American Fable

Released Feb 17, 2017

1 hr. 36 min.

Mystery & Thriller

Drama

List

76%

17 Reviews

Tomatometer

41%

500+ Ratings

Audience Score

With her family's livelihood imperiled by the farm crisis during the 1980s, 11-year-old Gitty loses herself in a world of fantasy and make believe. But she stumbles into her own fairy tale when she makes a startling discovery: a well-dressed mystery man being held captive in her family's silo. It's the beginning of a labyrinthine journey that will turn Gitty's world upside down and force her to question her loyalty to her own family.

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isla s

This is a very mysterious, slightly dark (spooky) and part fantasy based film. Most of the film has a yellow tinge, which helps give it a bright and artificial feel somehow. I thought the actress Peyton Kennedy, who plays the main character, Gitty, gave a particularly good performance. There's some interesting and thoughtful dialogue and it has good use of background music/sounds. The family dynamics element I found particularly intriguing. Its not scary but its definitely spooky and I thought that overall, its a decently made film, which I'd recommend.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Is it a fable or real? With her family's livelihood imperiled by the farm crisis during the 1980s, 11-year-old Gitty loses herself in a world of fantasy and make believe But she stumbles into her own fairy tale when she makes a startling discovery: a well-dressed mystery man being held captive in her family's silo It's the beginning of a labyrinthine journey that will turn Gitty's world upside down and force her to question her loyalty to her own family Think of this like the American version of Pan's Labyrinth I'm not sure what direction Anne Hamilton was trying to get across but it felt very underwhelming I wanted more fantasy elements involved with this little girls imagination It just keeps going back to this mystery of whether or not this man in the silo can be trusted and hardly any of the relatives can be trusted or remotely likable It becomes more disappointing towards the end when nothing feels resolved

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

Full Review

adam b

Some interesting scenes and a cool idea but the ending looses its footing

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Great story. Stunning visuals. Very well done!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

Full Review

Audience Member

American Fable isn't so much a fable as an allegorical telling of the 20th century's farmstead transformation. The dubious actions are enough to create a complex layer of ethical and moral dilemmas for an imaginative 11 year old to contend with.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/27/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I found that the wall tiles were more interesting than this nonsense movie. Seriously, if you watch this film toward the mid way point, when you are wondering why you continue to watch such drivel, turn away and look at the wall or something equally dull, amazingly it is more enjoyable than this film. Can i get those hours of my life back please. the only reason i finished it was to know how truely bad it was.,

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

Full Review

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Anne Hamilton

Director

Peyton Kennedy

Gitty

Kip Pardue

Abe

Richard Schiff

Jonathan

Marci Miller

Sarah

Gavin MacIntosh

Martin

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Frank Scheck

Hollywood Reporter

American Fable possesses an amorphous, dreamlike quality that proves increasingly irritating as it wears on.

Feb 27, 2017

Full Review

Bill Goodykoontz

Arizona Republic

"American Fable" has its problems ... but it's a promising debut for Hamilton.

Rated: 3/5

Feb 23, 2017

Full Review

Sheila O'Malley

RogerEbert.com

American Fable is ambitious, maybe too much so sometimes, but there's an intense pleasure in the boldness of the film's style, its confidence in what it is about.

Rated: 3/4

Feb 17, 2017

Full Review

Dax Ebaben

Bloody Disgusting

[American Fable] is a lovely film which smartly puts much of its faith behind young actress Peyton Kennedy, in the role of Gitty.

Rated: 3.5/5

Aug 26, 2021

Full Review

Debbie Lynn Elias

Behind The Lens

A film eloquently crafted and visualized. A unique structuring. A visual style best described as painterly beauty with strong framing and use of color.

Oct 30, 2019

Full Review

Derek Deskins

Next Projection

First time feature writer-director Anne Hamilton is staking her claim, this is her style, and you will do right to take notice.

Rated: 8.2/10

Oct 16, 2018

Full Review

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Synopsis

With her family's livelihood imperiled by the farm crisis during the 1980s, 11-year-old Gitty loses herself in a world of fantasy and make believe. But she stumbles into her own fairy tale when she makes a startling discovery: a well-dressed mystery man being held captive in her family's silo. It's the beginning of a labyrinthine journey that will turn Gitty's world upside down and force her to question her loyalty to her own family.

Director: Anne Hamilton
Screenwriter: Anne Hamilton
Distributor: IFC Films
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 17, 2017, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 12, 2017

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