superficial lives that they are taken in by a handsome young African American con artist Will Smith whose various antics bring the couple round to reexamining their shallow existence. Most of the story is related over art dealings and dinner conversations and are peopled by such luminaries as Kitty Carlisle, Ian McKellen, artists Chuck Close and Kazuko, Mary Beth Hurt, Bruce Davidson etc - a really fine ensemble. There are many social comments clustered in this story and it continues to play well after its origins on the stage and fifteen years after the movie was made. This was one of Will Smith's entries into film as well as one of the gifted Stockard Channing's finest roles. Highly recommended for repeated viewings. Grady Harp

into the world of the rich bourgeois New York society. In particular, the life of a family of art merchants Donald Sutherland and Stockard Channing is literally swept by his arrival, which opens a crack in their life and start making them reflect about their own existence.The movie is witty, amusing, passionate, rich in surprises and in elements of interest, as it addresses the problem of existence how much of it you can account for , the role of fantasy and imagination and the relationship between parents and children. Great story, with brilliant acting from everyone and a nice violin soundtrack: perhaps my personal favourite movie of all time! 10/10

make. "to be or not to be", well william had it all. who are you? what are you going to do with your life? to what extent do you actually exist without other people? how free are you? are you only what you had been doing as time passed by with you incessantly planning things, or are you what your heart tells you to be? life is the time that passes as you keep planning things, as lennon says, and how exactly does that apply to you? the picture has two sides, yes, and in this system, this cage,whatever you wish to call it, this invisibly internalized system whose grip on us gets stronger day by day has soaked into our individual lives so much that we have turned into blank sheets who have become what we are told we have to be. we, then, completely forget about what we have been, what we were. and so life becomes a series of blind-fights you put up with anyone, even with a random guy on the street whose name you don't even know, at whose face you don't even look. cause you have to stand straight and face forward. all those things that we do to fake it. to fake that we are lonely sons of bitches who play in their own comedies without ever knowing it's a comedy.. and then the strangest guy intrudes your life and sings you back what you had denied: your real self. people are so different and yet so alike. think of maslow's pyramid. and they are so scared and they are made so lonely by constructs and schemata that they are so keen on surviving as to refuse the most sincere kind of connection with other souls cause, damn, it is so hard to believe people. so what do you do? you start wearing a mask and it gradually becomes your face..like the way it was with the theater kids in the movie. and you fake it. you fake it just to get recognition and approval, whatever. just to belong. to be loved. and you repeat this with every one. you turn into a sick person, the normal person, with only one side of the picture. well, the movie not only makes quite clever references to *spoiler*--salinger's the catcher in the rye but the whole movie is based on the book's theme--*spoiler*.. what is it that makes you hold on? well, i guess it is time that we look for the threads...like those placenta like aura kind of things that donnie darko saw. "may your mind be wide open".

Sutherland's Flan is a first for the movies, we've never met a character like him on the screen. The scene in which he listens to Will Smith's Paul explain his thesis is a triumph. We see Flan falling in love. It is chillingly beautiful. Then, of course, the aforementioned Will Smith, he moves with a borrowed self confidence, like his character and it's impossible not to love him. He has the elegance of a Cary Grant and the charisma that we all now associate with Will Smith. I only regret that he didn't go for the kiss. That would have completed the shocking sum of all his parts. I love this film. I love John Guare for writing it. I love Schepsi he's an old love of mine "Cry in Dark" "Plenty" The superb editing, the wonderful tangoish score and the work of the production and costume designers makes "Six Degrees of Separation" one of the most rewarding movie experiences. On this terrible summer of World at Wars, New Batmans and some other horrors, do yourself a favour. Rent the DVD and stay for dinner at home with the Kittredges.

have absolutely no bearing on the story. They are as vital a part of the story as is Louisa's breakdown scene, and Flan's realization that he does actually love Paul.So, when you're at the video store, bored with the drivel Hollywood pukes out these days, pick this film up. Pay close attention to the cracks that begin to form in the characters, and run your fingers along those cracks to the end, and you may find yourself caught up in a story with a star shaped meaning. But be careful, it is the type of story that may have you looking inside yourself and who you're connected to.

This is one of the more thought provoking comedy/dramas you'll find. It's a searing look at modern interpersonal relationships and how they can be so lacking of any true human significance, centered more in material gain, business opportunities and social climbing. Stockard Channing deserves all the praise she has garnered for her role and Donald Sutherland and Will Smith are excellent as well. If this one slipped by you during it's original release, as it seems to have for allot of viewers , be sure to check it out!

loan him money but in the morning they find him with another man and they kick everyone out. The Kittredge's talk to their friends and find out that they all encountered Paul as well but were afraid to say something because they were embarrassed. The films title refers to the fact that we all know everyone by six people or degrees. The main focus of the film deals with how this young man made these characters take a good hard look at themselves and the relationship they have with each other and their children. The writing is very sharp and for most of us what is being said onscreen can easily go over our heads. Its a very intelligent script that forces the characters to see things that they seem to take for granted. Directed by Fred Schepisi who has shown a real knack for filming plays before and he also has shown to be very good at making films that are more character oriented. I remember one of his first films from the 70's called "The Devils Playground" and was impressed at that time by his direction. What really stood out for me though were the performances. Will Smith seems to tackle this complex script with an all to easy manner. As I watched his performance it was clear that he really understood the script and his character. You don't see that everyday from such a young actor, especially one that has limited training. But for me the best performance comes from Stockard Channing who was in the play as well. She's always been a very strong actress and a very underrated one at that. While watching her character in this film Channing does a wonderful job of allowing the viewer to watch her characters attitude change from the first scene to the very last. It really is Channings film and she received a well deserved Oscar nomination for it. Its one of the best in her career and its the driving force for the film. Casual film watchers may be put off by the sharp dialogue at first but I hope they stay with it, its a very good film about self realization and all the actors here are terrific.

just finding those six that make the link, and this is turned into an extremely interesting story, told in a series of anecdotal discussions between the main characters and their friends and business partners at various different social occasions. You find yourself drawn and fascinated to the tale as it unfolds, almost feeling as though you are one of those people, eager to hear the next step in the tale. However, I felt somewhat disappointed in the ending, almost as though it didn't fit and came out of nowhere. Yet the ideas of the stranger giving the couple more than they gave the stranger was a good one, I just think what they finally got wasn't what the story needed…but then, sometimes that's life. A very good story, with brilliant performances, well worth watching.