Director: Atom Egoyan
Cast: David Hemblen, Aidan Tierney
Canada 1988 | 86mins
Avaliable on: DVD
A disaffected young man named Van travels to a nursing home to visit his elderly, neglected grandmother, Armen. There he meets Aline, a young phone-sex worker caring for her mother in the adjacent bed. After discovering that his father Stan has been using old family videotapes to film himself having sex, Van sets out on a mission to put family affairs in order. But he soon finds himself in way over his head.
A black comedy of mixed and found identities, Family Viewing uses stunning cinematic trickery and a wide range of visual media to portray the breakdown and restoration of a dislocated family unit. Darkly humorous and boldly unpredictable, this complex journey into a world of brutality and sentiment is one of Atom Egoyan’s defining early works.