Ich und Du und Alle, die wir kennen (Me and You and Everyone We Know)
U.S.A./U.K. 2005

Opening 23 Feb 2006

Directed by: Miranda July
Writing credits: Miranda July
Principal actors: John Hawkes, Miranda July, Miles Thompson, Brandon Ratcliff, Carlie Westerman

First, be aware that this is not the same film as Yours, Mine & Ours. Me and You and Everyone We Know stars newcomer Miranda July, who also directed and wrote the screenplay. It could be called a typical festival film, and indeed it has made the rounds very successfully, picking up the Sundance festival’s special jury prize for originality of vision, as well as four prizes in Cannes including Golden Camera and Prix Regards Jeune. It has received best first film and audience prizes in New York City, Dallas, San Francisco, Stockholm, Los Angeles, and Newport.

The story revolves around Richard Swersey (John Hawkes) and Christine Jesperson (Miranda July). He is a shoe salesman, recently separated, and father of two sons. She is an unconventional artist who supports herself by transporting senior citizens. Both represent the film’s central themes of loneliness, desire for companionship and inability to achieve it satisfactorily. Several minor characters are even more interesting than these two, e.g., the two sons: 14-year old Peter who offers to be the guinea pig for two love-sick teenagers and his six-year old brother Robby who has started an affair on the internet with a stranger. The teenagers act like crazy girls their age and the senior citizens also have their problems of overcoming isolation. This is a film for young professionals who might identify with the main characters, people who like such films as Before Sunset (not I). (Becky Tan)