This Must Be the Place

Year: 2012

Runtime: 118 min

Language: English

Director: Paolo Sorrentino

DramaComedy

Following the death of his estranged father, a retired rock star named Cheyenne sets out on a cross-country road trip. Seeking closure and harboring a desire for revenge related to a past grievance, he retraces his father's steps, encountering a diverse cast of characters along the way. The journey becomes a poignant exploration of family, loss, and the search for understanding.

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Timeline & Setting – This Must Be the Place (2012)

Explore the full timeline and setting of This Must Be the Place (2012). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Location

Dublin, New York, Auschwitz, Salt Flats

Dublin serves as the backdrop for Cheyenne's state of disillusionment, contrasting his previous fame as a rock star. His journey takes him to New York, where he seeks closure and reconnection with his estranged father. Auschwitz represents a dark chapter of history, symbolizing suffering and the quest for understanding. The harsh salt flats provide a desolate landscape that reflects Cheyenne's emotional turmoil.

🌍 Locations 🏙️ City 🏞️ Nature

Last Updated: October 22, 2024 at 21:48

Main Characters – This Must Be the Place (2012)

Meet the key characters of This Must Be the Place (2012), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Last Updated: October 22, 2024 at 21:48

Major Themes – This Must Be the Place (2012)

Explore the central themes of This Must Be the Place (2012), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

Last Updated: October 22, 2024 at 21:48

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Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.

Solemn Road Trip Movies Like This Must Be the Place

Lonely travels where the destination is an overdue confrontation with the past.If you liked the melancholic, cross-country quest in This Must Be the Place, explore more movies where a road trip becomes a vehicle for personal reckoning. These films use travel to explore themes of grief, legacy, and confronting difficult histories, often with a heavy, reflective mood.

melancholicreflectivesorrowfulredemptivequestsolitudeintrospective

Narrative Summary

The narrative pattern centers on a protagonist compelled to travel, either by an external event like a death or an internal need for answers. The journey is linear but punctuated by encounters that force introspection. The primary conflict is internal, wrestling with the past, and the story builds toward a final, often morally complex, confrontation that defines the character's transformation.

Why These Movies?

These movies are grouped by their shared use of a physical journey as a metaphor for an emotional one. They have a steady, deliberate pacing that allows for deep character study, a tone that balances melancholy with moments of redemptive insight, and a profound emotional weight centered on themes of loss and identity.

Movies About Late-Life Reckoning Like This Must Be the Place

Protagonists facing moral ambiguity to find a fractured peace in their later years.For viewers who appreciated the complex, bittersweet resolution in This Must Be the Place, this collection features films about protagonists making heavy moral choices later in life. These stories explore the difficult path to self-acceptance after actions that are necessary but emotionally costly.

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Narrative Summary

The journey revolves around a protagonist confronting a long-avoided problem, leading to a climax where they must enact a solution that exists in a moral grey area. The ending is not celebratory but cathartic, acknowledging the pain of the action while allowing for a fragile new beginning. The character arc is about accepting the complexity of their own nature and the world.

Why These Movies?

These films share a specific emotional trajectory: starting from a place of stagnation or grief, building tension through a quest for justice or understanding, and culminating in a resolution that is deeply bittersweet. The tone is dark and heavy, the emotional weight is significant, and the endings feel earned but complicated.

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This Must Be the Place Summary

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This Must Be the Place Timeline

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This Must Be the Place Spoiler-Free Summary

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More About This Must Be the Place

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Discover movies like This Must Be the Place that share similar genres, themes, and storytelling elements. Whether you’re drawn to the atmosphere, character arcs, or plot structure, these curated recommendations will help you explore more films you’ll love.