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Copyright, Lionsgate Films

American Pastoral

also known as “Amerikanisches Idyll,” “Amerykanska sielanka,” “Pastoral Americana,” “Uma História Americana”
MPA Rating: R-Rating (MPA) for some strong sexual material, language and brief violent images.
Moral Rating: not reviewed
Moviemaking Quality:
Primary Audience: Adults
Genre: Drama Adaptation
Length: 2 hr. 6 min.
Year of Release: 2016
USA Release: October 9, 2016 (festival)
October 21, 2016 (50 theaters in select cities)
October 28, 2016 (wider)
DVD: February 7, 2017
Copyright, Lionsgate Filmsclick photos to ENLARGE Copyright, Lionsgate Films Copyright, Lionsgate Films Copyright, Lionsgate Films Copyright, Lionsgate Films Copyright, Lionsgate Films Copyright, Lionsgate Films Copyright, Lionsgate Films Copyright, Lionsgate Films Copyright, Lionsgate Films
Relevant Issues

father daughter relationship

husband wife relationship

dysfunctional family

adultery

sin and the fall of man

goodness and righteousness


disillusionment

hypocrisy

nihilism / cynicism / pessimism

hopelessness / hope


rape victims’ stories

shame and rape


terrorism / Weather Underground Organization (Wikikpedia)

murder

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Featuring Ewan McGregorSeymour “Swede” Levov
Jennifer ConnellyDawn
Dakota FanningMerry Levov
Peter Riegert … Lou Levov
Rupert Evans … Jerry Levov
Uzo Aduba … Vicky
Molly Parker … Dr. Sheila Smith
David StrathairnNathan Zuckerman
See all »
Director Ewan McGregor—feature directorial debut
Producer Lakeshore Entertainment
Andre Lamal
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Distributor Distributor: Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. Trademark logo.Lionsgate (Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.)
Copyrighted, Lionsgate Films

Here’s what the distributor says about their film: “In the 1960s, a successful businessman (Ewan McGregor) tries to find his missing beloved daughter (Dakota Fanning) after police accuse her of a violent bombing.

Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning Phillip Roth novel, AMERICAN PASTORAL follows an all American family across several decades, as their idyllic existence is shattered by social and political turmoil that will change the fabric of American culture forever. Ewan McGregor (Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, Beginners) makes his directorial debut and stars as Seymour “Swede” Levov, a once legendary high school athlete who is now a successful businessman married to Dawn, a former beauty queen. But turmoil brews beneath the polished veneer of Swede’s life. When his beloved daughter, Merry, disappears after being accused of committing a violent act, Swede dedicates himself to finding her and reuniting his family. What he discovers shakes him to the core, forcing him to look beneath the surface and confront the chaos that is shaping the modern world around him: no American family will ever be the same.

AMERICAN PASTORAL also stars Academy Award® winner Jennifer Connelly (‘A Beautiful Mind’) as Dawn, Dakota Fanning (‘The Runaways,’ ‘The Twilight Saga’) as Merry, Emmy® winner Uzo Aduba (‘Orange Is the New Black’), and Academy Award® nominee David Strathairn (‘Lincoln,’ ‘Good Night, and Good Luck’).

‘I have dreamt of directing a feature for the last 15 years and never found the ‘right’ story. I wanted to direct, not for the sake of being a director, but because there was a story I HAD to tell. Well American Pastoral gave me everything I was looking for. I was incredibly lucky that I had Lakeshore’s trust and incredible talent in front of and behind the camera to make Roth’s story the film I thought it should be. The creative collaboration with the cast and the crew was as thrilling as I had hoped it would be. I was a very happy man making this film and it is the film I wanted it to be.’
—Ewan McGregor, director and actor, ‘American Pastoral’”

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