The Florida Project (2017)

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The story of a precocious six year-old and her ragtag group of friends whose summer break is filled with childhood wonder, possibility and a sense of adventure while the adults around them struggle with hard times. (imdb)

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Directed By: Sean Baker

Written By: Sean Baker, Chris Bergoch

Starring: Willem Dafoe, Caleb Landry Jones, Macon Blair, Brooklynn Prince, Bria Vinaite, Christopher Rivera, Mela Murder, Valeria Cotto

Genres: Comedy, Drama

Country: USA

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The Florida Project belongs to 34 collections

1. Passed the Bechdel Test (collaborative: moderated by geohawk - 29 stars)

2. AAA: Empire's five star movies (collaborative: moderated by KasperL - 24 stars)

3. Academy Award - Oscar - ALL Best Picture, Directing, Acting & Screenplay Nominees (collaborative - 22 stars)

4. Best of criticker: Drama (collaborative: moderated by avgcrtckr - 18 stars)

5. A24 (collaborative: moderated by elhenzo - 18 stars)

6. Best film of top directors (collaborative: moderated by avgcrtckr - 15 stars)

7. Children in lead role (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 8 stars)

8. Prostitution (collaborative: moderated by Moribunny - 7 stars)

9. Best of criticker: Comedy (collaborative: moderated by avgcrtckr - 7 stars)

10. Best by different standards (public: sesito71 - 6 stars)

11. Top 3000 movies with the most votes on IMDb (public: fanfic - 5 stars)

12. mother-daughter relationship (collaborative: moderated by livelove - 3 stars)

13. Florida (collaborative: moderated by Alex Watkins - 2 stars)

14. !f Istanbul 2018 (collaborative: moderated by Johnny Mo - 2 stars)

15. Unravelling the Narrative (public: lillakniven - 2 stars)

16. The AV Club's 100 Best Movies of the 2010s (public: TychoCelchuu - 2 stars)

17. Best of criticker: 2017 (collaborative: moderated by avgcrtckr - 1 star)

18. 90th Academy Awards: Nominated (2018) ? (public: 5Z5qjRCfM2 - 1 star)

19. toucé (public: rnest - 1 star)

20. The Canon podcast (all films) (collaborative: moderated by psim)

21. 90th Academy Reminder List (2017) (collaborative: moderated by cowfrappe)

22. 75th Golden Globe Nominees - 2017 (collaborative: moderated by cowfrappe)

23. Great Indie Movies (collaborative: moderated by allenrankin)

24. Visti al cinema (public: Rubens)

25. 2017 Films to Watch (public: kendell)

26. My Movie Collection (public: elhenzo)

27. Adolescence (public: Russ Bedford)

28. seen in 2018 (public: sproost)

29. YSF (public: wademenard)

30. Streaming List (public: xreleased)

31. AV Club 20 Best Films of 2017 (public: TychoCelchuu)

32. 2017- (public: rnest)

33. unwatched (public: normalman)

34. Films Watched 2021 (public: knoroz)

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All Ratings | With Reviews

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TCI | Percentile | Date Rated | # Stars (Reviews)

Stars	User	Rating
9	Leonardis	94 _80th
This was not the movie I was expecting, but I did end up really liking it. The scenery and set is colorful and pretty and the interactions between the characters seemed pretty real. I thought it was refreshing to see kids acting like themselves as well, because that's what the young actors were told to do and it worked. Baker is a talent to keep an eye on as well. All around it's beautiful and well-made and acted, told through a rare perspective that makes it a successful project.
6	Bown	91 _94th
Bubblegummo
6	bof	80 _83rd
Lou Reed's "The Kids" adapted for feature length in the shadow of Disney World, with Willem Dafoe as MC to a bunch of amateurs acting their hearts out. I never knew I needed that.
5	Alex Watkins	5 _91st
Something about the way Baker shoots street scenes makes them feel like my own memories brought back to vivid life: the golden-hour glow of the setting sun shining down on unglamorous reality and breathing life and mystery into it, the never-ending cavalcade of cars in the background subtly intruding on the solitude of the main characters, who do their best to inure themselves from the harsh circumstances of their immediate surroundings. It's the rare film that makes me feel like a child again.
5	AFlickering	4 _58th
disney world, florida: commodifying fantasies of the young and poor, promising escape from the plight its corporate existence quietly helps to perpetuate. of course there's no place for moonee there - she's an affront to the wholesome family values it stands for -but it'll keep feeding her desires 'til the moment she reaches the locked gate. that ending is exactly as exhilarating, as plastic, as doomed as any flight into a manufactured magic kingdom must be. easily baker's most assured to date.
5	oldgoat	85 _92nd
Gummo for people who never heard of Harmony Korine. Dafoe is surprisingly good and the lack of narrative is going to leave a lot of dumb people asking what happened.
4	Judo Koala	84 _87th
If Sean Baker is the vanguard of a new, contemporary form of western neorealism in cinema, then I'm all aboard. I don't know how he elicits such wonderful, honest performances from complete non-actors, but I only grow more excited with each new film that arrives.
4	loc42	80 _79th
Contemporary US seems more and more like a decaying USSR, where a vast majority lives in collective housings, with nothing but bad food and bad TV, while elites enjoy all the power and luxuries. Or maybe USSR was even better: at least people did not have to prostitute for bread and butter, nor for housing, right? Very strong movie which narrates a harsh political story with dream-like naturalism and follows the protagonist with utmost compassion, eschewing any paternalist gaze. Great cinema.
4	JSchlansky	93 _94th
Here's my take on the ending that many seem to hate: The real ending of the movie is the heartfelt, tearjerking goodbye from Moonee to Jancey at her door. I think everything after that music kicks in isn't meant to be taken literally, it's a child's escape into imagination.
3	prowler	34 _28th
it turns out all the rumors about Florida were true
3	chengming	85 _93rd
This movie makes us want to live in these eccentric characters' supersaturated dreamland, but at the same time it also makes us cringe at how bad things can be for those left behind by the American dream. An indictment, but one in which every day is summer.
3	Zealot185	96 _98th
A shame this did not get a BP nod, especially considering the contenders, as it is my favorite film of 2017. Baker somehow captures the playful innocence of childhood in summer - with clever nods to Disney attractions - from a perspective rarely seen in film. The very real, improvised performances - esp. from Mooney and her mom - add a weight to the dramatic climax.
3	WWallce4prez	90 _95th
Sean Baker delivers another gem with a story about children raised by children. The film's narrow, but vivid, lens captures a trio of misfit children that absolutely steal the show. Moonee, in particular, serves as the queen of her domain, which consists of adjacent motels, ice cream shops, and the riffraff in between. Unbeknownst to the friends, their kingdom is slowly crashing down. Their naivety is gorgeous to watch.
3	PetrosTser	70 _66th
A film oozing with personality: the framing, colours, music; the way Baker cuts from one locale to the other especially considering the limited space his film takes place in; getting to know the different sides of the characters organically, without anyone being too chatty or obvious about it. The finale was beautiful and the adult actors great but above all - and I'm not sure if it was the kid actors, script or direction (probably all three) - the depiction of childhood felt so vivid and real.
3	natebarrios	85 _94th
It's one thing to show the whimsy and wonder of being a kid and sticking the landing, but something else entirely to place it in a gritty, yet magical setting. As long as Sean Baker is making movies, there'll always be a reason to see them. Keep letting him tell these stories that we never knew we needed.
3	eCitizen	60 _59th
Despite being too slow through most of the viewing, there are many moment that feel authentic. The children were surprisingly entertaining. The thin plot is slowly revealed as you follow a morally bankrupt mother and the antics of her little girl and band of friends. Willem Dafoe was great as the resigned motel manager. Bria Vinaite was very convincing as the destitute mother struggling to cope with her poverty. I disliked the rather non-ending.
3	toddsalter	94 _90th
An amazing look at poverty from a child's perspective. You see and know exactly what is happening in the adult world but that isn't what really takes center stage, which is what makes this movie so unique. Every scene is a treat. Left me with many different angles to contemplate.
2	schnofel	83 _93rd
Where Ken Loach always talks didactically about social wrongs, here the lack of a proper safety net for the poor is worked in almost as subtext. The loss of control is felt everywhere though. From Dafoe's kind manager to Vinaite's reckless mom - they all have to answer to somebody. Even the carefree bliss of childhood breaks at the end and all that remains is a flight into fantasy.
2	cagedwisdom	75 _65th
A really beautiful film, but I feel like I took away the wrong things from it. Such as: man, kids are annyoing. Dafoe is all the heart, surrounded by a bunch of unfortunate characters of which too few are portrayed sympathetically. The ending is the biggest dud all year.
2	twincinema	80 _75th
A great look at the carefree, innocence of youth where reality continually inches in. I was flooded with memories of my own childhood. This features possibly the best child actors who feel like actual children.
2	frederic_g54	7 _57th
The constant struggle of keeping food on the table and a roof over your head is something I'm sure a lot people can relate to all too well. I could literally feel the noose tightening around my neck as Moonee's mom tried to make ends meet, regardless of the questionable practices she kept resorting to. Although hamstrung by a woefully misguided ending - a well-intended idea that lacks in execution - Baker delivers another great film about the often unseen world that exists right in front of us.
2	chadisdanger	88 _93rd
Baker again shows an ability to capture an exuberant yet bracingly realistic look at life on the margins. Moonee's early adventures are charming as hell but the film becomes something special as reality slowly creeps in, the perspective widening to include Dafoe's empathetic hotel manager (maybe the best performance of his career?) and Moonee's childish and troubled mom (a startlingly natural Bria Vinaite). Cinematically alive and emotionally shattering.
2	Timon88	85 _90th
I am positively allergic to most child "actors", so when I started to watch this on the plane, I almost changed movies. But within 10 minutes, I was hooked. Stupendous movie-making. I don't know how Sean Baker did it--with his vision, the script, and the cast (especially the children) he created some sort of special alchemy. Surely much of it was improvised--and all of it was spot on. Bravo to all. Like most, not crazy about the surrealist ending, but I just dislike surrealism in general.
2	moraesfelipe	85 _92nd
Summer days in the life of marginalized people at the poorest possible hotel located near the most famous place in the world. Baker's broad - wide shots and open spaces -, and unjudgmental look is as realistic as fantastic, depicting life as it is while also turning it into mayhem (adults) or fable (kids). Boredom, rap, abandoned condos, a lost Brazilian couple, a swamp with cows, Dafoe talking to birds, a magic sense of adventure and real human experience. What a joy to watch this.
2	sellis	85 _75th
I will never get over how flooringly awful the final minute of this movie is compared to how borderline great all of the rest of it is. The candid performances, a beautiful portrayal child's obliviousness of the passage of time. The film brilliantly explores the realm outside a child's perspective by sticking with loyally in nearly every scene. Willem Dafoe obviously steals the show, along with the mother. But geez - that ending. Perhaps the worst ending of any really good movie I've ever seen
2	CosmicMonkey	90 _94th
I'm not usually a huge fan of these slow, quiet "slice-of-life" kind of films, but this absolutely did it for me. 10 minutes in nothing was happening yet I was already completely hooked; two hours later and I had tears in my eyes and had felt pretty much every emotion that exists. Understated, yet simultaneously powerful. A triumph of film-making and a masterpiece of humanist story-telling.
2	CarsonWid	78 _83rd
Both fun and heartbreaking. Could have been done really poorly with one dimensional characters, but Sean Baker aces this due to his non judgmental portrayal of each character.
2	deaddilly	80 _72nd
Equal parts droning and electrifying. Sean Baker continues to spotlight the purity hidden in the shadowed areas of society. This film (like all of his films) is important and remarkably human.
2	Nroo	83 _89th
Will only buy the blu-ray if there's 5 hours of B-roll of Dafoe talking to birds
2	AAAutin	88 _94th
(KES-SIMMEE)
2	guy piranha	70 _69th
well, if you ever find yourself thinking "it's been a while since i really, really hated some obnoxious piece of shit person for about 2 hours", you're in luck.
2	CMonster	78 _62nd
So a few weeks ago I figured Steeley Dan might be one of the greatest bands of all time which also means I'm ready to be a dad. Then I watched The Florida Project. Now I wanna smoke meth, get a few piercings, and have an abortion. Good movie.
2	ericambler	76 _65th
An impressionistic look at the lives of down-and-out families, THE FLORIDA PROJECT proudly wears its emotions on its sleeve. Its combination of clear-eyed wonder and bleak hardship is genuinely compelling, not to mention voyeuristic. If the movie's intention is to illuminate how the other half lives, it provides only a limited view on the extreme ends of the spectrum, from crass stereotypes to impossibly saintly allies, with an ending that brings delight and frustration in equal measure.
2	braddad68	95 _84th
Very real and while Dafoe was natural and delivered an excellent performance, I though Bria Vinaite really shined in her role.
2	Gnalkhere	75 _59th
Willem Dafriend is the true MVP. I feel like I've been watching this film after taking a dip in the pool for an hour. As it stands, i understand the ending, i don't like it, but i'll forgive it.
2	myfavchords	81 _81st
This is an excellent film. The cast does a great job here. The actors playing the kids are very believable and the dialogue seems very real and natural Overall I would definitely recommend this film.
2	sheepslasher	5 _94th
Florida Gothic
2	mattorama12	80 _89th
I don't know why this movie felt like it was going to be homework going in, but boy was I glad to be wrong. Sean Baker has an otherworldly ability to get natural performances from his actors and seems to find that magical balance between a story that's all plot-driven and one that's just a meandering day-in-the-life. And the setting here gives everything an almost-surreal sheen that makes the whole film that much more interesting.
2	Goldbluming	86 _77th
I was yelling at the TV during that atrocious final scene. Good movie though :P
2	christof	95 _99th
This film is amazing on so many levels.
2	cairosmith	14 _8th
The kind of crawling, self-indulgent character drama that only works if you're building up to something great. As it stands, this film takes its sweet time advancing toward one of the worst endings ever seen in Oscar-bait, a jarring 30-second GoPro shot that will leave you utterly confused about how a climax like that ever got greenlit to begin with.
2	RuruSmasher	97 _95th
Such a beautiful movie, but it broke my heart and made me super sad. The world we live in seems so broken again. And kids are paying the price. So yeah, this was deeply affecting and incredibly shot. Every shot matters, every detail counts. Yeah, even the break-the-convention ending. It's good.
2	feublo	80 _57th
A wonderful display of the more shadier circumstances in humanity. Reaches out to the audience with a wistful attitude. It's a beautiful breakthrough for Bria and Brooklynn. Dafoe is superb of course.
1	Moribunny	68 _70th
Much better than "Tangerine", there is a lot that "The Florida Project" gets right; the dialogue is great including the "childspeak", Vinaite is pretty great as the white-trash wretch who became a mom way too young, and Bobby is an excellent character despite the miscast Willem Dafoe's inadequate performance. Sadly, the movie plods for most of the running time before anything surprising happens, and the ending (blatantly referencing an old European movie) underwhelms.
1	Ytadel	7 _83rd
An interesting mix of a kind of dreamy atmosphere that evokes a lot of childhood wonder and beautiful cinematography (with a very Wes Anderson color scheme) with some brutally depressing subject matter about poverty and trying to keep yourself “just” desperately poor and living in a shitbag motel instead of literally homeless. Subtly intoxicating, depressing and involving all at once, with an ending that’s a bit silly.
1	timmo	90 _66th
Child psychologists should study how Baker managed to get the kids in this film to be as good as they are, because they're all magnificent (outside of one scene). The worst thing that could be said about this film is that it's cute.
1	cowfrappe	88 _98th
A gorgeous, hilarious, heartbreaking film that you won't be able to get out of your head.
1	Carlospro	85 _92nd
adorei a experiência de assistir esse filme. Foi meu primeiro do Sean Baker e tem coisas muito originais.
1	Anomaly	64 _36th
I worked front desk at a hotel for way too long, so I may be a bit biased. Trying to ignore that, I found there to be an unresolved tension between the monotonous realism and the more fantastical elements, which leads to an ending that is understandable but goes so far off the rails in execution it's unreal. And like most realist works everything is filmed too passively for it to have much of an impact. Dafoe lights up the screen every time he's on. Haven't been impressed by Baker so far.
1	msprague	70 _61st
An interesting cast of characters.
1	Icarus	85 _79th
I am grateful for Sean Baker's humanism, even as I struggled profoundly with the outright animalistic immaturity highlighted in the Halley's character. She is all impulse, and her daughter is clearly on her way to the same kind of fate. This is also constructed quite well. While it feels almost haphazard throughout, Baker wisely uses a series of strong contrasts in the last act of the film to jar us from the "Celebration" of the preceding 90 minutes.
1	Duder	80 _95th
This is an amazing way to tell a story. Both delivering the wonders of being a kid, and the hardships of being a single mother poverty.. Such a great film in its ways of showing the tough part of life.. Great directing, great acting, great script.. Only question mark in my head still is the very very very very end. You understand when you see.
1	KasperL	80 _86th
I'm pretty sure that Brooklyn Prince's character must have been motion captured by an actress who is far older. Whether or not this is indeed the case, her performance is never short of captivating.
1	Vandelay1	43 _42nd
worth a watch
1	Ofterdingen	73 _82nd
Sometimes a little too calculated, often subtle, always a brilliant Willem Dafoe.
1	zwyk	65 _45th
Direction and acting make it a movie that deserves respect for its technical qualities. In general, very good acting. And a strong direction that makes the movie flows naturally.
1	Obdurate	90 _91st
Baker gave us a beautifully shot film that uses colours extremely well. Yes, the kids are pricks but there's an endearing mischief present... and tbh, they made me laugh a bunch of times. Not a lot happens 'til the end but it's never boring. I don't have a problem spending time with unlikable characters like the mom. Great child performances, especially from Brooklyn Prince. Ending hammered home the reality that right outside of Disney is poverty, something that applies to many vacation spots.
1	Neonman	80 _63rd
A nicely atmospheric non-narrative film, and with a lot of kids screaming excitedly, it's surprisingly relaxing, the sound design along with everything else adding to how much this environment gets brought to life (the incidental helicopters just adding that little Herzogian touch). It may miss out on being perfectly capped off, but the poor are portrayed in an authentically sunny way that's rare for modern realist cinema.
1	eric-jan	80 _87th
What a BEAUTIFUL movie!!! It had a very dark undertone, but was mostly about the innocence of children. And the camerawork was amazing, like watching a documentary in stead of a movie. GREAT Acting too! LOVED IT.
1	Ocelot	65 _64th
might be too subtle for its own good in terms of its important message resonating with people who need to see it. enjoyable in bursts. the ending is dumb.
1	omgfridge	2 _19th
An overly disconnected experience. The word graining comes to mind, I didn't feel much compassion and nothing film-wise really captured me. Hell, I'll go for the hat trick, Dafoe is overrated here. Actually one more, that ending was horrendous.
1	Calexico	90 _91st
Immensely tender and charming.
1	fenixdown	79 _70th
Lots of great scenes here, runs a little long though.
1	VinegarBob	0 _2nd
Two hours spent in the company of intensely annoying bratty kids and trailer trash moms? No thanks. Within twenty minutes I was hoping the lot of them would die, knowing that they weren't going to, and that nothing was going to change for the next ninety. And nothing did. And then it signed off with one of the most ridiculously inept endings I've ever seen. I want my two hours back, and I didn't even have any plans this evening.
1	mandy	7 _73rd
thought provoking, non -judgemental insight into life on the margins of the happiest place on earth. Outstanding naturalistic performances from all the children and a host of interesting adult characters.
1	axleblaze	100 _98th
I do not have the correct words to express just how good this movie is
1	lethias	90 _89th
Feels pristine and down to earth. One wonders how many stories like these are there out there. Probably a lot, and it's getting worse every year because we live a broken system, system that works in favor to those who already have enough. Performances are award-worthy and presented with such feeling it's a joy to watch. A joy to watch such a sad, sad movie. I felt a bit like a hypocrite... on my cozy ottoman sofa.
1	Darren	91 _93rd
So people hate the ending cuz they want this child to just be miserable. Good flick reminded me of the short spell in my youth that my dad lived in a motel. Scamming arby's throwing shit on people from the second floor.
1	jphilade	73 _56th
Really jumped the shark at the end there, pity.
1	damil	75 _81st
This is one of the best 'slice of life' films I've ever seen. It just captures childhood, innocence, summer, Florida (probably), and the reality of people in desperate situations so perfectly. The locations and colours were so beautiful yet hideous. Dafoe was excellent, as usual, and the little girl in the lead role was really impressive and naturalistic. It was funny, very emotional, and illustrative of the impact films can have despite having little in the way of budget and story.
1	Hofschneider	81 _69th
It stayed with me for much longer than expected.
1	90sCoffee	83 _91st
Youthfully melancholic
1	KenMeisters	99 _99th
Rarely has a movie stuck with me as much as this one. It paints a picture of poverty that isn't the usual cliche.The whole setting makes the movie look beautiful and the writing and direction is incredibly human and emotional. The fact that Willem Dafoe does some of his best work and yet a first time actress and an at the time seven year old are able to pull their weight next to him is nothing short of amazing.
1	amazedemon	65 _61st
The Florida Project is a film driven by performances especially from Prince, Vinaite, and Defoe. The plot seems more like a vignette of misadventures, but they're somewhat captivating like a watching imminent car crash. Overall, the film is actually quite depressing; the poverty, the compromises, the bad parenting... I'm not sure how I feel about the ending; though a girl and her bestie running through the lie that is Disney World is somewhat fitting.
1	Ippei	80 _86th
Really enjoyed this one. Might not be a flashy spectacle but the intricacies and detail, the innocence and the hardships are all really very well balanced to tell a great "slice of life" style film. It is actually quite beautiful in its own right. The performances, particularly from the kids, are all terrific and Willem Dafoe acts as a subtle but necessary anchor, without ever dominating the screen.
1	Yoshinaruto	80 _90th
Starts a bit rough, but progressively becomes something great. There isn’t really a good central character to anchor the film, Dafoe’s character is probably the closest we get to this. The kid-only scenes get slightly tiresome early on, but it’s nice to see a realistic portrayal as opposed to what we usually see in film. Well directed, acted, and the characters (even the mom) earn my sympathy quite often.
1	Pratchett3	8 _72nd
liked the general hyper-realism and the kids that actually acted like real kids for once
1	awaep	85 _97th
A great movie.70 years after the Bicycle Thieves this movie show us the corridors leading numerous portions of the social classes from unemployment and underemployment to total or permanent exclusion from the world of capitalist work and from there to the unneeded populations, to those who the system neither needs nor wants to reintegrate into the world of capitalist labor.I'm keen on cinema intended for the working class, but also made by it and not by the million$ of producers.
1	gpatkinson	92 _60th
Visually stunning and a moving plot. Fantastic performances by all the leads. Feels like a slice of life from a world most of us will never know.
1	krypt	76 _46th
The final cut to iPhone footage is the essence
1	Quintonjamin	80 _80th
Not really funny, but the story has a lot of depth and all of the acting, especially the child actors, are great.
1	adornment	91 _96th
With The Florida Project, Sean Baker has crafted a naturally flowing film with emotionally engaging characters. The admirable thing about this movie is how it treats all of its characters with such care and understanding. Its contrast between the innocence of the children and the weight of what's actually happening puts a unique tint on the film.
1	doyler29	90 _86th
It sounds like stuff you have seen before, but this is told in a very different way. It's less about plot and more about the accumulation of day to day detail. Willem Dafoe plays the motel manager, and it's an incredible performance that tells you exactly who this man is with almost no scenes or dialogue that speak directly to his character.
1	sylvie	95 _99th
Such an amazing film. I love how it starts bravely, depicting the neighborhood from the pov of the children with little to no dialogue, and how it slowly switches to narrate its plot. It says so many things about poverty in the US, capitalism, and motherhood and it does it in the most gentle way even though it focuses on a filthy side of the country that so many try not to look at. Easily one of my favorite films. Ever. Yes, that is a bold statement. I stand by it.

Average Percentile 66.38% from 1880 Ratings