The Lost Sons

Last updated
The Lost Sons
Directed by Ursula Macfarlane
Produced byGagan Rehill
Cinematography
  • Neil Harvey
  • Tim Cragg
  • Jean-Louis Schuller
  • Isaac Mead-Long
Edited byAndy R. Worboys
Music by Segun Akinola
Production
companies
Distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution
Warner Bros. International Television Distribution
Release date
  • March 16, 2021 (2021-03-16)(SXSW)
Running time
98 minutes
Countries
  • United States
  • United Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

The Lost Sons is a 2021 American-British documentary film, directed by Ursula Macfarlane and premiered at South by Southwest on March 16. It follows Paul Fronczak, a man who discovers he had been abandoned as a child and mistakenly returned to another family whose young son was missing, then learns the identity his biological mother gave him and the whereabouts of the "real" Paul Fronczak. [1]

Contents

Synopsis

The film follows, and is largely narrated by, a man who was raised as "Paul Fronczak" by a Chicago couple whom he was led to believe were his biological parents. Born in 1964, he stumbled across newspaper clippings at his family home when he was 10 years old. The news reports featured his parents grieving over a kidnapped baby son, then celebrating when he was recovered two years later, apparently abandoned by the kidnapper. In the 2010s, now in his 50s, Paul began an extensive investigation involving DNA tests, private investigators, and tapping into his media contacts for publicity, to determine what really happened. After many twists and turns, he discovers that he was not the kidnapped child, that his real name is Jack Rosenthal (from Atlantic City, New Jersey), that he has a still missing twin sister named Jill, and that the real Paul Fronczak is still alive and known by an adoptive name. [2]

Production

Ursula Macfarlane directed the film which CNN Films and Raw TV produced. [3]

Release

The film had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 16, 2021. [4]

Reception

The Lost Sons received positive reviews from critics. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes surveyed 20 critics and, categorizing the reviews as positive or negative, assessed 16 as positive and 4 as negative for a 80% rating. Among the reviews, it determined an average rating of 6.4 out of 10. [5]

Related Research Articles

<i>Celtic Pride</i> 1996 film directed by Tom DeCerchio

Celtic Pride is a 1996 American sports comedy film written by Judd Apatow and Colin Quinn, and directed by Tom DeCerchio. It stars Daniel Stern and Dan Aykroyd as Mike O'Hara and Jimmy Flaherty, two passionate Boston Celtics fans, and Damon Wayans as Lewis Scott, the Utah Jazz's All-Star shooting guard.

<i>Babys Day Out</i> 1994 film by Patrick Read Johnson

Baby's Day Out is a 1994 American adventure comedy film directed by Patrick Read Johnson and written by John Hughes, who also served as producer. Starring Joe Mantegna, Lara Flynn Boyle, Joe Pantoliano, and Brian Haley, the film centers on a wealthy baby's abduction by three criminals, his subsequent escape and adventure through Chicago while being pursued by the criminals.

<i>Eye of the Beholder</i> (film) 1999 mystery thriller film

Eye of the Beholder is a 1999 mystery thriller film that employs magical realism. The film, based on Marc Behm's novel of the same name and a remake of Claude Miller's 1983 French thriller Deadly Circuit, is directed and adapted by Stephan Elliott.

<i>For Keeps</i> (film) 1988 film by John G. Avildsen

For Keeps is a 1988 American coming of age comedy drama film directed by John G. Avildsen. Starring Molly Ringwald and Randall Batinkoff as Darcy and Stan, two high school seniors in love, complications ensue when Darcy becomes pregnant just before graduation and decides to keep her baby. This movie is noted for being Ringwald's final "teen" film, and is cited as one of her most mature performances, particularly in a scene where Darcy is suffering from postpartum depression after the birth of her child.

<i>All About the Benjamins</i> 2002 American film

All About the Benjamins is a 2002 American buddy action comedy film directed by Kevin Bray, starring Ice Cube and Mike Epps as a bounty hunter and a con artist who join forces to find a group of diamond thieves: the former for glory, and the latter to retrieve a lost winning lottery ticket. The film was released in theaters in March 2002 to negative reviews. Despite this, the film was a moderate box office hit. The film's title was taken from the popular 1997 hip-hop song performed by Puff Daddy "It's All About the Benjamins". Ice Cube and Mike Epps also starred together in the Friday series and the (2009) film Janky Promoters.

<i>Knock Off</i> (film) 1998 action film

Knock Off is a 1998 action film directed by Tsui Hark and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Rob Schneider. The film was released in the United States on September 4, 1998. The title is a double entendre, as the term colloquially refers to both counterfeit goods as well as targeted killing. The film is one of the last in the world to feature Kai Tak Airport still in use; the airport closed in 1998.

<i>Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend</i> 1985 film

Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend is a 1985 American adventure fantasy film directed by Bill L. Norton and starring William Katt, Sean Young, Patrick McGoohan, and Julian Fellowes. The film follows paleontologist Susan Matthews-Loomis and her husband George, who stumble upon Brontosaurus on an expedition in Central Africa while trying to track down a local monster. The two are pursued by the African military in an attempt to protect a baby dino and its parents.

<i>Satans Playground</i> 2006 American film

Satan's Playground, also known as Chemistry, is a 2006 American horror film directed and written by Dante Tomaselli. The film stars Felissa Rose, Ellen Sandweiss, and Edwin Neal.

<i>The Ten Commandments</i> (2007 film) 2007 animated film

The Ten Commandments is a 2007 animated biblical fantasy film directed by John Stronach and Bill Boyce, and written by Ed Naha. The film follows Moses from his childhood, as the adopted grandson of Pharaoh, to his adulthood, as the chosen one of Yahweh and liberator of his people.

<i>Prisoners</i> (2013 film) American film by Denis Villeneuve

Prisoners is a 2013 American thriller film directed by Denis Villeneuve and written by Aaron Guzikowski. The film has an ensemble cast including Jake Gyllenhaal, Hugh Jackman, Viola Davis, Paul Dano, Terrence Howard, Melissa Leo, Maria Bello, and David Dastmalchian.

<i>Life of Crime</i> (film) 2013 film by Daniel Schechter

Life of Crime is a 2013 American black comedy crime film written and directed by Daniel Schechter, based on Elmore Leonard's novel The Switch (1978), which includes characters later revisited in his novel Rum Punch (1992), which was adapted into the Quentin Tarantino film Jackie Brown (1997). Life of Crime was screened on the closing night 2013 Toronto International Film Festival, on the opening day of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, at the 2014 Traverse City Film Festival and released in theaters on August 29, 2014 by Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions.

<i>The Harvest</i> (2013 film) 2013 American film

The Harvest is a 2013 American horror thriller film released by IFC Films that was directed by John McNaughton. It is the first feature film he has directed in over a decade and his first horror venture since Haeckel's Tale, a 2006 episode of the horror anthology series Masters of Horror. The movie had its world premiere on October 19, 2013, at the Chicago International Film Festival. The movie follows a young girl who befriends a seemingly lonely and confined boy her own age, only to fall afoul of his mother. In a 2017 interview McNaughton said about the film: "It has the bones of a fairy tale. It’s about growing up and having to break free from your parents. Your parents want your heart and you can’t let them take it. You have to break away and make your own life."

<i>The Eyes of My Mother</i> 2016 American film

The Eyes of My Mother is a 2016 American black-and-white horror film written, edited and directed by Nicolas Pesce in his directorial debut. It stars Kika Magalhães, Olivia Bond, Diana Agostini, and Paul Nazak. The film was produced by Borderline Presents and Tandem Pictures and distributed by Magnet Releasing.

<i>The Most Hated Woman in America</i> 2017 film by Tommy OHaver

The Most Hated Woman in America is a 2017 American biographical drama film directed by Tommy O'Haver and written by O'Haver and Irene Turner. It stars Melissa Leo as Madalyn Murray O'Hair.

<i>Gotti</i> (2018 film) 2018 film by Kevin Connolly

Gotti is a 2018 American biographical crime film about New York City mobster John Gotti, directed by Kevin Connolly and written by Lem Dobbs and Leo Rossi. It stars John Travolta as Gotti, alongside his real-life wife Kelly Preston as Gotti's wife Victoria in her penultimate film.

<i>Superlópez</i> (2018 film) 2018 Spanish film

Superlópez is a 2018 Spanish superhero comedy film directed by Javier Ruiz Caldera based on the comic strip of the same name.

<i>Angel of Mine</i> (film) 2019 film

Angel of Mine is a 2019 Australian-American psychological thriller film directed by Kim Farrant and written by Luke Davies and David Regal. It stars Noomi Rapace, Luke Evans, Yvonne Strahovski and Richard Roxburgh. It is a remake of the 2008 French film Mark of an Angel.

<i>The Room</i> (2019 film) Film by Christian Volckman

The Room is a 2019 English-language thriller film co-written and directed by Christian Volckman and starring Olga Kurylenko, Kevin Janssens, Joshua Wilson, John Flanders, and Francis Chapman. The film follows a young couple who discover a way to fulfill all of their material desires, but then go too far. It premiered on 15 April 2019 at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival.

There Are No Saints is a 2022 Mexican-American action thriller film directed by Alfonso Pineda Ulloa, written by Paul Schrader, and starring José María Yazpik, Paz Vega, Ron Perlman and Tim Roth.

On April 27, 1964, a one-day old infant, Paul Joseph Fronczak was kidnapped from Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. A woman dressed as a nurse had entered the hospital room of Dora Fronczak and told her the doctor needed to examine the baby, and Dora handed the baby to the unknown woman, who left the hospital with the baby and never returned.

References

  1. "The FBI said I was my parents' stolen baby - but I found the truth". BBC News. 20 June 2018.
  2. "A baby snatched from a Chicago hospital in 1964 was reunited with his parents 15-months later. But was it the same baby?" . Independent.co.uk . 24 March 2021. Archived from the original on 2022-06-18.
  3. Rubin, Rebecca (March 14, 2021). "CNN Films to Develop Stranger-Than-Fiction Documentary 'The Lost Sons'". Variety . Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  4. Day-Ramos, Dino (February 10, 2021). "SXSW Film Festival Unveils Full Lineup; Charli XCX Quarantine Feature To Close Fest; Tom Petty Docu Set As Centerpiece". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  5. "The Lost Sons (2021) Reviews". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved April 10, 2021.