Mouth to Mouth (2004)

50% of critics liked it
(20 reviews)
37% of users liked it
(20,665 ratings)

A disillusioned young girl looking to carve her own path in life and live on her own terms hits the road with a volatile collection of radical revolutionaries in director Alison Murray's uncompromising coming-of-age road film. Sherry (Ellen Page) is a teenage contradiction of sorts; she wants to be… More A disillusioned young girl looking to carve her own path in life and live on her own terms hits the road with a volatile collection of radical revolutionaries in director Alison Murray's uncompromising coming-of-age road film. Sherry (Ellen Page) is a teenage contradiction of sorts; she wants to be accepted but she doesn't want to sacrifice her fierce individualism. When Sherry meets up with SPARKS (Street People Armed with Radical Knowledge) and decides to join the curious group of counter-culture activists in their trek across Europe, it appears as if the idealistic young traveler has finally found a family who will accept her for who she really is. When the SPARKS group arrives in an abandoned Portuguese vineyard to set up their own private Shangri-la, though, their ultimate goal grows increasingly ominous as the heated rhetoric of group leader Harry begins to take a dangerous slant. When a pair of deaths prompt the more weak-minded members of the group to pledge unwavering support, skeptical Sherry and questioning fellow SPARKS member Mad Ax begin to see the group for what it really is -- a cleverly disguised recruitment tool designed specifically to promote dangerous leader Harry's warped ideology. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 37 min.
Directed By: Alison Murray
Written By: Alison Murray
Genres: Art House & International, Drama

In Theaters: Jun 2, 2006 Limited
On DVD: Sep 25, 2007
Studio: Artistic License Films

Critic Reviews

Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times
Murray becomes less and less sure of where things are heading or what it is she is trying to get at, such that the last few reels feel perfunctory and unengaged.
Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter
Suffers from disjointed storytelling and myriad other problems, including a bizarre reliance on modern dance sequences to interrupt the action.
Stephen Holden, New York Times
Alison Murray's chaotic, semiautobiographical account of a teenage girl's misadventures in a traveling cult, occupies its own stylistic niche: the movie as acid flashback.
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News
Like the homeless kids at its center, Alison Murray's feature debut is passionate, angry and suffering from a serious lack of discipline.
, New York Magazine
The whole is never quite convincing.
Dennis Harvey, Variety
An uneven, occasionally vivid, ultimately unsatisfactory treatment of themes that should've packed more punch.
Felix Vasquez Jr., Film Threat
A gritty, original, and visceral film about a cult's romantic hold on a vulnerable girl...
Andy Klein, Los Angeles CityBeat
The film's subject matter is far from enjoyable, and, in the absence of anything fresh in its perspective, it's hard to imagine who would want to endure it.
Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Daily News
Murray, making her feature debut as a writer and director, left home when she was 15, and her firsthand experience with hard truths gives the movie a raw authority.
Tim Cogshell, Boxoffice Magazine
Despite its contemporary stylistic flourishes (including several disparate dance sequences choreographed by director Alison Murray, previously a music video helmer), Mouth to Mouth is pretty ordinary.
Ella Taylor, L.A. Weekly
Though Mouth to Mouth is a grim movie, it's far from a hopeless one.
Rob Vaux, Flipside Movie Emporium
For all the flaws, its grit and honesty have genuine strength.
Jay Antani, Filmcritic.com
so threadbare in offering character motivations and background that it hobbles the performances
Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide's Movie Guide
A clear-eyed look at the pleasures and price of abandoning conventional mores for experimental lifestyles.
Eric Lurio, Greenwich Village Gazette
Wightman's gradual change from liberated mom to moonie is one of the scariest performances of the year.
Harvey S. Karten, Compuserve
Worth seeing even if only for Ellen Page's stunning performance.
Donald J. Levit, ReelTalk Movie Reviews
About willfully homeless street youth and their programmed need for community and belonging, but the film's unintentional ramifications dig deeper.
Jules Brenner, Cinema Signals
Page has the looks and the internal landscape to provide an awkward plot with the emotional hook to hang on to. This supernova in the making can carry a movie.
Nick Schager, Slant Magazine
An anti-cult cautionary tale directed at impressionable kids in jeopardy of joining shirtless hunks on European excursions marked by chanting, eating out of dumpsters, and psychological warfare.
Liz Braun, Jam! Movies
The cult becomes the most important character in this otherwise well-made Canadian film about a charismatic group leader and his followers. Catch star Ellen Page so you can say you knew her when.

Read all 20 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

♥˩ƳИИ &

CAST: Ellen Page, Natasha Wightman, Eric Thal, Jim Sturges, August Diehl, Beatrice Brown, Jefferson Guzman, Armin Dillenberger, Marilyn Burns, Fabian, Joaquim Horta DIRECTED BY: Alison Murray SUMMARY: While hitchhiking in Europe, disaffected teen Sherry (Ellen Page) falls in… More
CAST: Ellen Page, Natasha Wightman, Eric Thal, Jim Sturges, August Diehl, Beatrice Brown, Jefferson Guzman, Armin Dillenberger, Marilyn Burns, Fabian, Joaquim Horta DIRECTED BY: Alison Murray SUMMARY: While hitchhiking in Europe, disaffected teen Sherry (Ellen Page) falls in with an underground cult-like group of former prostitutes and drug addicts. Their charismatic leader (Eric Thal) wants to change the world, but Sherry soon realizes that change comes at a steep price. MY THOUGHTS: " I think the most appealing thing about this movie is that its based on true events from the directors real life. Ellen Page plays Sherry, who finds herself attracted to a group of misfits who travel under the name of SPARK. At first sight they seem like a group of street kids who are out to help one another stay off drugs and not sale themselves for money. But further on in the movie you will think differently of their heroin Harry. These kids who start off in just this group turns quickly into a somewhat cult. It's not a great movie, but its a very interesting one, especially knowing these events took place. So give it a chance.. You may find it as interesting as I did if nothing else. Not Ellen's best work, but she was great in it like everything else she does."
Nicki M

Bit of a strange one. Not entirely sure I liked it that much, but interesting idea. Most of the characters are pretty unlikeable, and the whole thing is quite ugly to look at. Even Ellen Page looks freaky. But it apparently is semi-autobiographical which gives it a bit more… More
Bit of a strange one. Not entirely sure I liked it that much, but interesting idea. Most of the characters are pretty unlikeable, and the whole thing is quite ugly to look at. Even Ellen Page looks freaky. But it apparently is semi-autobiographical which gives it a bit more credibility. Definitely not on the list to rewatch in a hurry, but worth a look.
Gordon A

Early Ellen Page effort which proves a good vehicle for her but works less well as a whole. The aims of the collective she joins are muddled and it takes the cast a long time to realize the leader is preying on their vulnerabilities. Certainly captures the anarchist vibe.
E.J. B

What starts off as a very intriguing and realistic movie about street kids is destroyed by a bunch of Lord of the Flies wannabe nonsense and a ridiculous conclusion.
Mark A

Okay. Ellen Page is, as if there was any doubt, a major talent. Here she plays a lost child, Sherry, who falls under the spell of Harry, a charismatic leader of a group that advertises itself as a safe haven for disaffected youth. After a journey that was sobered by a tragic accident,… More
Okay. Ellen Page is, as if there was any doubt, a major talent. Here she plays a lost child, Sherry, who falls under the spell of Harry, a charismatic leader of a group that advertises itself as a safe haven for disaffected youth. After a journey that was sobered by a tragic accident, Sherry arrives at the group's compund and finds that all is not as it appears. By turns wanting to fit in, and then turning defiant, Ms Page nails a child whose mother has abdicated her authority over her daughter, and who is looking for a place to belong. Sherry's search for acceptance is further complicated when her mother shows up at the compound and winds up joining the group as well. Sherry believes herself singled out for "special" attention by Harry and then is punished for breaking the rules. It takes another confrontation and a subsequent tragedy to propel Sherry out of the confines of the cult and back on the road, but this time with another lost soul. This viewer hopes that Sherry will be alright, but nothing is assured. Even with a buzz cut, Ms Page lights up the screen. Bravo!
Adam M

Drama about a young girl who becomes involved with a travelling group who claim they can help change lives for the better.Of course the young girl, Sherry, is tempted and immediately joins the group- SPARK-and hopes for a better life,making new friends,moving from place to place and… More
Drama about a young girl who becomes involved with a travelling group who claim they can help change lives for the better.Of course the young girl, Sherry, is tempted and immediately joins the group- SPARK-and hopes for a better life,making new friends,moving from place to place and maybe eventually finding her place in the world.It's later she realises that certain members of the group are just manipulative control freaks just living off the land and not much else, but by this time it could be to late for Sherry to escape. Ellen Page is brilliant as Sherry, an unsure young girl just trying to find herself, taken in by the promise of a great new life and future.Its no wonder the producers of Hard Candy wanted her in their film after this performance but fair play to the other actors,they were great to.A pretty original, gritty and compelling drama.
Sunil J

I wouldn't call this a movie at all.