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One Cut, One Life

2014 1h 47m Biography List
100% Tomatometer 11 Reviews 36% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
After Ed Pincus is diagnosed with a terminal illness, he and Lucia Small team up to make a final film.

Critics Reviews

View All (11) Critics Reviews
Sheri Linden Los Angeles Times The film is an exploration of art as a way through immense and complex emotions. Jun 11, 2015 Full Review Ronnie Scheib Variety As exasperating as it is weirdly compelling. May 17, 2015 Full Review Ty Burr Boston Globe It's a thing of lovely imperfections: profound and banal, self-absorbed and insightful, weighted with grief and buoyed by resilience. In short, as messy and precious as life itself. Rated: 3.5/4 May 14, 2015 Full Review Ren Jender Bitch Flicks First person documentary filmmakers Ed Pincus and Lucia Small are no strangers to letting an audience in on their family "secrets". Mar 8, 2019 Full Review John Esther UR Chicago Magazine A bittersweet testimony to documentary filmmaking, collaboration and camaraderie Jul 18, 2015 Full Review Robert Horton HeraldNet (Everett, WA) The longer the movie goes on, the more interesting it gets. Jul 2, 2015 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (1) audience reviews
Audience Member Two documentary filmmakers, Lucia Small and Ed Pincus, turn the camera on themselves when Pincus is diagnosed with a terminal illness. As many audience members remarked in the Q+A, this film is not about death; it's about learning, or being reminded of, how to live. When the credits rolled, and as I typed these words, the tears are unstoppable. This film isn't just about Pincus' slow death. Before he was diagnosed, Small had already experienced two sudden, violent deaths of friends. With these three life tragedies surrounding her, the film's focus became the frailty of life. Small and Pincus then insightfully brought their camera down to the subway, visually illustrating their ordinariness by watching Pincus sit as just another passenger. Anything can happen to anyone, anytime. Perhaps someone else on that train is about to have a loved one commit suicide, or another may be abused by their spouse, or another may be showing early signs of cancer. As you watch the passersby on the subway, it doesn't feel ham-fisted like you may be worrying, but like tragic moments of truth. There are a lot of layers to One Cut, One Life, but I'm not going to go all through of them. I will tell you that Lucia Small's individual introduction on stage will tell you where the film is headed, and when the moment comes, so do the tears of every loved one you've lost. However I must also tell you, that while there is darkness, the film leaves you with a rediscovered understanding of the beauty of life and how to live it with vigor. This is why I go to the movies, to experience humanity in a way that is both authentic and illuminating. One Cut, One Life certainly brings that in spades. Grade: A/A- Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/14/23 Full Review Read all reviews
One Cut, One Life

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis After Ed Pincus is diagnosed with a terminal illness, he and Lucia Small team up to make a final film.
Director
Ed Pincus, Lucia Small
Producer
Mary Kerr, Ed Pincus, Lucia Small
Screenwriter
Ed Pincus, Lucia Small
Genre
Biography
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 18, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$8.7K
Runtime
1h 47m