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The Tracey Fragments (film)
Encyclopedia
The Tracey Fragments is a 2007
drama film
directed by Canadian
Bruce McDonald and written by Maureen Medved
, based on her novel of the same name. It stars Ellen Page
in the title role, is produced by Sarah Timmins and executive produced by Paul Barkin.
The film was selected to open the Panorama section of the 57th Berlinale and had its world premiere February 8, 2007. It is being distributed in Canada by Odeon Films, with world sales being handled by Bavaria Films International. The film had its North America
n premiere at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival
. Canadian theatrical release followed in October 2007. The film was acquired for the United States by THINKFilm
, and was released May 9, 2008. After a screening at the Possible Worlds 2007 Canadian Film Festival the film was acquired for DVD release in Australia and New Zealand by Siren Visual
.
The film was a low budget production, being made on only CAD$
750,000.
) is naked under a tattered shower curtain at the back of a bus, looking for her little brother Sonny (Zie Souwand), who thinks he's a dog.
Tracey's journey leads into the dark underbelly of the city, into the emotional cesspool of her home, through the brutality of her high school, the clinical cat-and-mouse games with her shrink
and her soaring fantasies of Billy Zero (Slim Twig
) - her rock and roll
saviour. Her travels also put her in contact with the seedier inhabitants of the city, like Lance (Maxwell McCabe-Lokos), her would-be saviour who ultimately puts her life in jeopardy.
Tracey's stories begin to intertwine truth with lies, and hope with despair, as she moves closer to the truth of Sonny's disappearance.
group Broken Social Scene
. The soundtrack also features Peaches
, Foals, The FemBots, Slim Twig
, Rose Melberg
and "Land Horses", a cover version of Patti Smith
's "Horses (album)
" by Land of Talk
's Elizabeth Powell.
licence as four torrents, each approximately four gigabyte
s in size. A contest was held for the best use of the footage from August 2007 until January 2008, with the winning material being included on the DVD release, including a video by Ottawa-based punk band Sedatives.
reported that 38% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 32 reviews. Metacritic
reported the film had an average score of 54 out of 100, based on 10 reviews.
2007 in film
This is a list of major films released in 2007.-Top grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2007...
drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
Bruce McDonald and written by Maureen Medved
Maureen Medved
Maureen Medved is a Canadian writer and playwright. She is also an assistant professor at the University of British Columbia. She has been published in literary journals and magazines and has had her plays produced in Vancouver, Waterloo and Toronto...
, based on her novel of the same name. It stars Ellen Page
Ellen Page
Ellen Philpotts-Page , known professionally as Ellen Page, is a Canadian actress. Page received both Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for Best Actress for her role as the title character in the film Juno...
in the title role, is produced by Sarah Timmins and executive produced by Paul Barkin.
The film was selected to open the Panorama section of the 57th Berlinale and had its world premiere February 8, 2007. It is being distributed in Canada by Odeon Films, with world sales being handled by Bavaria Films International. The film had its North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n premiere at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...
. Canadian theatrical release followed in October 2007. The film was acquired for the United States by THINKFilm
THINKFilm
THINKFilm is a privately held production and distribution company founded in September 2001. It has been a division of David Bergstein’s Capitol Films since 2006. Bergstein also serves as the company’s chairman...
, and was released May 9, 2008. After a screening at the Possible Worlds 2007 Canadian Film Festival the film was acquired for DVD release in Australia and New Zealand by Siren Visual
Siren Visual
Siren Visual is an Australian company which specialises in the distribution of Japanese anime, documentaries and off-beat cinema in Australia and New Zealand....
.
The film was a low budget production, being made on only CAD$
Canadian dollar
The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
750,000.
Plot
15-year-old Tracey Berkowitz (Ellen PageEllen Page
Ellen Philpotts-Page , known professionally as Ellen Page, is a Canadian actress. Page received both Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for Best Actress for her role as the title character in the film Juno...
) is naked under a tattered shower curtain at the back of a bus, looking for her little brother Sonny (Zie Souwand), who thinks he's a dog.
Tracey's journey leads into the dark underbelly of the city, into the emotional cesspool of her home, through the brutality of her high school, the clinical cat-and-mouse games with her shrink
Mental health professional
A mental health professional is a health care practitioner who offers services for the purpose of improving an individual's mental health or to treat mental illness. This broad category includes psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, clinical social workers, psychiatric nurses, mental health...
and her soaring fantasies of Billy Zero (Slim Twig
Slim Twig
-Biography:Slim Twig is the stage and screen persona created by Max Turnbull. He was born in 1988, the son of Toronto-based filmmakers, Ross Turnbull and Jennifer Hazel and graduated from the Claude Watson School of the Arts in 2006. In 2008, Slim was called “an icon-in-the-making...” and named...
) - her rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
saviour. Her travels also put her in contact with the seedier inhabitants of the city, like Lance (Maxwell McCabe-Lokos), her would-be saviour who ultimately puts her life in jeopardy.
Tracey's stories begin to intertwine truth with lies, and hope with despair, as she moves closer to the truth of Sonny's disappearance.
Cast
- Ellen PageEllen PageEllen Philpotts-Page , known professionally as Ellen Page, is a Canadian actress. Page received both Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for Best Actress for her role as the title character in the film Juno...
as Tracey Berkowitz - Kate ToddKate Todd-External links: Has links to official Twitter and YouTube....
as Debbie Dodge - Ryan CooleyRyan CooleyRyan Cooley is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as James Tiberius "J.T." Yorke on Degrassi: The Next Generation.-Career:...
as David - Libby Adams as Young Tracy Berkowitz
- Ari Cohen as Mr. Berkowitz
- Maxwell McCabe-Lokos as Lance
- Zie Souwand as Sonny Berkowitz
- Derek Scott as Headstand Johnny
- Slim TwigSlim Twig-Biography:Slim Twig is the stage and screen persona created by Max Turnbull. He was born in 1988, the son of Toronto-based filmmakers, Ross Turnbull and Jennifer Hazel and graduated from the Claude Watson School of the Arts in 2006. In 2008, Slim was called “an icon-in-the-making...” and named...
as Billy Zero - Julian RichingsJulian RichingsJulian Richings is an English-born Canadian actor. He appeared in over 50 Canadian films and 20 separate television series.-Life and career:...
as Dr. Heker - Sydney Rodgers as Tracy Berkowitz Imagination
- George StroumboulopoulosGeorge StroumboulopoulosGeorge Mark Paul Stroumboulopoulos is a Canadian television and radio personality, best known as the host of CBC Television's George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight and being a VJ for Canadian music television channel MuchMusic...
as himself (cameoCameo appearanceA cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
)
Music
The score is composed by and features music from Canadian indie rockIndie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
group Broken Social Scene
Broken Social Scene
Broken Social Scene is a Canadian indie rock band, a musical collective including as few as six and as many as nineteen members, formed in 1999 by Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning. Most of its members currently play in various other groups and solo projects, mainly based around the city of Toronto...
. The soundtrack also features Peaches
Peaches (musician)
Merrill Beth Nisker , better known by her stage name Peaches, is a Canadian electronic musician and performance artist who lives in Berlin, Germany. Her songs are noted for disregarding traditional gender norms and their use of sexually explicit lyrics...
, Foals, The FemBots, Slim Twig
Slim Twig
-Biography:Slim Twig is the stage and screen persona created by Max Turnbull. He was born in 1988, the son of Toronto-based filmmakers, Ross Turnbull and Jennifer Hazel and graduated from the Claude Watson School of the Arts in 2006. In 2008, Slim was called “an icon-in-the-making...” and named...
, Rose Melberg
Rose Melberg
Rose Melberg is a musician and songwriter from Sacramento, California who has sung and played guitar as a member of Tiger Trap, The Softies and Go Sailor as well as on her own material. She also played drums and made some songwriting contributions with the band Gaze...
and "Land Horses", a cover version of Patti Smith
Patti Smith
Patricia Lee "Patti" Smith is an American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist, who became a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses....
's "Horses (album)
Horses (album)
"Horses" is often cited as one of the greatest albums in music history. In 2003, the album was ranked number 44 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. NME named the album number 1 in its list "20 Near-as-Damn-It Perfect Initial Efforts"...
" by Land of Talk
Land of Talk
Land of Talk is a Canadian indie rock band formed in 2006 from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The band consists of singer and guitarist Elizabeth Powell, bass guitarist Joseph Yarmush and drummer Andrew Barr.-History:...
's Elizabeth Powell.
Tracey Re:fragmented
Tracey Re:fragmented is a project by the director and producers that made available all footage from the film shoot to download and remix into "their own related projects, including music videos, new trailers or to re-edit the entire movie themselves". The footage was released under a Creative CommonsCreative Commons
Creative Commons is a non-profit organization headquartered in Mountain View, California, United States devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has released several copyright-licenses known as Creative Commons...
licence as four torrents, each approximately four gigabyte
Gigabyte
The gigabyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information storage. The prefix giga means 109 in the International System of Units , therefore 1 gigabyte is...
s in size. A contest was held for the best use of the footage from August 2007 until January 2008, with the winning material being included on the DVD release, including a video by Ottawa-based punk band Sedatives.
Adaptation
The movie was adapted into a comic book, also called The Tracey Fragments. The comic was available free during some early screenings of the film.Critical reception
As of July 28, 2009, the review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reported that 38% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 32 reviews. Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
reported the film had an average score of 54 out of 100, based on 10 reviews.
Awards and nominations
- 2007: won the Manfred Salzgeber Award, and chosen as the opening film for the Berlin International Film FestivalBerlin International Film FestivalThe Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...
, Berlin Panorama section - September 2007: Atlantic Film Festival: Best Canadian Feature, Ellen Page, Best Actress
- January 28, 2008: 28th Annual Genie Awards by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television (ACCT). 6 nominations including:
- Achievement in Direction - Bruce McDonald
- Achievement in Editing - Jeremiah Munce, Gareth C. Scales
- Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role - Ellen Page
- Achievement in Overall Sound - John Hazen, Matt Chan, Brad Dawe
- Achievement in Sound Editing - Steven Munro, John Sievert, David Drainie Taylor
- Adapted Screenplay - Maureen Medved