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When 13-year-old Jake's (Theo Taplitz) grandfather dies, his family moves from Manhattan back into his father's old Brooklyn home. There, Jake befriends the charismatic Tony (Michael Barbieri), whose single mother Leonor (Paulina Garcia), a dressmaker from Chile, runs the shop downstairs. Soon, Jake's parents Brian (Greg Kinnear) and Kathy (Jennifer Ehle) -- one, a struggling actor, the other, a psychotherapist -- ask Leonor to sign a new, steeper lease on her store. For Leonor, the proposed new rent is untenable, and a feud ignites between the adults. At first, Jake and Tony don't seem to notice; the two boys, so different on the surface, begin to develop a formative kinship as they discover the pleasures of being young in Brooklyn. Jake aspires to be an artist, while Tony wants to be an actor, and they have dreams of going to the same prestigious arts high school together. But the children can't avoid the problems of their parents forever, and soon enough, the adult conflict intrudes upon the borders of their friendship.
Directed by Ira Sachs (LOVE IS STRANGE, KEEP THE LIGHTS ON, FORTY SHADES OF BLUE) with his trademark humanism and insight, LITTLE MEN highlights the New York City landscape with a story of life-defining friendships in the midst of familial turmoil.
 
Written by
MAURICIO ZACHARIAS & IRA SACHS
Directed by
IRA SACHS
LITTLE MEN
Produced by
LUCAS JOAQUIN
IRA SACHS
Produced by
CHRISTOS V. KONSTANTAKOPOULOS
JIM LANDÉ
L.A. TEODOSIO
Executive Producers
TOM DOLBY
DOM GENEST
MATTHEW HELDERMAN
DANIELLA KAHANE
LARS KNUDSEN
DAVID KYLE
SOPHIE MAS
MELISSA PINSLY
BLYTHE ROBERTSON
LOURENÇO SANT’ANNA
HUGH SCHULZE
LUKE TAYLOR
RODRIGO TEIXEIRA
JAY VAN HOY
FRANKLIN ZITTER
Associate Producers
JOE ALIBERTI
MEETU CHILANA
GRACE COLBY
JOSEPH G. DELLA MONICA
PATRICK DePETERS
ANDREW DRABKIN
BARRIE GOLDEN
VANESSA HAROUTUNIAN
BRYAN HUGHES
CATHLEEN IHASZ
NICOLE IHASZ
JOE KOBZAN
JISUN JAMIE LEE
JEFFERY "DADSRIGHTS" LEVING
MICHAEL MESSMER
TRACY SCOTT NADLER
ANDY PARGH
LARRY TSAI
MANDY WARD
WALTER J. WIACEK
Co-Producer
JONATHAN MONTEPARE
Director of Photography
ÓSCAR DURÁN
Editors
MOLLIE GOLDSTEIN
AFFONSO GONÇALVES, ACE
Production Designer
ALEXANDRA SCHALLER
Costume Designer
EDEN MILLER
Original Music by
DICKON HINCHLIFFE
Music Supervisor
JIM BLACK
Sound Design by
DAMIAN VOLPE
Music Editor
SUZANA PERIC
Casting by
AVY KAUFMAN, CSA
Unit Production Manager JONATHAN MONTEPARE
First Assistant Director ERIC BERKAL
Second Assistant Directors KATIE KRAMER
ALEX SCHWERIN
GREG KINNEAR
JENNIFER EHLE
PAULINA GARCIA
Introducing
MICHAEL BARBIERI
THEO TAPLITZ
TALIA BALSAM
MALIQ JOHNSON
ANTHONY ANGELO FLAMMINIO
MADISON WRIGHT
MAURICIO BUSTAMANTE
JOHN PROCCACINO
and ALFRED MOLINA |
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“TRULY AN EXHILARATING GIFT. Funny, touching and vital, it’s a serious pleasure. IT’S TIME TO REALIZE THAT IRA SACHS IS A MODERN MASTER.” --Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
“IRA SACHS IS A GREAT NEW YORK FILMMAKER.” – Robert Levin, AM New York
“A gentle, intelligent oasis in this summer of heated name-calling.” – Sara Stewart, NY Post
“MOVIES THIS GOOD DON’T COME AROUND OFTEN ENOUGH ANYMORE. A quiet stunner. It just sneaks up and wallops you.” – Stephen Rebello, Playboy
“CRITIC’S PICK.” – A.O. Scott, New York Times
“QUIETLY DEVASTATING. Had me wiping away my own tears.” – David Edelstein, New York Magazine
“**** GRAND AND MOVING. Beautifully poignant.” – Lindsay Bahr, AP
“A simple story that feels rich and honest from any perspective. There’s one dazzling extended take that, in terms of spectacle, embarrasses every other movie this summer.” – Kevin P. Sullivan, Entertainment Weekly
“A TENDER CHARMER. A showcase scene set in an acting class dazzles so much that I applauded at my screening.” – Alan Scherstuhl, Village Voice
“Two young actors lift this perfectly balanced drama into sublime territory.” – Ben Dickinson, Elle
“**** It impresses you with its quiet, confident maturity.” – Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out NY
“A moving feature that hits hard, thanks to wonderful performances and the kind of emotion that’s hard to fake.” – Kate Erbland, Indiewire
“AN ACHINGLY TENDER GEM. The two boys are extraordinary. There is so much poignancy and poetic power that it's devastating.” – Dennis Dermody, Paper
“A film as fleeting as a summer afternoon, and as pregnant with possibilities.” – Matt Brennan, Slant
“LUMINOUS. BIG-HEARTED FILMMAKING. If Martin Scorsese was the quintessential auteur of New York in the 1970s and ’80s, and Spike Lee that of New York in the late ’80s and ’90s, then Ira Sachs is gradually becoming the quintessential auteur of today’s New York” – Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine
“A gem. Tenderly observed. Brimming with truths about modern life.” – Peter Debruge, Variety
“FIVE STARS. Achingly humane. Deeply Moving. The cumulative effect is heart-rending.” – Nigel Smith, The Guardian
“Beautiful. Ranks among Ira Sachs’ best films. The performances are impeccable.” – David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
“I fell in love with it. A finely calibrated, intelligent movie.” – Richard Lawson, Vanity Fair
“Pulls heartstrings with its gentle, deeply human story. It hits hard, thanks to wonderful performances and the kind of emotion that’s hard to fake.” – Kate Erbland, Indiewire
“Adolescent devotion is rarely depicted this delicately.” Matthew Jacobs , Huffington Post
“Ira Sachs isn’t just a terrific filmmaker; he’s a great New York filmmaker.” – Robert Levin, AM New York
"Real, and funny and wrenching all at once. LITTLE MEN gathers force as it goes." – Bob Mondello, NPR
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