Hazel and Augustus are two teenagers who share an acerbic wit, a disdain for the conventional, and a love that sweeps them on a journey. Their relationship is all the more miraculous, given that Hazel's other constant companion is an oxygen tank, Gus jokes about his prosthetic leg, and they meet and fall in love at a cancer support group. Written by
Plot Synopsis:
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A teenage girl named Hazel Grace Lancaster (Shailene Woodley) is lying in the grass staring up at the stars. She states that she believes we're allowed to choose how to tell sad stories, and that although one can sugarcoat it and say there's nothing that can't be fixed with a Peter Gabriel song, it's not the truth.
Hazel suffers from stage 4 thyroid cancer and is always seen carrying an oxygen tank with a cannula in her nose for her to breathe. At the behest of her mother Frannie (Laura Dern), father Michael (Sam Trammell), and her doctor Maria (Ana Dela Cruz), she attends a cancer support group at a church called the Literal Heart of Jesus. The person running it is a man named Patrick (Mike Birbiglia), who had testicular cancer and is now divorced and lives with his parents, but is positive because he is alive. Frannie wants Hazel to make friends, but as Hazel says, the only thing worse than biting it from cancer is having a kid that bites it from cancer.
One day during her trip to the group, Hazel bumps into Augustus Waters (Ansel Elgort). During the meeting, Gus stares at Hazel. Patrick first calls on Gus's friend Isaac (Nat Wolff), who had a tumor in his eye and now wears a glass eye, though he is thankful because of his "smoking hot" girlfriend Monica. When Gus is called on, he says that he has been in remission from osteosarcoma after having his right leg amputated (he wears a prosthetic). Patrick asks him if he has any fears, and Gus states that he fears oblivion. Hazel shoots this down by saying that eventually, everything and everyone will be gone and forgotten, and if that scares him, he should ignore it. After the meeting, Hazel waits for her mom, and Gus comes out to chat with her. They see Isaac and Monica making out and groping each other, then repeating "Always" to one another. Gus explains to Hazel that this is their way of saying they'll always love each other. He asks Hazel her name and tells her she's beautiful. He then puts a cigarette in his mouth, which upsets Hazel because it has ruined her impression of him. Gus explains that he never smokes the cigarettes he puts between his teeth so as to not give the killing item any power. He invites Hazel to come over and watch a movie.
While Gus recklessly drives to his house, he asks Hazel about her cancer story. She tells him (through flashbacks) that she was diagnosed when she was 13 and went through all the required treatment, but it wasn't working. Her lungs began to fill with water and she was treated in the ICU. Then one day, the medication she was given began to work well, which was considered to be miraculous. Hazel and Gus arrive at his home and meet his parents. He brings Hazel to the basement and asks her to tell him her real story, not her cancer story. She claims to be unremarkable, but he rejects that. He gives her a copy of his favorite book based off his favorite video game, "Counterinsurgence". Hazel, in return, recommends her favorite book, "An Imperial Affliction", which is about a girl that has leukemia, but she tells Gus that it is not necessarily a cancer story.
Hazel waits for Gus to call her back, and after a few days, he texts her after finishing "An Imperial Affliction". He expresses surprise that the book ends mid-sentence (the protagonist Anna apparently dies during her narration). Hazel excuses herself from dinner to speak to Gus on the phone, but they are interrupted by Isaac wailing a song lyric in the background. Gus invites Hazel over, where she finds out that Monica broke up with Isaac, and he is having a psychotic episode. Gus allows Isaac to take out his anger on his basketball trophies. While Isaac smashes them, Gus talks to Hazel about the ending of the book, and she tells him that she has written hundreds of letters to ask the book's author, Peter Van Houten, questions about what happened after the story, such as the fate of Anna's mother and her relationship with the "Dutch Tulip Man", and Anna's pet hamster Sisyphus.
One evening during a phone conversation, Gus tells Hazel that he tracked down Van Houten's assistant and got a response from a message he wrote to him. Van Houten thanked Gus for his and Hazel's interest in the novel, and that he has no current plans to write any follow-ups to "An Imperial Affliction". Hazel is surprised that it took that one e-mail to get a response. She decides to write her own e-mail back to Van Houten to ask the questions. A few days later, Hazel gets her own response from Van Houten, who also thanks her for her interest in the story, and even invites her to visit him in Amsterdam. Overjoyed, Hazel tells her mother, and while she wants to make her daughter happy, she knows she wouldn't be able to afford it. Hazel later reads the e-mail to Gus, and they stay talking until 1:00 AM. Hazel decides it's time to hang up. "Okay," Gus responds. "Okay," Hazel says back. Gus decides that "Okay" can be their "Always".
Hazel tells Gus about the invitation, and Gus suggests asking the Genies (a Make-A-Wish sort of organization) to grant her this wish. Hazel states that she already used her wish to go to Disney World. Gus is disappointed that she used her wish on a cliche. A while later, Gus shows up at Hazel's home with flowers, and then invites her on a picnic to a park featuring a giant skeleton playground called Funky Bones. Gus jokes that he has brought all his romantic conquests here and that is why he is a virgin. He even illustrates this by drawing a circle in the dirt of virgins and a small circle within of 18-year-old boys with one leg. As they have their picnic, Gus tells her that he spoke to the Genies and convinced them to grant him the wish of taking Hazel to Amsterdam. She is ecstatic.
Hazel wakes up in the middle of the night having trouble breathing as fluids fill her lungs. Her parents rush her to the hospital, with Gus waiting outside since he is not allowed in (family only). Hazel has the fluids drained from her lungs and she recovers. After a meeting with the doctors, they determine that she is physically unfit to travel anywhere in her condition. Hazel then has a flashback to when she was in the ICU as a child with Frannie telling her she can let go, and then sobbing to Michael that she won't be a mom anymore.
Feeling dejected, Hazel sits in front of a swingset in the backyard that her father built when she was a child. She calls Gus and expresses her sadness. He comes over and they sit on the swings. He tells her that her keeping her distance from him does not lessen his affection toward her. She compares herself to a grenade and that she will blow up and destroy everything in her wake. Not wanting to hurt Gus, Hazel decides they ought to remain friends.
Days later, Van Houten's assistant Lidewij e-mails Hazel to extend the invitation again after learning that they will be traveling to Amsterdam in a week. Hazel calls her mother in, and she admits that she wanted to surprise her, but they are indeed going to Amsterdam. Hazel hugs Frannie and then texts Gus. He replies, "Everything is coming up Waters!" She then looks down at her lungs and tells them to keep their shit together.
Gus arrives in a limo to pick up Hazel and Frannie, declaring he wants to travel in style. On the plane, Gus becomes nervous as he's never ridden on a plane before, but he becomes excited once they take off.
On their first day in Amsterdam, Hazel and Gus ride through a canal and go to a Dutch restaurant, Oranjee. Hazel wears a cute blue dress given to her by Frannie. Gus is stunned by how beautiful Hazel looks. At the restaurant, they are served Dom Perignon and they enjoy it. They have their dinner, and Gus proudly declares his love to Hazel, which puts a big smile on her face. The waiter comes by with more champagne, and he says the dinner was all paid for by Van Houten.
The next day, Hazel and Gus go to meet Van Houten. They are greeted at the door by Litewij (Lotte Verbeek), who welcomes them inside. There is unopened fan mail all over the floor. The couple finds Van Houten (Willem Dafoe) in his pajamas, drinking scotch. They sit down so Van Houten can answer their questions, but he instead plays Swedish rap. Hazel starts to ask questions, such as the fate of Anna's mother and the Dutch Tulip Man, but Van Houten only responds with philosophical nonsense. Gus asks him if he's messing with them, and Van Houten makes a rude comment about Gus's cancer. He only gets worse by refusing to answer Hazel's questions and insulting her and Gus's sicknesses. Hazel and Gus storm out. Van Houten asks her why she dwells on these questions, and Hazel just tells him to go fuck himself.
Lidewij, appalled by Van Houten's behavior, escorts Hazel and Gus to the Anne Frank House. Since there are no elevators, Hazel must walk up all the stairs and climb the ladder, which puts a strain on her breathing. They get up to the floor with a vocal recording of Anne Frank's diary. As the voice talks about capturing beauty, Hazel and Gus share their first kiss. The onlookers, including Litewij, applaud them. They go back to Gus's room and make love for the first time. Hazel leaves him with a drawing of the large virgin circle, and the circle of 18-year-old boys with one leg outside that big circle.
On their last day, Hazel and Gus have breakfast with Frannie before walking alone together. They sit on a bench and Gus tells her that when she was in the ICU, he felt a pain in his hip and got a PET scan. Hazel already knows what he's going to tell her. Gus says the scan "lit up like a Christmas tree", and the cancer returned and spread through his body. Hazel puts her head on his shoulder and cries. Gus tries to lighten the mood by suggesting they make out.
Hazel, Gus, and Frannie return to Indianapolis with Michael picking them up. A few days later, Hazel and Gus hang out with Isaac, who is now completely blind and tells them that Monica hasn't spoken to him since the break-up. To cheer him up, Hazel and Gus buy eggs, and they go to Monica's home and pelt her car with eggs.
Gus calls Hazel in the middle of the night to ask her to come to the gas station to help him. She drives over there to find him sitting in his car, covered in his own mucus and vomit, with an infection in his abdomen from the G-tube. Hazel starts to call for an ambulance, despite Gus's pleas. The ambulance arrives and takes Gus away.
Gus undergoes more treatment for the cancer until the doctors decide to take him off the chemo. He now requires a wheelchair to get around. Hazel takes him to Funky Bones for a picnic. He expresses his desires to have left an impact on the world before he dies and his need to live an extraordinary life. Hazel takes offense to it and tells him that he doesn't need to do all that because she and his parents love him and that it should be enough. He says he's sorry and they drink champagne.
Gus calls Hazel another evening to invite her to the Literal Heart of Jesus for a gathering, and to bring a eulogy that he asked Hazel to write for him. She starts to leave but is stopped by her parents who are setting up dinner. Hazel argues with them that she will be gone and that they will be alone after hearing her mother say she won't be a mom anymore after Hazel dies. Both her parents say they will never stop loving her no matter what happens, and that Frannie is taking classes to become a speaker. Hazel becomes happy that her parents will be fulfilled even after she is gone.
Hazel joins Gus and Isaac at the church for what is a "pre-funeral" for Gus, since he wants to attend his own funeral. Isaac starts off a eulogy with a touch of humor, but says that if he ever is given "robot eyes", he would deny them because he doesn't want to see a world without Gus. Hazel goes up and starts to talk about her love story with Gus before saying that there are infinite numbers between 1 and 0, and that there are countless infinities, and that she is thankful for their infinity. They both say "I love you" to each other one last time.
Gus dies eight days later. The Lancasters receive a phone call in the middle of the night to hear the news. Hazel's parents walk into her room, and without a word, she knows what it is and she begins to cry. She recalls a time when undergoing treatment and the nurse asked her to rate her pain on a scale from 1 to 10. Hazel said 9, and the nurse said she was a fighter for calling a 10 a 9. She says that she was saving her 10 for this sort of occasion.
A funeral is held for Gus. Hazel and her parents go, and as the preacher speaks, Hazel is surprised to see Van Houten there. Hazel is called up to speak and gives a new eulogy. After the funeral, Hazel decides to drive home alone, and Van Houten enters her car. There, she learns that he and Gus kept in touch prior to his death, and Gus told Van Houten that he could redeem himself by visiting Hazel and answering her questions. He reveals that Anna was based off Van Houten's 8-year-old daughter who died of leukemia. Before she sends him out of her car, Van Houten gives Hazel a letter, which she crumples up and throws away. She drives away and sees him drink from his flask.
Hazel's dad goes to comfort her following Gus's death. Later, Isaac goes over to visit. He tells Hazel that Gus really loved her and never stopped talking about her to the point where it got annoying. He asks her if she read the letter from Van Houten, which happened to be written by Gus.
The letter is a eulogy for Hazel written by Gus. We hear Gus's voice reading it, saying that he saw Hazel in the ICU while she slept, and how he thought about them together. He expresses his admiration for her beauty and personality, and adds that people can choose who hurts them. Gus liked his choice, and he hoped Hazel liked hers. He closes it with "Okay, Hazel Grace?"
The film ends with Hazel still looking up at the stars, replying, "Okay."
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Joshua Kho from Australia
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Before I continue with this review, please note that I have not read the book, but am going to in the very near future :) Please note that Im also a (straight) guy... not that it matters :P
Wow what can I say about this movie. From the moment the title sequence starts, I was hooked straight away. Scene to scene this movie just manages to suck me into this beautiful world of Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus Waters. The chemistry between Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elsort is astounding and the performances were astonishing. Honestly, this is the best movie I have seen all year, even better than Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Godzilla which was a massive surprise. I just thought this was going to be another teenie love story and boy was I wrong. I loved this movie and recommend it to everyone across all ages. I'm rambling on and praising the movie now so I should probably get on with the review.
The direction and cinematography was fantastic. Not a single shot felt odd or out of place. Every shot matched the scene and felt real. The editing was also great as shot after shot matched with the characters faces and where they were (typical good movie editing stuff).
The acting perhaps was one of the best aspects of this movie. Seriously it makes the two characters feel real and alive, and at times I forgot this was fiction and not based on a true story. Their performances were so heartfelt and definitely Oscar worthy in my opinion. But knowing the academy this is just another teenie love story that will not be acknowledged at all. Hopefully I'm wrong, but thats the way it normally is.
This is the first movie this year that I have given a 10. I don't give out 10's easily, but there was seriously nothing wrong with this film. The pacing was perfect, the acting was phenomenal, the direction, editing and cinematography was exceptional and overall, this movie is one of the best romantic comedies that have ever touched the face of the earth. I encourage EVERYONE to go see this movie no matter what age you are and bring a packet of tissues as well. You'll need it.
10/10
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Kristin Elizabeth from NY
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I went into this movie not having read the book and not knowing anything more than the overall plot. I am a sucker for a good love story, especially love that I can relate to. The pain and emotions felt by the characters felt so real, as if I was feeling the same emotions.
Though this was THE SADDEST movie I have ever seen, it was also one of the most beautiful, as it truly showed how exhilarating and comforting and exciting love is.
I probably cried throughout about half of the movie, along with the rest of the audience. I cried to the point of heaving out loud and needing more than the 2 tissues I came in with. Again, the actors really expressed the emotions of the characters well and I felt that.
I am going to see it again for sure.
GO SEE IT IF YOU LOVE EMOTIONAL MOVIES!
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dcbluestar
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Wow. Being an avid book reader, I'm always skeptical about watching the words of my favorite books transformed and materialized on the big screen... but TFIOS stayed true to the book. The movie was absolutely lovely from beginning to end. The young actors were great. The comedy hit on all the right notes, the romance made your heart smile and the tragedy pulled at your heart strings. It really was a wonderful adaptation, and I believe it stayed as true to the book as possible without many changes where there were any. The minute it was over, I wanted to watch it again. Upon leaving the theater, I looked around and there was not one dry eye. Not even the men. If you are a big fan of the book, like myself... and are skeptical about whether this stays true. Don't be. Kudos the John Green on his first film adaptation. It was an absolute success. I'd give it a 10 out of 10 if I could... but I don't believe in "perfect."
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Semidieu from Vienna, Austria
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This movie, simply put, is worth each and every one of its 125 minutes. Including the closing credits, that you need to dry your eyes and think about what you just saw. It's the inspiring story of two young people who are no different then all of us, as they both are in the process of dieing. Though Hazel Grace and Augustus are more aware of this fact of life; because their eternity" has an expiration date, set by Hazels terminal illness: Cancer.
As the viewer is put on an emotional roller-coaster, alongside the feelings and attitudes towards life and love the two teens share, this movie will be a key to many locked doors in the recepients minds. And through these doors we are lead by an ensemble of actors who are amazingly sensitive in their portrayal of personalities and emotions.
The writing and directing is so brilliantly executed, that you have sympathy with every character this movie so caringly brings to (short) life. Even when they oppose another you feel unable to take sides. Because you find yourself sharing both. And when the credits role - like the tears on your cheek - you realize, that these opposing views are one and the same after all: Life.
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Victreebong from United States, San Diego in CA
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Average American guy right here, and I dug this flick. I don't care how many 13 year olds were in the theater with me, this movie has emotion. After watching the Descendents, I knew Woodley was going places. She simply delivers in this movie. I'm not going to write a long winded review about the summary, but I will tell you about the acting.
Elgort and Woodley truly deliver. You forget they're acting each and every scene. The chemistry between the two is palpable. Laura Dern comes out of nowhere; I think the last time I've seen her face was JP. She puts up a pretty good role as Woodley's torn mother. Defoe is pure love/hate on almost a House level. In fact, he goes beyond House hatred with his apathy in this movie. And the two's sidekick (Wolff) is loads of comic relief, which is surprising considering that he too is in the therapy group. The rest of the cast is just kind of there (sorry Tramell). But that's because the camera is on Woodley and Elgort the entire time. I don't even think there's a scene except for flashbacks where the two are absent.
As far as the movie... An emotional roller-coaster. You will get addicted to their relationship. You will cry big man tears internally (and probably externally) after 1.5 hours. You will be emotionally drained.
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horacioreyes from Mexico
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I was touched by the concepts and situations on this film, being myself a survivor of 48 chemotherapy treatments, I can somehow understand the feelings.
Is not a pretentious film, however full of little moments that creates a very good and convincing environment.
I like both main rolls. The story is completely credible, it can happen any time to anyone.
It is an Ode for Life, it tell us that "We can and should have moments of infinite joy within a limited time" It is our choice!
I liked very much this film!
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Nicole Yap from Australia
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I don't really cry in movies unless they're really, really sad. And this movie is bound to get you crying like there's no tomorrow. I brought a box of tissues and I used about half of them. I have never cried so much in my entire life. Being an avid fan of the book, I was kind of scared that like some of my other favourite books, the movie would be ruined. But no, the movie had all of the book's materials in it (except for one thing). I never thought Shailene and Ansel would play Hazel and Gus, but when I watched it, their performance blew me away. I think Shailene's ability to cry got ME crying, because that's how real it felt. It is an amazing movie, and I'm sorry to say that it's even better than A Walk to Remember. Go see this movie, and if you do, maybe read the book first so that you can be somewhat prepared!
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AniConrad
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'Some infinities are bigger than other infinities' says my favorite quote from the movie (and the book) and its true because I am going to love this movie for the longest of the infinity. I am a huge fan of the book and one thing which really makes the movie stand out is an amazing performance by Shailene Woodley. She is outstanding in every scene she is and I have to say I am kind of in love with Hazel. Even though its a love story of a girl who has terminal cancer I wouldn't say that the film is tragic rather the film is about living your life to the fullest in your 'little infinity' If you have already read the book, the film is true to the book and the great acting, directing and music adds another dimension to the story. The Fault In Our Stars is definitely one of the best romantic movies ever. When you see this movie you are going to laugh and you are going to cry and when the end credit roles I can guarantee most of you are going to be completely in love with this love story.
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Alex Barnes
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The reason I am rating this a 1 is to combat the insane 8.2 rating that this terrible movie has.
I'm a 17 year old girl, and most people would assume someone my age would fall head over heels for a movie like this. I watched expecting to see this amazingly realistic, incomparable, and tragically beautiful love story, which is how TFIOS had been described to me. After spending two hours watching this movie, I'm sitting here wondering if I'm made of stone considering I did not shed a single tear. But several movies I have watched, and stories I have read, have left me sobbing and attempting to recover for days. I have never read the book, or any of John Green's books for that matter but now I will forever hold the opinion that he is a fully grown man attempting to articulate not only the life of a teenage girl, but the life of someone suffering with a disease. The first few lines of the movie, narrated by Hazel, made me know I was going to hate this movie, since she was describing things that happened in clich romance stories (which is exactly what this is), and how this was "true." The idea that this movie was realistic is ridiculous. First of all, a few token one-liners in the movie were clever and well written, but would never come out of a teenager's mouth. As a teenager myself, I can confirm that we are not that profound. I didn't understand the appeal that either of the main characters had in the other, other than the fact they both had cancer. Hazel was boring, and selfish, and self-pitying, and Gus was so pretentious it made me feel sick, and I never believed for a second that he was a virgin. Of course cancer is a terrible thing, as is death itself, but the fact that I didn't care about either of them, and saw them as a caricature of what John Green thinks or wants teenagers with cancer to act like, made me completely indifferent to their predictable demise. The story line with them going to Amsterdam to visit the author of their favorite book was annoying and unnecessary. Although the author was painted as this terrible person, I actually agreed everything that came out of his mouth about Hazel. I'm pretty sure the whole point of that scene was to say "hey, what can we do to make this movie even more depressing? I know, let's take the one thing that the main character cares about and destroy it, in order to make her completely dependent on her love interest." There's too many complaints I have about specific eye-roll inducing lines and scenes in this movie to even remember, but the one that angered me more than anything was when they went to the Anne Frank house. First, they tried to compare the horrible death of Anne Frank and her family, which was an outcome of the most horrible thing that has happened in human history, to these teenagers dying with cancer. As soon as they reached the top floor of the house, paying attention only to Hazel struggling to climb the stairs, in my mind I started thinking "please make them be respectful. I swear, if Gus tries to crack a self-righteous joke I will punch my laptop screen." At first, I was pleasantly surprised, because they were quiet and solemn, but then, they begin making out... Only to make it worse, everyone in the room begins clapping. Why? If I was there, I would be furious at their lack of respect. I can only hope this scene wasn't filmed in the actual house. Towards the end I was constantly checking the bar at the bottom of my screen to see how long I had left. I kept thinking, when is this really sad part coming that will make me cry? and when the credits started rolling, I realized it never would. The fact that people are describing this piece of trash as the best movie they have ever seen boggles my mind. I'm assuming it's the first movie they have ever seen. If you want to watch a realistic romance movie, you won't find it here. Don't waste your time.
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Jack Fischer from Minnesota
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This review is originally from my blog Derpy Reviews, www.derpyreviews.blogspot.com to see more FioS news, reviews and giveaways, email subscribe to Derpy Reviews and friend me on GoodReads www.goodreads.com/DerpyReviewsTeam
The Fault in our Stars, where to start. Great book, fantastic movie. The emotion of the actors made John Greens New York Times Best Seller, real. They brought depth to our pages, they brought emotion to our dripping eyes, and they brought warmth to our hearts.
The movie is about a teenage girl who has terminal lung cancer, she was saved by a experimental treatment when she was younger. Now as she is older, her parents feel that she is suffering from depression which is, as Hazel describes it a "side affect of dying." Her parents encourage her to go to a cancer support group where she meets Agustus Waters, ex-cancer carrier and minus one leg. Soon Hazel and Gus find themselves head over heels planning to love each other until oblivion ultimately catches up with them.
A "sick love story"
The actors casted for these roles were amazing. Shailene, played Hazel flawlessly, she was smart, and funny and cold just as Hazel was. Ansel, was equally amazing, his amazing humor and timing made this movie! The amazing actors and actresses combined with the entire crew, the way the movie was filmed is just inviting, and they way text messages and emails were displayed will start a new movie trend.
Some call it a tear jerker, some revolutionary, but me, I call it a spectacularly made masterpiece. You will laugh and you will cry. And some parts will send those magical shivers down your spine.
I would recommend this movie to... Any reader of the Fault in our Stars Anyone looking for a fantastic movie A guy who wants a romantic movie for two, that he may enjoy himself A girl who wants to just cry through an entire movie Someone who wants to see a spectacularly made masterpiece
"Okay"
The title is a variation on a quote from Act I, Scene II of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar: Cassius says "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves..."
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Nat Wolff wore blinding contacts which blurred his vision to better portray his role as Isaac.
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A replica of the interiors of the Anne Frank house had to be built as the movie was denied permission to film inside the actual house.
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Shailene Woodley wrote impassioned letters to author John Green and director Josh Boone. "If I'm passionate about something, I'll do everything I can to try to be a part of it," Woodley asserts. Although Green didn't initially picture Woodley for the part, he "was blown away" when she read for him. "We were all crying. It was actually sort of bad," he laughs. "But it was hers from that moment on."
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Shailene Woodley insisted that her friend Ansel Elgort read not just the script but also the novel before his first meeting with the filmmakers. "I thought, 'If I tell her I haven't read it, she'll be mad during our audition and it would be a mess,'" Elgort recalls. "So I literally read it for Shailene".
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Author John Green based the character Hazel was a young girl named of Esther Earl who was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Green met her during a Harry Potter convention in 2009 noticing her carrying an oxygen tank. He came to like her because of some of the videos she put up on Youtube as well as her humor and openness. From the time they met to her death at the age of 16 in 2010, Green and Earl would exchange correspondence.
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John Green was actually present most of the time during filming to give tips and advices to the cast.
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The Oranje sequence was intended to be shot on location in Amsterdam but production designer Molly Hughes eventually decided to have a replica set built back on Pittsburgh as during her location scout trip, she assessed that the constant poor weather in Amsterdam mid-October 2013 makes it tough to film. Hughes and the filmmakers were also unable to obtain permission to film at the on location Anne Frank house, so these two location sets were the only ones built for this film while the rest were found on location and redressed.
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In Divergent (2014), Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort play brother and sister, while in this movie, they play boyfriend and girlfriend.
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Shailene Woodley cut her waist-long hair, which she needs for her role as Tris in Insurgent (2015), to a pageboy haircut and was not able to wear a wig. She donated the hair to a local childrens hospital that makes wigs for the kids.
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In the book, Gus says that he was originally interested in Hazel because she looked like his ex-girlfriend, who died from a brain tumor. He explains that his ex was very mean to him (called him "stumpy," etc.) because she didn't know what she was saying (due to the tumor). In the movie, his ex is not mentioned.
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The character of Augustus Waters originally had deep blue eyes according to John Green's novel but in the film, Ansel Elgort retained his natural, hazel colored eyes.
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Brenton Thwaites, Ansel Elgort, Nat Wolff, Nick Robinson and Noah Silver were considered for the male lead.
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Before Shailene Woodley was cast, Hailee Steinfeld, Liana Liberato and Mary Kate Wiles were considered for the lead role.
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John Green endorsed Mae Whitman as his initial casting choice for the role of Hazel Lancaster.
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Nat Wolff plays another John Green-written character , Quentin Jacobsen, in Paper Towns (2015).
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Nat Wolff and director John Boone previously worked together on Stuck in Love (2012).
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In Gus' room, a sign of a car about to hit a cow with the word BEWARE can be seen. This may be an allusion to John Green's other novel Paper Towns, in which the characters nearly run into a cow.
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You can see that the main characters are watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997) during their movie/TV marathon.
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The character Isaac originally had blonde hair in John Greens novel, but Nat Wolff retained his natural black hair in the film.
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Both Peter Van Houten and actor Willem Dafoe who plays him, are Americans with Dutch names.
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John Green based the book on being a chaplain in a children's Hospital
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(at around 1 min 36 sec) While Hazel and her mother are at the mall, on the table between them are two plastic giraffes humping. This may be an Easter egg for the nerdfighters, the name for vlogbrothers fans. The two giraffes refer to the fact that the vlogbrothers placed giraffe sex thumbnails on some of their videos even though they have nothing to do with the videos' content.
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The book that the two main characters discuss, analyze and center around is called 'An Imperial Affliction' by Peter Van Houton. This book does not exist in reality.
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(At around 2 mins) While Hazel is in the mall reading her book a brief glance to the books contents is shown and on the left page it shows the word 'to' 6 times in a row.
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Green added via Twitter about Shailene Woodley's audition for the role of Hazel, "There were so many amazing auditions for the role of Hazel, but Shailene's love for the book and her understanding of Hazel blew me away."
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In the egg throwing scene, a street sign shows the street they are on as being Eaton Road. This being possibly deliberate by the filmmakers to reference the Divergent Series in which Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort also star which features a character named Tobias Eaton, or just a happy coincidence.
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The screenplay for this film was featured in the 2012 Blacklist; a list of the "most liked" unmade scripts of the year.
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Nickelodeon posters are seen in the game room. Nat Wolff (Isaac) was in The Naked Brothers Band (2007), a Nickelodeon show.
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John Green wrote the book The Fault In Our Stars, and it was inspired from Esther Earl. The protagonist in the book/movie is Hazel Grace Lancaster. The middlename 'Grace' is take from the middle name of Esther Earl. Esther Earl's middle name is 'Grace'.
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About 2 minutes into the film, we see Hazel watching an episode of The X-FILES. Hollywood A.D. to be exact.
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John Green was inspired by a girl named Esther Grace Earl. Hazel Grace Lancaster's name was probably based on Esther's name since they share the same middle name.
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Willem Dafoe starred in Spider-man (2002) as the Marvel villain Green Goblin. Shailene Woodley starred as Mary-Jane Watson in The Amazing Spider-man 2 but her scenes were cut.
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John Green: the father of the blonde girl talking to Shailene Woodley's character at the airport before the departure to Amsterdam.
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The t-shirt Hazel is seen wearing the night Gus dies is the same Gus wears the first time they meet.
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A scene in the book but absent in the film had Gus and his mother in a shouting match. This would have taken place just before Gus and Hazel were seen at the airport departing to Amsterdam. If this scene was included, it would have provided the earliest hint of Gus' cancer relapse.
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At a point of the movie, Peter Van Houten (Willem Dafoe) talks to Hazel about the Trolley Problem. Trolley Problem was presented by Philippa Foot in 1967, and it establishes the next situation: "There is a runaway trolley barreling down the railway tracks. Ahead on the tracks there are five people tied up unable to move, and the trolley is headed straight for them. A man is standing some distance off in the train yard, next to a lever. If the man pulls this lever, the trolley will switch to a different set of tracks, but the man notices that there is one person on the side track. There is not the ability to operate the lever in a way that would cause the trolley to derail without loss of life (for example, holding the lever in an intermediate position so that the trolley goes between the two sets of tracks, or pulling the lever after the front wheels pass the switch, but before the rear wheels do). The man have two options: 1 - do nothing, and the trolley kills the five people on the main track, and 2 - pull the lever, diverting the trolley onto the side track where it will kill one person. The doubt is which option is correct."
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When Hazel is in the ICU, her nails are painted a dark blue color (as mentioned by Gus in his eulogy letter at the end of the movie). However, when you are in the hospital, especially with breathing problems, you are not allowed to have your nails painted (so the oxygen saturation reader can pick up the oxygen levels through your nail). If you are rushed to the ER like Hazel was, they immediately take off the nail polish - at least one nail without nail polish is needed --index, middle or ring -- if not possible, your big toe's nail is used.
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The song that Peter van Houten plays when they meet is called "Bomfalleralla" with Afasi and Filthy. This is the uncensored version and contains a lot of profanity.
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In Amsterdam, when Augustus Waters reveals that the cancer had relapsed and has spread like a 'Christmas Tree', he and Hazel were sitting on a bench on the side of a canal. It actually went missing some days after the shoot in Amsterdam. The Amsterdam city spokesman Stephan van der Hoek promised to install a new one.
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Gus died at 18 in the movie, but he died at 17 in the original novel.
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In the movie Gus ends his letter with "Okay Hazel Grace" and Hazel answering with "Okay" while in the book it only ends with "I hope she likes hers" and Hazel answering "I do Augustus. I do."
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When Issac (Nat Wolff) is with Augustus after breaking up with Monica, he sings the line "I've been breaking all the rules" which just happens to be a song by Nat and Alex Wolff named "Rules".
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In the book, Hazel leaves a note telling her parents that she will be back because she is helping Gus. In the movie, it cuts to her rushing to Gus.
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Arriving on the departure airport, the departures timetable is briefly shown. The flight numbers and destinations, including gate numbers, are all from flights which depart from Luxembourg Airport in Luxembourg. Most flight numbers and destinations are from Luxair, except for Amsterdam and Zurich. However, the 9723 Munich flight hasn't been flown via Saarbrucken since a couple of years, which means the shot is already a couple of years old.
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When Gus narrates the letter he wrote Hazel, his voice says slightly different words than the letter contains when it is shown briefly in Hazel's hands.
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Hazel says there are an infinite amount of numbers between 0 and 1 and a an even larger infinity between 0 and 2. While she was making a metaphorical point, this is wrong. These two intervals have the same infinity, i.e. the same cardinality, which is Aleph-one.
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When Hazel denounces Gus's tragic flaw, she pronounces the Greek word "hamartia" (ha-mar-tia) "ha-mar-sha."
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When Gus first wakes up in the hotel after he and Hazel spend their night together, the clock on the bedside table says 9:11. When he rolls over to read the note she left, it says 8:47.
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When Isaac is destroying Gus's trophies, the pillows on the bench repeatedly appear and disappear.
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When the two first meet Van Houten, he takes the last sips of his drink twice before refilling.
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During the Night of the Broken Trophies, Isaac is holding a trophy with one column when he asks for Augustus's permission. However, in the background of the next shot, Isaac is seen smashing a two-column trophy.
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The taxi that brings Hazel, Augustus en Frannie to the hotel, holds during the first appearance the license plate number "4V-5RG-K" (which is not a format used in the Netherlands), but seconds later, as the taxi arrives at the hotel, the license plate is shown as "44-STR-2".
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When Gus is in the Sacred Heart of Jesus about to listen to his own eulogy, his scarf crosses and uncrosses repeatedly between shots.
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Peter Van Houten's assistant's email address is usually seen in her emails as lidewij36@gmail.com. However, a couple of shots show it being lidewij39@gmail.com.
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When Hazel is kneeling in front of Isaac in Augustus's game room, her hair changes between shots.
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When Augustus is telling her about the appearance of his amputated leg, he looks down and Hazel cups his chin with her left hand. In the next shot, Hazel is cupping his chin with her right hand. There is no time to change hands in between shots.
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In the egg scene, Augustus is shown between Isaac and Hazel. In the next shot, it shows Isaac and Augustus have switched places.
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When Hazel is reading the email from Van Houten, the text superimposed on the screen is missing three commas. When we see the email on the laptop screen right after this, the commas are there.
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When Gus, Hazel and her mother come down the escalator in the airport in Indianapolis, you see a huge poster of downtown Pittsburgh in the background.
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Set in Indiana but filmed in Pittsburgh, as revealed by the distinctive PPG Tower in the skyline of a shot near the Airport scene.
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Many of the cars have Indiana plates on the back, but Pennsylvania inspection stickers on the windshield.
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The family car is shown several times with state inspection stickers in the window. Most of Indiana does not require any sort of safety or emissions checks, thus those stickers are not used.
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In the e-mail written by Van Houten's assistant she names May 5th as the day for the meeting. However, May 5th is Liberation Day in the Netherlands. Therefore Amsterdam would be full of festivities and people celebrating freedom and not as quiet as it was seen in the movie.
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Hazel Grace has had a thyroidectomy which should leave a long scar across the base of her neck, yet her neck is unmarked.
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During an exacerbation of her condition, Hazel has a drain put in for her pulmonary oedema. This is incorrect as pulmonary oedema is not managed by the insertion of chest drains, but rather by supportive measures (chest drains are, however, used in cases of pleural effusion).
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Hazel says she is going for an MRI, but you can see the tube rotating indicating that she has a CT. Then later she talks about the PET scan.
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(at around 89 mins) Hazel and Gus are on an airplane. The first shot is looking out of their window where the clouds are moving by from left to right, meaning that the front of the airplane is to the left of the shot because the clouds would be moving from the front of the airplane (left) toward the rear of the airplane (right). The camera then pans left to find Hazel and Gus sitting facing to the right towards the rear of the airplane. So they are flying backwards.
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When Hazel and Gus leave the hotel in Amsterdam to go to Van Houten's house, they take a streetcar to get there. However, in the email Hazel receives from Lidewij prior to the trip, it is stated that the hotel is only a street over from Van Houten's home.
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In the egging scene, when Monica's mom comes out of the house Issac throws the egg he is holding behind him and it bounces away as if it is a ball.
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When Hazel texts Gus to tell him they are going to Amsterdam, he texts her back, and when she picks up her phone it's not lit up like it should be when receiving a text.
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In the e-mail Hazel gets from Lidewij about the trip to Amsterdam, it says that a room has been booked in hotel De Filosoof. The hotel they arrive at, however, is the Amsterdam American Hotel (also known as Hotel Am ricain). Yet, when Gus wakes up after he and Hazel have sex, the note she left him is on the notepad of a Hotel De Vreugde.
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Augustus gestures for Isaac to speak at his pre-funeral and Isaac begins on cue, but Isaac cannot see the cue because he is blind.
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cancer|teenager|falling in love|novel|friendship|terminal illness|support group|oxygen tank|funeral|blind|kiss|champagne|amsterdam netherlands|text messaging|teenage boy|teenage girl|death|hospital|studio logo segues into film|altered version of studio logo|based on novel|prosthetic leg|reference to rene magritte|loss of virginity|reference to muhammad ali|no opening credits|indianapolis indiana|f word|letter|church|throwing eggs|kissing in public|anne frank museum|reference to anne frank|restaurant|reclusive writer|recluse|first airplane trip|e mail read aloud|e mail|texting|mobile phone|cell phone|writer|novelist|book|one legged|doctor|blind man|cigarette smoking|airplane|
AKAs Titles:
Argentina - Bajo la misma estrella
Azerbaijan - Eyni Ulduzun Altinda
Bulgaria (Bulgarian title) - ’ина‚а в наˆи‚е звезди
Brazil - A Culpa das Estrelas
Canada (French title) - Nos toiles contraires
Czech Republic - Hvezdy nm neprly
Germany - Das Schicksal ist ein mieser Verrter
Denmark - En flnge i himlen
Spain - Bajo la misma estrella
Finland - Thtiin kirjoitettu virhe
France - Nos toiles contraires
Greece (transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title) - To lathos asteri
Greece - Το λάθο‚ αƒ„έι
Croatia - Krive su zvijezde
Hungary - Csillagainkban a hiba
Israel (Hebrew title) - Ashmat ha'kokhavim
Italy - Colpa delle stelle
Lithuania - Del musu likimo ir zvaigzdes kaltos
Latvia - Vainigas Ir Zvaigznes
Mexico - Bajo la Misma Estrella
Peru - Bajo la misma estrella
Poland - Gwiazd naszych wina
Portugal - A Culpa das Estrelas
Serbia - Krive su zvezde
Russia - ’инова‚‹ звезд‹
Sweden - Frr eller senare exploderar jag
Slovenia (pre-release title) - Krive so zvezde
Turkey (Turkish title) - Ayni Yildizin Altinda
Ukraine - ’иннi зi€ки
USA (short title) - TFiOS
Venezuela - Bajo la Misma Estrella
Release Dates:
Certifications:
Argentina:13 / Australia:M / Brazil:12 / Canada:PG / Canada:G (Quebec) / France:U / Germany:6 / Hong Kong:IIA / Hungary:12 / Iceland:7 (original rating) / Iceland:12 (re-rating) / Ireland:12A / Japan:PG12 / Mexico:B / Netherlands:12 / Norway:7 / Philippines:PG-13 / Portugal:M/12 / Singapore:PG13 / South Korea:12 / Sweden:11 / Switzerland:12 / Thailand:13 / UK:12A / USA:PG-13 (certificate #48945)