{ "id": "eppa7kwmkc", "slug": "the-man-who-cried", "title": "The Man Who Cried (Человек, который плакал)", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical", "label": "Drama and biographical films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-2000s", "label": "Drama films 2000s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-2000s" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-2000s.biographical-and-historical-drama-films", "label": "Biographical and historical drama films 2000s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-2000s.biographical-and-historical-drama-films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-2000s.biographical-and-historical-drama-films.yr-2000-2005", "label": "Released 2000 to 2005", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-2000s.biographical-and-historical-drama-films.yr-2000-2005" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical", "label": "Western Europe · 1946 to 2000: Drama and biographical films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical", "path": [ { "id": "geo.weu", "label": "Western Europe", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946", "label": "Western Europe · 1946 to 2000", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical", "label": "Drama and biographical films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical" } ] } ], "excerpt": "The Man Who Cried (Человек, который плакал) is Sally Potter's 2000 UK-French drama starring Christina Ricci, Johnny Depp, Cate Blanchett, and John Turturro; a 1927 Russian Jewish refugee searches for her father through Paris and wartime France. Venice Golden Lion nominee, 35% on Rotten Tomatoes.", "snippet": "The Man Who Cried (Человек, который плакал) is Sally Potter's 2000 UK-French drama starring Christina Ricci, Johnny Depp, Cate Blanchett, and John Turturro; a 1927 Russian Jewish refugee searches for her father through Paris and wartime France. Venice Golden Lion nominee, 35% on Rotten Tomatoes.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-2000s.biographical-and-historical-drama-films.yr-2000-2005", "markdown": "# The Man Who Cried (Человек, который плакал)\n\n**The Man Who Cried** (Человек, который плакал) is a 2000 drama film written and directed by Sally Potter, following a Russian Jewish girl separated from her father in 1927 who grows up in England and Paris as a singer before the Nazi invasion of France forces her to flee to America in search of him.[1](https://www.kinopoisk.ru/film/748/) It stars [Christina Ricci](https://www.edgepedia.org/christina-ricci) as Suzie, Johnny Depp as the Roma horseman Cesar, Cate Blanchett as the Russian dancer Lola, and [John Turturro](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-turturro) as the Italian tenor Dante Dominio, with Oleg Yankovsky as Suzie's father and [Harry Dean Stanton](https://www.edgepedia.org/harry-dean-stanton) as the Parisian impresario Felix Perlman.[2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-man-who-cried)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Director and writer | Sally Potter, with story editor Walter Donohue[1](https://www.kinopoisk.ru/film/748/) • [14](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-man-who-cried/credits/) |\n| Production | United Kingdom and France; Working Title Films, StudioCanal, and Potter's Adventure Pictures[3](https://www.crew-united.com/en/The-Man-who-Cried__266644.html) |\n| Premiere | 2 September 2000; nominated for the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival[4](https://cinegraph.org/movies/the-man-who-cried-2000) |\n| Principal cast | Christina Ricci, Johnny Depp, Cate Blanchett, John Turturro, Oleg Yankovsky, Harry Dean Stanton[2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-man-who-cried) |\n| Key crew | Cinematographer Sacha Vierny; composer Osvaldo Golijov[1](https://www.kinopoisk.ru/film/748/) |\n| US release and gross | Wide release 25 May 2001 by Focus Features; $747,092 domestic, $1,790,840 worldwide[5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Man-Who-Cried-The) |\n| Critical scores | Rotten Tomatoes 35% from 69 reviews; Metacritic 40; IMDb 6.1[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/man_who_cried) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\nThe story begins in 1927 in a small Jewish settlement in Russia. The father, a cantor played by Oleg Yankovsky, emigrates to America to earn money for his family, and after the village is burned his young daughter Fegele sets out to follow him.[1](https://www.kinopoisk.ru/film/748/) She ends up in a Christian orphanage in England, where she is given the new name Suzie, learns to sing, and loses her native language.[1](https://www.kinopoisk.ru/film/748/)\n\nYears later Suzie, gifted with a beautiful voice, reaches Paris and joins a theater whose world includes the glamorous Russian dancer Lola ([Cate Blanchett](https://www.edgepedia.org/cate-blanchett)), who hopes to marry well, and the egotistical tenor Dante (John Turturro), a supporter of Mussolini.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/man_who_cried) • [7](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-man-who-cried-2001) Suzie falls in love with Cesar ([Johnny Depp](https://www.edgepedia.org/johnny-depp)), a Roma horseman who rides a white horse and works as an extra in Dante's production.[7](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-man-who-cried-2001) When the Nazis invade France, Suzie's life is in danger because of her hidden Jewish identity, and she attempts to flee to the United States, where her father moved years earlier.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/man_who_cried) Roger Ebert, longtime film critic of the [Chicago Sun-Times](https://www.edgepedia.org/chicago-sun-times), notes that the title character, the father, does not appear until very late in the film.[7](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-man-who-cried-2001)\n\n## Production and cast\n\nSally Potter, the British director whose earlier films include *Orlando* (1992) and *The Tango Lesson* (1996), wrote and directed the film as her follow-up to *The Tango Lesson*; she co-founded the production company Adventure Pictures with producer Christopher Sheppard, who produced the film.[8](https://sallypotter.com/about) Production companies were [Working Title Films](https://www.edgepedia.org/working-title-films), StudioCanal, and Adventure Pictures, in a French-British co-production.[3](https://www.crew-united.com/en/The-Man-who-Cried__266644.html) The cinematographer was the French veteran Sacha Vierny and the score was composed by Osvaldo Golijov.[1](https://www.kinopoisk.ru/film/748/)\n\nThe film paired Ricci with Johnny Depp, her leading man from *[Sleepy Hollow](https://www.edgepedia.org/sleepy-hollow-film)*, and gave her a first love scene; she presented the film at the [Venice Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/venice-film-festival) in September 2000.[9](https://abcnews.com/Entertainment/story?id=115957&page=1) According to production trivia collected by Kinopoisk, Depp had two gold teeth inserted for his Roma character's appearance, and all of his stunts were performed by Lorent Alexander; [Robert De Niro](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-de-niro) was originally considered for the role of Ricci's character's opponent.[1](https://www.kinopoisk.ru/film/748/) Depp's role is largely wordless, conveying Cesar's character through presence and gesture rather than dialogue.[10](https://johnny-depp.org/projects/filmography/the-man-who-cried/)\n\n## Music and style\n\nMusic is central to the film. The Senses of Cinema essay on Potter's work calls *The Man Who Cried* perhaps the strongest expression of the defining influence that music has exerted in her filmmaking career.[11](https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2001/essays-on-films-14/man_who_cried/) Ebert describes the film as drenched in bold, romantic music, mostly opera, with camera work by Vierny that joins the action rather than observing it, and compares it to an arthouse companion to *Moulin Rouge*.[7](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-man-who-cried-2001) Ricci's Suzie speaks very little; Ebert asks whether a heroine has ever had less dialogue in a talking picture.[7](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-man-who-cried-2001) One reviewer suggested the film should be approached as a classic silent film in which movement and emotion tell the story.[12](https://auth-web.moviesanywhere.com/movie/the-man-who-cried-2001)\n\n## Reception\n\nThe film premiered at the Venice Film Festival on 2 September 2000 and was nominated for the [Golden Lion](https://www.edgepedia.org/golden-lion).[4](https://cinegraph.org/movies/the-man-who-cried-2000) It received a wide United States release on 25 May 2001 through [Focus Features](https://www.edgepedia.org/focus-features), opening in 11 theaters with a $93,455 opening weekend and running about 9.6 weeks on average per theater.[5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Man-Who-Cried-The) Against a budget of about $20 million it grossed $747,092 domestically and $1,790,840 worldwide.[5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Man-Who-Cried-The) • [4](https://cinegraph.org/movies/the-man-who-cried-2000)\n\nCritical response was divided. On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 35% Tomatometer score from 69 reviews, with the critics consensus calling the storyline overwrought and awkward, while the audience Popcornmeter stands at 59%.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/man_who_cried) Metacritic assigns a Metascore of 40, mixed or average, from 22 critic reviews.[13](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-man-who-cried/critic-reviews/) Ebert gave a positive review, calling it an amazingly ambitious movie in which Potter trusts the audience to follow her heroine through one hardship after another.[7](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-man-who-cried-2001) Other critics were cooler: the Boston Globe found the imagery lush but the story cornball, and [Entertainment Weekly](https://www.edgepedia.org/entertainment-weekly) joked that the only performer completely at ease was the horse.[13](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-man-who-cried/critic-reviews/) Cate Blanchett's Lola was repeatedly singled out for praise, with the Boston Globe calling her the only performer to transcend stereotype.[13](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-man-who-cried/critic-reviews/) The film is listed by Cinegraph as a polarizer, with audience ratings (IMDb 6.1) well above its professional review signal.[4](https://cinegraph.org/movies/the-man-who-cried-2000)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Человек, который плакал (2000), Кинопоиск](https://www.kinopoisk.ru/film/748/)\n2. [The Man Who Cried, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-man-who-cried)\n3. [The Man who Cried, Feature Film 1999-2000, Crew United](https://www.crew-united.com/en/The-Man-who-Cried__266644.html)\n4. [The Man Who Cried, Cinegraph](https://cinegraph.org/movies/the-man-who-cried-2000)\n5. [The Man Who Cried (2001) Box Office, The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Man-Who-Cried-The)\n6. [The Man Who Cried, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/man_who_cried)\n7. [The Man Who Cried movie review, Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-man-who-cried-2001)\n8. [About Sally Potter](https://sallypotter.com/about)\n9. [Ricci on Depp, Nudity, Prozac, ABC News](https://abcnews.com/Entertainment/story?id=115957&page=1)\n10. [The Man Who Cried, JOHNNY-DEPP.org](https://johnny-depp.org/projects/filmography/the-man-who-cried/)\n11. [Crocodile Tears: Sally Potter's The Man Who Cried, Senses of Cinema](https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2001/essays-on-films-14/man_who_cried/)\n12. [The Man Who Cried, Movies Anywhere](https://auth-web.moviesanywhere.com/movie/the-man-who-cried-2001)\n13. [The Man Who Cried critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-man-who-cried/critic-reviews/)\n14. [The Man Who Cried credits - Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-man-who-cried/credits/)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Drama and biographical films (individual works) › Drama films 2000s › Biographical and historical drama films 2000s › Released 2000 to 2005*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/the-man-who-cried", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/the-man-who-cried.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"The Man Who Cried (Человек, который плакал)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/the-man-who-cried. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[The Man Who Cried (Человек, который плакал)](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-man-who-cried)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/the-man-who-cried](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-man-who-cried). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"The Man Who Cried (Человек, который плакал)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/the-man-who-cried. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "The Man Who Cried is Sally Potter's 2000 UK-French drama starring Christina Ricci, Johnny Depp, Cate Blanchett, and John Turturro; a 1927 Russian Jewish refugee searches for her father through Paris and wartime France." }