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The Five Senses

Play trailer Poster for The Five Senses R Released May 18, 1999 1h 45m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
74% Tomatometer 34 Reviews 79% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
"The Five Senses" is a drama pivoting around the five senses -- touch, taste, hearing, smell and vision -- and the impact that each has on a group of individuals searching for an intimate human connection. The story takes place in Toronto over an intense three-day period in which a young child has disappeared, galvanizing the public and media's attention. Against this dramatic backdrop, five characters that live or work in the same building explore the primary senses in very personal ways.

Critics Reviews

View All (34) Critics Reviews
Owen Gleiberman Entertainment Weekly Rated: C+ Sep 7, 2011 Full Review Globe and Mail Rated: 2.5/4 Apr 25, 2003 Full Review Entertainment Weekly Rated: C+ Jul 14, 2000 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com The second feature by the openly gay Canadian director interweaves in a rather schematic mode but with elegant style the stories of five troubled characters, each standing for one of the senses. Rated: C+ Aug 3, 2009 Full Review MaryAnn Johanson Flick Filosopher [A]n uncomfortable, poignant, and often ineffably sad film about death, loss, and loneliness, much of which is left unresolved. Dec 30, 2006 Full Review Film Threat Rated: 4/5 Dec 6, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member Gets better with each year and each viewing. This is a masterpiece but most critics were too ego-driven or too-stupid to see when it was first released. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/19/23 Full Review Audience Member The Five Senses is your (mostly) typical indie urban drama with intersecting lives and stories. The vibe is very late nineties and overall it is nicely done in terms of acting and directing. Something about it makes me rate it a bit higher than films like "13 Conversations About One Thing". I think (contrary to some other reviewers) that it has more heart and a better sense of humor than similar dramas. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/15/23 Full Review Audience Member I like movies that make me think - especially when they interweave the characters Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/27/23 Full Review Frances H Interesting that all of the senses here are associated with loss. Rona, who represents taste, has lost her sense of taste. Richard (hearing) is going deaf. Richard (hearing) is going deaf, Robert (smell) is trying to determine by said sense if any of his former lovers, whom he has lost, still love him, and Ruth, a message therapist (touch) has lost her husband and is reminded of the loss by touching others who feel similar to him. Rupert (sight) has lost the ability to fell anything emotionally because of his voyeurism. In the end, most of these feelings of loss are replaced by feelings of hope, but the web site here is wrong when they label this film as a drama and comedy both, for there is absolutely nothing remotely funny about this piece of cinema. Beautiful and touching, yes, but funny, no! The music used in the soundtrack is haunting and lovely. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/13/14 Full Review Audience Member Beautifully contemplative ... mind not the melancholy. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member Decent piece about various characters looking/longing for many things that have themes with the human senses. But a rather blah movie. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/27/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Five Senses

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Cast & Crew

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Mary-Louise Parker

Rona

Philippe Volter

Richard

Gabrielle Rose

Ruth

Daniel MacIvor

Robert

Nadia Litz

Rachel Seraph

Molly Parker

Anna Miller

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The Five Senses

The Five Senses (1999) The Five Senses (1999) The Five Senses (1999) The Five Senses (1999) Mary-Louise Parker (Rona, left) and Marco Leonardi (Roberto). Philippe Volter (Richard, left) and Pascale Bussières (Gail). View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis "The Five Senses" is a drama pivoting around the five senses -- touch, taste, hearing, smell and vision -- and the impact that each has on a group of individuals searching for an intimate human connection. The story takes place in Toronto over an intense three-day period in which a young child has disappeared, galvanizing the public and media's attention. Against this dramatic backdrop, five characters that live or work in the same building explore the primary senses in very personal ways.
Screenwriter
Jeremy Podeswa
Distributor
Fine Line Features
Production Co
Alliance Atlantis Communications, Harold Greenberg Fund, Movie Network, Canadian Television, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Téléfilm Canada, Five Senses Productions
Rating
R
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
May 18, 1999, Original
Release Date (DVD)
Jan 23, 2001
Box Office (Gross USA)
$497.1K
Runtime
1h 45m
Sound Mix
Dolby Digital