Year: 1999
Language: English
Format: 35mm Colour
Runtime: 105 min
Director: Jeremy Podeswa
Producer: Jeremy Podeswa, Camelia Frieberg
Writer: Jeremy Podeswa
Cinematographer: Greg Middleton
Editor: Wiebke Carolsfeld
Sound: Philip Stall
Music: Alexina Louie, Alex Pauk
Cast: Gabrielle Rose, Marco Leonardi, Molly Parker, Nadia Litz, Phillipe Volter, Richard Clarkin, Mary-Louise Parker, Daniel MacIvor
Production Company: Five Senses Production

The Five Senses is a film about searching — looking for love, understanding, acceptance and faith. Eschewing the traditional happy ending guaranteed by Hollywood-style romances, the director, Jeremy Podeswa, creates a moving chronicle about our universal longing to connect with someone.

Podeswa’s second feature, The Five Senses is a provocative allegory that follows five urbanites whose seemingly unconnected lives parallel one other and eventually intersect. The collective stories evoke the age-old quest for love and the obstacles that prevent it.

Each of the main characters is uniquely linked to one of the senses and disconnected from another. To grapple with their state and embrace the future, they must reconcile their past. Rachel (Litz), an adolescent searching for her own identity, is tormented after inadvertently losing a small child under her care. Her mother (Rose) is a massage therapist who possesses a healing touch with her clients, yet she is unable to penetrate the icy wall that divides her and Rachel. An ophthalmologist (Volter) is losing his hearing and his bond with his child. He enlists the help of a woman (Bussières) to create a memory of sounds. A professional house cleaner (MacIvor) digs up his past relationships while sniffing around for true love. His best friend is a highly strung cake designer (Mary-Louise Parker) who creates visually sumptuous but bland-tasting gateaux. She finds herself baffled by her lover’s effusiveness.

The stories unfold around the search for the missing child. The sensitive performances, fine cinematography and clever script connect effortlessly to create a compassionate and profound story of hope.