Next of Kin (1984)

• Year: 1984
• Released: 30 Nov 1984
• Country: Canada
• Adwords: 2 wins & 1 nomination
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087789/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/next_of_kin
• Metacritics:
• Available in: 720p, 1080p,
• Language: English
• MPA Rating: Not Rated
• Genre: Comedy, Drama
• Runtime: 70 min
• Writer: Atom Egoyan
• Director: Atom Egoyan
• Cast: Patrick Tierney, Berj Fazlian, Sirvart Fazlian
• Keywords:

	6.9/10
	50% – Critics
	45% – Audience

Next of Kin Storyline

Twenty-three year old Peter Foster, who still lives at home, used to find it entertaining to hear his parents continually argue in not liking each other very much. He no longer finds the situation entertaining, he coping by sleeping long hours, and retreating into a world of make believe. As Peter has been caught a few times in that fantasy world, his parents decide to deal with it by entering into family counseling, the sessions which are to be videotaped and to be viewed by each individual family member on their own before the subsequent session to view themselves objectively. After the first session, Peter is able to convince the counselor that part of his individual therapy should be to go away for a week, which Mr. Foster gladly pays for for the greater good of the family. Peter is to keep a diary, written or audio recorded, each day of his time away. What Peter really has in mind is to delve deeper into that world of make believe. He has learned of an immigrant family in Toronto, the Deryans – mother and father Sonya and George, and young adult daughter Azah – who are going through their own issues of a diversion of views between George and Azah which is leading to problems in the family dynamic. Peter’s plan is to insert himself into the family for the week as Bedros, the son they gave up for adoption out of economic circumstance of the time. In the process, Peter may get a better view of his own family life, with the diary a means to make such an evaluation.—Huggo

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Next of Kin Movie Reviews

a promising debut

Perhaps true family ties are only possible with someone else’s family; that’s the premise behind writer/director Atom Egoyan’s disarming feature debut. The film itself is admittedly slim, running only 72 minutes and resting on the most slender thread of a plot, in which the disenchanted only son of an alienated Anglo Saxon household ‘adopts’ an Armenian family by posing as their long-lost son, becoming so enriched by the experience he decides to make it a permanent arrangement. Nothing much else happens, but Egoyan fleshes out the skeletal framework with plenty of tender, funny observations, minimizing the video-age pretensions that would mark his subsequent features. In this slight, engaging fable the director exhibits all the earmarks of an embryonic talent taking his first, assured steps.

Excellent!

Atom Egoyan proves early on his talent as a story-teller in this 1984 Drama/Comedy about a man searching for an identity. The premise is a lot like that of The Graduate, a young man not sure where is future lies, although the way they go about it is completely opposite, the beginning definitely reminds me of “The Graduate”

Peter Foster is a 23 year old man still living with his controlling parents. With no ambition in his life, the Foster family visits a therapist, hoping that they can be helped. While viewing the video-recording of his therapy session, he puts in another tape of an Armenian family seeking therapy. It is revealed that this Armenian family had given up a son for adoption early on. Peter comes up with a plan where he will “pretend” (a theme which comes up often in the film) to be Bedros, the long lost son of this elderly couple. The story is told well, in the trademark Egoyan style. The film mixes comedy with drama, containing beautiful artistic elements that we can definitely associate with Atom Egoyan. The simple fact where there are no subtitles is interesting in itself, because Peter doesn’t know what is being said, why should the audience? (Although this is only a few seconds here and there, it doesn’t take away at all from the film) If you are a fan of Atom Egoyan I highly recommend seeing this film, enjoy!

The Graduate meets Harold and Maude in Canada!

I had never heard of Atom Egoyan, a Canadian-Armenian director, when I bought a box set of his films from the UK because they were on sale and sounded cool. It has been sitting on my shelf for at least a year. The other night, I cracked it open, put “Next of Kin” on and was blown away. “Next of Kin” is an astonishing first feature length film, both in script (which Egoyan wrote) and direction.

It is a story of a rich young man trying to find purpose in life, much like “The Graduate” and “Harold and Maude”. He is 23, lived at home his whole life, and amused himself by “watching my parents dislike each other.” They take him to therapy, he plays with them psychologically, but then by chance discovers an Armenian family who lost a son and proceeds to contact them and pretend to be their long lost boy.

It is wacky, it is funny, it is weird, it is thought provoking. It is an insightful look at culture and family and our willingness to accept anything when in psychological need. There is some plot structure and cinematography that is amazing. A remarkable first film that is almost unknown. Delighted to have it my collection. I can’t wait to see the rest of the films in the set.