Message to My Daughter (1973)

the audience applauded

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

The story in "Message to My Daughter" is very, very maudlin...so I am warning you. If you are depressed, it's NOT a good film to see and it's definitely a film to watch with a box of Kleenex nearby!When the film begins, young Miranda (Kitty Winn) is driving like she would just as soon die...and she nearly does! She winds up in the hospital and her father (Martin Sheen) is scared but only seems to know how to yell at her. Later, after trying very unsuccessfully to communicate with her about her problems, he offers her a VERY strange gift--a stack of audio recordings her mother made specifically to be given to Miranda when she is older. What is this all about anyway? Well, it seems that Miranda's mom, Janet (Bonnie Bedelia) died when Miranda was only a toddler...and the tapes consist of her mother talking to her, talking about her life and giving her nuggets of wisdom (such as a sex talk, dealing with parents, struggling with wanting to get an abortion, etc.). The plot is a bit contrived and odd, that's for sure! But it IS something will suck you into the film as Miranda goes through a journey of self-discovery.Overall, this is a very good and very manipulative film...with a theme song that might just annoy the heck out of you. In the 1970s it worked...today...not so much. A great film if you're looking for a good cry. And, quite daring since it deals with abortion...which was hardly ever talked about at the time or even now.By the way, wouldn't the tapes have been reel to reel since the mother died in 1956? Cassettes weren't invented until 1962. Yet, oddly, it's all on cassettes.

I watched this movie in the '70s and was very moved by it. I think it was ahead of its time in that it addressed the issue of abortion by showing how dangerous it was for young women at the time as the procedure was not regulated. It also showed how judgmental society was at that time. The young woman's parents were more concerned about what their neighbors would say rather than what was happening to their daughter. The 3 main actors played their parts with strength and understatement.I still remember the poem by Christina Rossetti,the young woman read to her daughter "When I am dead, my dearest . . . "

I enjoyed this film an afternoon in 1979. Here in Chile was called "Mensaje a mi hija" (a simple translate from the original title). The audio was Latin-Spanish (dubbing in Mexico). First, I called my attention the transfer from record reel to the "brandnew" cassette (the mp3player from yesterday). I never forget the incredible communication that the died mother has with her daughter via tapes recorders. At the end, another unforgettable scene: she called by telephone to her stepfather, and say him "papá me puedes enviar dinero estoy en bancarrota" ( Dad, may you send me money, I have't any dollar). Yes, this American film is this kind of movies that its owner is the world. Very beautiful film, I never couldn't see again, but i can remember every scene.

The first time I saw this movie I was 9 or 10. The movie is much more about the mother whose recounting events on a audio tapes for her daughter. Her daughter listens to the tapes when she is about 17 or 18. I don't want to give too much away, but by the end of the movie you are totally experiencing the multiplicity of emotions that her daughter experiences. I loved every single person in this movie - all of them. If you need a super deep cry, grab this one and a large box of Kleenex. It is moving, touching, and as the other reviewer said, way ahead of its time.PS - This is not sappy, unrealistic or predictable, either. It's not a "Terms of Endearment" or anything like that, either.