House of Cards (1993)

Director:

Michael Lessac

Writers (WGA):

Michael Lessac (story) &
Robert Jay Litz (story) ...

Release Date:

25 June 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

A Journey That Will Open Your Mind... And Touch Your Heart.

Plot:

When Ruth Matthews's husband is killed in a fall at an archaeological dig, her daughter Sally handles her father's death in a very odd manner...

Plot Keywords:

Daughter | Autism | Card | Crisis | Child's Point Of View

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Kathleen Turner	...	Ruth Matthews
Tommy Lee Jones	...	Jake Beerlander
Asha Menina	...	Sally Matthews
Shiloh Strong	...	Michael Matthews
Esther Rolle	...	Adelle
Park Overall	...	Lillian Huber
Michael Horse	...	Stoker
Anne Pitoniak	...	Judge
Joaquín Martínez	...	Selord
Jacqueline Cassell	...	Gloria Miller (as Jacqueline Cassel)
John Henderson	...	Bart Huber
Craig Fuller	...	Ray Huber
Rick Marshall	...	Frank Stearson
Reuben Valiquette Murray	...	Reuben
Emily Russell	...	Emily

Also Known As:

Before I Wake (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for theme.

Runtime:

Netherlands:109 min | USA:109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | South Korea:12 | UK:15 | Germany:12 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Greensboro, North Carolina, USA

Company:

A&M Films

Trivia:

James Horner's original score is based on his score for the film Where the River Runs Black (1986) also a film that involves a child in it's storyline. Intrada Records released a limited edition soundtrack which instantly sold out in a record amount of hours, such as their release of Michael Small's unused score for The China Syndrome (1979) had done previously.

Goofs:

Continuity: Jacob's right hand when Sally is throwing the blocks against the mirrored window.

Quotes:

[first lines from off]
Sally Matthews: Why do people dream?
Selord: To see things better.
Sally Matthews: Where do people come from?
Selord: The gods made them.
Sally Matthews: Where do the gods live?
Selord: They live in every living thing.
Sally Matthews: Why did they make people?
Selord: They were bored. They needed people around to entertain them.
Sally Matthews: Why do the gods let people die?
[...]

Movie Connections:

References TRON (1982)

autistic or artistic?

I find myself wanting to criticise, negatively, a number of plot elements in this story of a traumatized young girl and her distressed mother. But in fact I found myself following the story, the characters, and the outcome (no spoilers here, I hope) with my whole heart. So much depends on the core problem: how to diagnose and treat the special little girl. Is she autistic (the onset brought about by the trauma of witnessing the death by falling of her father,) whatever autism is? Is she a specially endowed child who's gifts have been fostered by the nice Latino man/shaman (not a formal shaman, but a very wise and creative man?) Is her Mom--who often appears to be a traumatized and misbegotten for the same reasons as her daughter--way misguided and herself suspect in the sanity area? As I said, I was beguiled by the performance of the little girl, and her mother, and even the off-again-on-again caring, sensitive therapist, Tommy Lee Jones. The little girl drifts off into never never land, but seems very connected with everyday surroundings, perseverates, reacts to appearances which do not fit her apparent obsessions. The good doctor diagnoses autism--a convenient peg to hang one's professional hat. But is the mother, an architect and seer in her own right--and also a very emotional and volatile individual--on the right track as seeing her daughter as working out a mourning ritual, a metaphysical journey (sending her father to the moon and to the afterlife, say)? I found nothing inconsistent with this conflict--the metaphysical vs the "medical"--or the way it developes and resolves in this film. I found it possible to sympathise with the efforts of the medical team, and I found it sort of exiting to follow the intuitive machinations of the brave and stubborn mother who was willing to go the limit for her child. Without revealing the outcome, I must say that the ultimate resolution and catharsis, if I may say, is satisfying without being excessively contrived or sentimental (The stairway to the stars project was, too, appropriate and effective, to my mind. It can't hurt anybody to hear the message that sometimes medical judgements are possibly premature, shortsighted, and lacking in creative judgement. An engaging film. Six plus from jaime.