The Five Senses

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The Five Senses

R

1999

1h 45m

Drama

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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.

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

A story like Five Senses sounds like a gimmick, but Podeswa has a light touch when dealing with the senses and a sure one when telling his stories.

Rated: 3/4

Jan 1, 2000

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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

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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

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Film Threat

Rated: 4/5

Dec 6, 2005

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Jeanne Aufmuth

Palo Alto Weekly

Rated: 2/4

May 14, 2003

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Joshua Tanzer

Offoffoff

You'll probably think in a new way about the sounds and the music, the look of places and people, how much or little you take note of the scents and sensations of daily life.

Rated: 3.5/4

Apr 29, 2003

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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

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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

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Audience Member

I like movies that make me think - especially when they interweave the characters

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/27/23

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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

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Audience Member

Beautifully contemplative ... mind not the melancholy.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

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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

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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