Nine Lives

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Rodrigo García directs. Xavier Grobet behind the camera. Edward Shearmur scores. Andrea Folprecht cuts. Produced in United States of America, Mexico. Dialogue in English, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Released 21 years ago.
• 2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.
• 3International production across 2 countries: United States of America, Mexico.
• 4Directed by Rodrigo García, shot by Xavier Grobet. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 5Original score by Edward Shearmur. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 6Editor Andrea Folprecht shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 7Kathy Baker and Amy Brenneman and Elpidia Carrillo carry the top of the cast.
• 8Marketing tagline: "Every life has a story. And every story has a life of its own.".
• 9IMDB entry: tt0420015 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 10Only 97 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography

Xavier Grobet

Original score

Edward Shearmur

Editing

Andrea Folprecht

Production design

Courtney Jackson

Costume design

Maria Tortu

Makeup / hair

David Larson

Runtime

115 min · 1h 55m

Status

Released

Original language

EN

IMDB

Nine Lives (2005) ↗

Also by

Rodrigo García

• 
  Delirium

  2014 · ★ 9.7
• 
  The Sopranos

  1999 · ★ 8.7
• 
  Six Feet Under

  2001 · ★ 8.1
• 
  Carnivàle

  2003 · ★ 7.9
• 
  Party of Five

  2020 · ★ 7.8
• 
  Santa Evita

  2022 · ★ 7.8

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Nine Lives Trailer HQ (2005)

  Trailer
• 

  ▶
  Nine Lives (2005) - Clip 3 of 14 / film starring Robin Penn, Glenn Glose, Sissy Spacek, etc.

  Clip

Community reviews

What people are saying

• Kenneth Axel Carlsson2015-01-02
  ★ 5/10

  Nine lives, which isn't exactly true. There are definitely more than nine lives in this movie, but you could also choose to think of the title a bit differently. Like, they say a cat has nine lives, meaning that you can try and kill it, but its nearly impossible, it will just keep coming back. It is sorta the same thing with the nine women of this movie. They have all endured hardship in their lives, but they are impossible to kill (not that anyone is trying, except maybe one of the women themselves). To break down the plot of this movie is not easily done. It is about people, it is about relationship, love, hatred, betrayal and so many other things, but ultimately, it is about life... and death. When the movie was done, it returned to the main screen of the dvd menu, and something caught my eyes. There were two animals in the picture, a white dove flying (a symbol of peace and live), and a black cat, going in the opposite direction of the dove (often a symbol of bad luck, but I guess, also a symbol of resilience). Those, I guess, are the central themes in this movie. The movie itself is constructed as nine viginettes (small short films really), but where some of the characters are also part of the stories of others. It's not an original idea, but then again, it doesn't have to be, it just needs to be done well. I am not a huge fan of these types of movies, but these stories have enough on their mind to keep you involved. Also, the cast of this movie is great. Solid actors who doesn't steal the picture. One last thing I'd like to point out, is the technique used in this movie. Every scene is a one long shot. I am not sure what, but this way of filming adds something to the movie, also, the music is not overly dominant in the movie, which is another thing I really appreciate. Last words... a solid movie with enough on its mind to keep you involved in the nine (and more) stories. Also, when you are done wathing the movie, you aren't left with the feeling that you have all the answers. No, you have just dipped your toes in each story, but you still have so many questions. That is a brave thing to do these days...

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• 

  Mockingbird Pictures

  US

• 

  Z Films

  US

Key crew

• Executive ProducerAlejandro G. Iñárritu
• Art DirectionAmy Lamendola
• Costume DesignMaria Tortu
• Makeup & HairDavid Larson
• Associate ProducerAmy Lippens
• EditorAndrea Folprecht
• Makeup & HairStephen Lewis
• Associate ProducerKelly Thomas
• HairstylistAlexandra Carter
• ProducerJulie Lynn
• Assistant Makeup ArtistNacole Raphalian
• CastingAmy Lippens
• Production DesignCourtney Jackson
• Makeup & HairBarbara Lamelza
• Makeup & HairD. Garen Tolkin
• Steadicam OperatorDan Kneece

Release history · US

When it landed

• Premiere2005-01-24· Sundance Film Festival
• Premiere2005-06-21· Los Angeles Film Festival
• Premiere2005-10-06· HATCHfest Film Festival
• Premiere2005-10-30· Milwaukee International Film Festival
• Theatrical2005-10-14· Los Angeles, California

Also known as

International titles

• Nove VidasBR