Following Sean

Play trailer

Following Sean

2004

1h 28m

Documentary

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

88%

Tomatometer

24 Reviews

73%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

Filmmaker Ralph Arlyck returns to San Francisco to search for an adult he met as a boy in the 1960s.

J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

What promises to be a standard postmortem on 60s ideology becomes a thoughtful essay on the choices we all make between work, family, and personal freedom.

Jul 13, 2022

Full Review

Gene Seymour

Newsday

What emerges from Arlyck's musings is a penetrating cinematic essay on how generations in the last century struggled to take hold of history and reconfigure the shape of daily life.

Rated: 3.5/4

May 3, 2006

Full Review

V.A. Musetto

New York Post

Arlyck spends more time following himself and his own lefty family than checking up on Sean.

Rated: 1.5/4

May 3, 2006

Full Review

David Lamble

Bay Area Reporter

Following Sean is a poignant reminder that while snatches of "real life" can be captured on camera, its meaning forever lies just beyond the reach of the lens, where ants and grasshoppers, hippies and stockbrokers make their own peculiar bargains...

May 7, 2020

Full Review

Rob Thomas

Capital Times (Madison, WI)

While the film is ostensibly a "49 Up" style look at how Sean the child grew into the man, what it really is is a penetrating look at how Arlyck the young man grew into an old one.

Rated: 3/4

Apr 20, 2007

Full Review

Phil Hall

Film Threat

A confused and ridiculous home movie.

Rated: 1/5

Apr 10, 2007

Full Review

Read all reviews

Audience Member

Things rarely go as planned. The ideals of youth often bare no fruit.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/21/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Following Sean is a good little documentary about Ralph Arlyck going back and meeting Sean Farrell 30 years after he interviewed him when he was just a kid. Sean was born into a family that decided to move to Haight St. in San Francisco. Sean's father Johnny was a hippy who wasn't going to work for the man and he continues to be the same person to this day. The interest factor in Following Sean comes into play when you see the man Sean grew up to be. After the first interview, Sean's parents got a lot of flack and even their parents thought that their kids, including Sean, would be criminals or drug addicts. That however isn't the case and it's really interesting just how different Sean is from his father.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/12/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Not a huge exciting point to the movie, but definitely interesting at times.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/15/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Good film about growing up smoking weed at 4 yrs. old, and the fact that you turn out ok anyway. What happened to Sean? What happened to you? This movie is about how children of the 60's ended up, along with the filmmaker.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/14/23

Full Review

Audience Member

the movie bored me, lots of kids had lives like Sean did in San Francisco in the 60's, it just didn't interest me all that much. Only thing i liked about it was the historical hippie footage.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/10/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Arlyck was able to weave a thread of personal transparency (showing his own son's annoyance with his endless requests for sound bites) into an American historical context. Born in '68 myself I can relate to the experience of growing up with parents who rejected their parents' emphasis on conformity by leaning towards the opposite philosophy of "no rules". I loved seeing how Sean grew up to be his own person, despite his Father's influence. This is a story of parenting ideals and how they effect future generations.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Ralph Arlyck

Director

Ralph Arlyck

Writer

Ralph Arlyck

Producer

Malcolm Pullinger

Producer

Ralph Arlyck

Cinematographer

Malcolm Pullinger

Film Editing

Billy the Kid

82%

86%

Billy the Kid

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Billy the Kid

The Devil's Miner

93%

85%

The Devil's Miner

Watchlist

Three of Hearts: A Postmodern Family

79%

74%

Three of Hearts: A Postmodern Family

Watchlist

Unknown White Male

73%

59%

Unknown White Male

Watchlist

Rittenhouse Square

50%

%

Rittenhouse Square

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

Filmmaker Ralph Arlyck returns to San Francisco to search for an adult he met as a boy in the 1960s.

Director: Ralph Arlyck
Producer: Ralph Arlyck, Malcolm Pullinger
Screenwriter: Ralph Arlyck
Production Co: Timed Exposures
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 10, 2016
Runtime: 1h 28m

Most Popular at Home Now