Parents' Guide to

The Color of Time

By S. Jhoanna Robledo, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Visually appealing but pretentious film tries too hard.

Movie R 2014 72 minutes
The Color of Time Poster Image

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What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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What's the Story?

In a series of vignettes directed by his New York University students, actor James Franco brings to life the work of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet C.K. Williams in THE COLOR OF TIME. The audience sees Williams as a boy, a teen, and finally an adult. Poetic narration attempts to show how Williams' varied experiences shaped his views on life -- and how that works into his art.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
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Kids say (1):

Points to The Color of Time's directors for looking to Williams' poetry as source material; but although the film is a gorgeous visual buffet, there's not much there there. The non-sequential vignettes jump back and forth through different periods of the poet's life and are filled with images that seem significant (or try to be) -- a young boy and girl holding hands, a white horse, a meaningful look from an attractive stranger at a party -- and are wrapped in narration that sounds important but doesn't leave the audience with much to like, or love. Bottom line? The film tries too hard, and in the end, it's a pretentious exercise.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about The Color of Time's relationship to poetry. Does the movie seem like a visual attempt at poetry? How so? How does this approach differ from more conventional, narrative films?

  • Do you think this movie would have gotten made/distributed if Franco hadn't been involved? Does his participation impact how you perceive the film -- or your expectations for it?

  • What did you learn about poet C.K. Williams from the film?

Movie Details

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