Stories told in the movies are often unearthed from the bric-a-brac of our own lives, since life teems with narratives. For her first documentary, Sarah Polley lifted the veil on a family secret whose revealing caused her and her close ones much, much heartache. Polley ("Take this Waltz") is an Oscar-nominated writer, actress, and filmmaker who's made two feature films about intimate relationships and the challenges faced.

The moment of truth in Sarah Polley’s "Take This Waltz" occurs when two of its principals are buck naked. Showering in the locker room after a dopey swimming class, Margot (Michelle Williams), a married woman secretly tempted to stray, and her sister-in-law Geraldine (Sarah Silverman), more happily married but a recovering alcoholic, pontificate on the inevitability of domestic boredom. “New things become old,”

The buzz about “Splice” has been almost universally positive. Manohla […]

The first question that arises when viewing Away from her is how Sarah Polley, the 28-year old Canadian actress who has directed the film can know so much about aging, the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s disease, and the way the two elements of a couple can rub against each other like pebbles on the beach until the edges are smooth, yet retain so many seemingly washed-away memories and resentments.