then it became apparent that the author took the quote as evidence of the inability for a father to raise his son well, instead of a as a challenge to courageously lead his son against ancient forces of youthful apathy, libido, and purposelessness. On behalf of film lovers, I commend his premise to teach through film. Though when thinking of parents who may uncritically admire Gilmour, I shutter. On behalf of those who take education seriously, I'm offended. Home schooling is hard, noble work. I applaud Gilmour for his willingness to look outside the box of contemporary education which is killing our youth, but rather than fight for his son, he sits back and hopes that conversation without leadership or inspiration will stop the malaise that is slowly draining his teen's soul. Sadly, there is little to admire contained in its pages.
    • 4/5
      What do you do when your 16-year old wants to drop out of high school? Gilmour made the tough decision to pull him out and educate him the way he knew how: through movies. This courageous, sincere tale describes a parent's agony watching his son grow up, make mistakes, get hurt. It shows striking the balance between interfering, listening and letting go. There are tender moments, passionate accounts of films bonding father and son and tales of fear and love. The sore points are the numerous chapters dedicated to Jesse's girl friends which I found rather annoying and belly aching. I would have been more interested in finding out about how his jobs and the movies matured him.Overall, a very well-written account which will have you running to your local video store.
    • 4/5
      When David Gilmour, a Canadian writer and film critic, begins to see that his son hates school and learning with it, he decides to take an unconventional approach to parenting. He makes a deal. His son can drop out of school, doesn't have to work, and can come and go as he pleases, as long as he agrees to watch three films a week with his father. I am always fascinated by alternative approaches to teaching. The public school system's cookie cutter approach to education is bound to fail for some kids, which means that otherwise intelligent and good kids get lost along the way. Gilmour's son falls into that category, and although he writes about him in a rose colored glasses kind of way at the beginning of the book, he presents an interesting journey in which father and son use movies as a form a communication, relating to one another, and as a form of intellectual pursuit. Multiple life challenges come up for both father and son, including the loss of a job and the loss of love (as well as Gilmour's doubts as to whether he is doing right by his son), but movies offer a way of connection and catharsis throughout. Overall an entertaining book.
    • 5/5
      Enjoyed The Film Club very much, and envied the closeness the author managed to establish with his teenage son, however fleeting. Those are hard years for all fathers and sons - and daughters. Gilmour's method of bridging the gap was certainly a unique one, and risky too. I wondered, after finishing the book, how Jesse is doing these days. I'm sending this book to my son, now 40, with a note telling him I miss him, and wish I hadn't been working so hard during those years, and emotionally absent from his life. I am thankful that my own kids seem to have turned out okay. I have five grandkids now. I'll recommend The Film Club to all and sundry.
    • 4/5
      What an intersting way to learn about film criticism. it made me want to go back and look at the movies mentioned all over again. Prior to reading this book I didn't think a child should be allowed to drop-out of high-school but this special father son relaltionship provided its own education.
    • 3/5
      Although I enjoyed the snippets of interpretation about each of the movies, they overwhelmed what could have been a more intimate portrayal of Gilmour and his son's relationship. Although I expected more from this memoir, I'll still recommend it for boys who don't like school and for any movie buffs I encounter.
    • 4/5
      A memoir of Canadian novelist (NOT Pink Floyd guitarist and vocalist) David Gilmour, who lets his 15yo son Jesse drop out of school if he agrees to watch three movies a week together. So begins a wild adventure in parenting. Gilmour's unconventional, anti-film-snob approach to movies that probably helped their film club to work for the next few years. More than a movie memoir, it’s one of parenting, as Gilmour coaxes Jesse through some typically disastrous adolescent romances. Gilmour won’t be nominated for parent of the year anytime, but he’s got the critical basics down: empathy, honesty, and the ability to apologize, all of which he relates with humor and self-effacement in this winning book.
    • 4/5
      Lovely, single sitting book.Dad David allows his 16 year old son to drop out of school with the agreement that they watch 3 films a week.This book shows the relationship that develops between them.Really charming.
    • 4/5
      David Gilmour lets his son 16 year old son Jesse drop out of school. The catch to this agreement is Jesse has to watch three movies a week with his dad. Gilmour was once CBC's TV movie critic through most of the 90s and puts together quite a movie curriculum. The bizarre situation is the interesting to watch and as a movie lover, i was really excited to read the book. I was also pleasantly surprised about the father/son relationship described.The discussions about the movies in the book aren't long enough but they are quite interesting and it covers quite a long list of films. Some classics and some recent hits. I really liked hearing his thoughts on the films and i actually rented and watched a few of his recommendations.The relationship between David and Jesse is the strangest part. It's not at all what i would want with my son but then again i don't have one so i can't really talk. It sounded like a pretty rough situation and while it seems to have turned out well, some of the decisions seem pretty asinine.If you're a lover of movies, it's worth plowing through this as it's short and light. If not, i wouldn't recommend it.
    • 3/5
      This book had a concept that intrigued me and I thought I would give it a shot. A father lets his son quit school if he promises to watch movies with him. I thought there would be in depth discussions about different films and things of that nature and that is what hooked me.The book is a quick, fun read, but there was not much talk about the movies themselves. The writing is crisp and I did end up caring about the father and son and how their relationship went, but I was not satisfied completely because of the lack of movie talk. David Gilmour was very candid with the reader and with his son, and his son was candid with his father. The openess that they had with each other was inspiring and also terrifying. I'm a rather private person when it comes to most of my thoughts and feelings, so seeing this kind of relationship where almost anything could be said was interesting.The book made me think about my relationship with my own father, and in that respect, the book succeeded, but as far as joining the "film club" goes, it seems like outsiders aren't privy to most of their thoughts of the films they watched.
    • 3/5
      I love cinema myself so was really looking forward to reading this book. But I was left rather disappointed. There isn't really that much in the book about the films they write, we don't learn much about the son's opinions on the films and I don't think the film club idea actually contributes to the son's development at all. There is however quite a bit of detail about the father's employement status that I didn't care about one way or another, and yet there is no mention of his daughter in the whole book apart from the acknowledgements in the back. It was an easy read and I did want to know what happened to the son, but perhaps I'd rather have heard it from him, as I found the father irritating.
    • 3/5
      I found David Gilmour's story of his son's unconventional education sickly-sweet, almost poignant, and somewhat pointless. I don't feel Gilmour ever gets to the "meat" of the story, but just touches the surface here and there. It almost felt as if Gilmour wanted to write a book extrapolating his favorite films, but didn't want it to be gratuitous, so made it into a "schooling affair" with his son. This book could have been much more.
    • 4/5
      Heart-warming story about a father and his teenage son and the years they spend together watching 3 movie a week.The book suffers a bit in the middle where David Gilmore goes into a sort of "... and then... and then..." rant that could have used some harder editing.But all in all, it's a great book in itself and a great book on how to reach out to your children and especially to teenagers.
    • 4/5
      This is a beautifully written memoir about a father with a teenage son. Gilmour does an excellent job of demonstrating how art (in this case film) can be made a relevant part of our lives.
    • 3/5
      If you like movies, you will like this book. Join a father and his adolescent son as they embark on a non-traditional educational experience of....you guessed it - watching films. Although I am not a huge movie buff, this book offered many suggestions to start my own movie education. I could not put this book down because I needed to find out what happens!
    • 4/5
      This book is pretty good as a light read. It provides insight into father-son relationships, which I've never given much thought to but now I've become intrigued by (due to this novel). The premise David Gilmour sets before his son at the beginning of the book (namely, drop out of school and watch movies as a form of education) seems completely unrealistic and if I had read it in a novel instead of memoir I would think of concept as clever but entirely fictional. And Gilmour even notes that he had reservations about his decision... but the concept allows him to get closer to his son and better understand him. So, in the end, what it lacks in poetic prose it makes up for in heart.
    • 5/5
      I was surprised by how much I liked this book, how much I looked forward to the time I could get back to reading it. Although I did not necessarily agree with all of the author's comments and reviews of the films discussed, I was fascinated and drawn in to his "experiment" with his son. It ended way too soon for me.