A ten-years-later continuation of Hal Hartley's "Henry Fool", where Fay Grim (Posey) is coerced by a CIA agent (Goldblum) to try and locate notebooks that belonged to her fugitive ex-husband (Ryan). Published in them is information that could compromises the security of the U.S., causing Fay to first head to Paris to fetch them ...
Socially inept garbage man Simon is befriended by Henry Fool, a witty roguish, but talentless novelist. Henry opens a magical world of literature to Simon who turns his hand to writing the ... See full summary »
Director:
Hal Hartley
Stars:
Thomas Jay Ryan,
James Urbaniak,
Parker Posey
Henry and Fay's son Ned sets out to find and kill his father for destroying his mother's life. But his aims are frustrated by the troublesome Susan, whose connection to Henry predates even his arrival in the lives of the Rifle family.
Isabelle is an ex-nun waiting for her special mission from God. In the meantime, she is making a living writing pornography. She meets Thomas, a sweet, confused amnesiac who cannot remember... See full summary »
Director:
Hal Hartley
Stars:
Isabelle Huppert,
Martin Donovan,
Elina Löwensohn
The same situation is played out in different cities (New York, Berlin and Tokyo). A lover has to choose whether to commit to a partner who is returning home. In each case there are other ... See full summary »
Director:
Hal Hartley
Stars:
Paul Austin,
Robert John Burke,
Martin Donovan
The end of the millenium has taken on a certain significance in modern day prophecies. What happens if Jesus Christ has second thoughts about the Apocalypse? It is December 31, 1999 and New... See full summary »
After being thrown out of her house, Maria encounters a married woman who complains of not having children. Maria ends up in an abandoned house, where she meets Matthew. When a baby is kidnapped Maria sets out to find the woman.
Director:
Hal Hartley
Stars:
Adrienne Shelly,
Martin Donovan,
Rebecca Nelson
Bitter about being double-crossed by the women he loved, (and with the police after him to boot), Bill vows to seduce the next woman he sees, then throw her away. His brother Dennis, ... See full summary »
Director:
Hal Hartley
Stars:
Robert John Burke,
Bill Sage,
Martin Donovan
The story of a young journalist who journeys to Iceland to find her missing fiancée only to encounter a mythical creature. She eventually forges a relationship with the being.
Director:
Hal Hartley
Stars:
Sarah Polley,
Robert John Burke,
Margrét Ákadóttir
A man returns to his home town after serving a prison sentence for homicide, and finds that the details of the crime have been forgotten and replaced with local legends and rumors.
Director:
Hal Hartley
Stars:
Adrienne Shelly,
Robert John Burke,
Chris Cooke
Jude, a college literature professor, falls for one of his students. She is more interested in the empirical experience of a relationship with a man whose life is ruled by the themes of the... See full summary »
Director:
Hal Hartley
Stars:
Martin Donovan,
Matt Malloy,
Rebecca Nelson
A ten-years-later continuation of Hal Hartley's "Henry Fool", where Fay Grim (Posey) is coerced by a CIA agent (Goldblum) to try and locate notebooks that belonged to her fugitive ex-husband (Ryan). Published in them is information that could compromises the security of the U.S., causing Fay to first head to Paris to fetch them ...
Fay Grim was shot almost exclusively using Dutch angles (tilting the camera off to the side). See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Father Lang:
Fay? You OK?
Fay Grim:
I'm afraid.
Father Lang:
Why? Has something happened?
Fay Grim:
I'm afraid for my son... He's fourteen.
Father Lang:
Boys have been known to survive that, Fay.
Fay Grim:
I'm afraid he'll grow up to be... well, like his father.
See more »
As you may have figured out, I have trouble praising good films. There's just not much to say without ruining them. I'll do my best though.
Fay Grim stars the Queen of Indie, Parker Posey. While she's fabulously talented, I just don't find her that attractive, and therefore I'm not as excited as I should be about her 16 films a year. But I digress, and I'm not sure why I even went there. Psychoanalyze me, psychos.
This is actually my first Hal Hartley film, and I was pleasantly surprised by the twisting story and fast paced dialog. I think Fay Grim is probably a little too smart for most viewers - not Syriana "smart" where it throws unrelated facts at you for a few hours and then ends with a flash of confusion, but smart in that if you're rooting around in your popcorn, you might miss what's going on. There's no repetition, it just moves.
I had the added bonus of hearing Hartley speak about his film at the Atlanta Film Festival. He didn't respond at length to many questions until someone asked about dutch angles. Then he started talking. He apparently loves them, in case you didn't figure it out by watching. He also spoke about his creative process on set where he acts out the movement he'd like to see, and then has his actors do their interpretation of how he was moving, and calls it a day. I'd love to be on set for a lot of that - fast moving and efficient film making.
Go rent it, you won't regret it.
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As you may have figured out, I have trouble praising good films. There's just not much to say without ruining them. I'll do my best though.
Fay Grim stars the Queen of Indie, Parker Posey. While she's fabulously talented, I just don't find her that attractive, and therefore I'm not as excited as I should be about her 16 films a year. But I digress, and I'm not sure why I even went there. Psychoanalyze me, psychos.
This is actually my first Hal Hartley film, and I was pleasantly surprised by the twisting story and fast paced dialog. I think Fay Grim is probably a little too smart for most viewers - not Syriana "smart" where it throws unrelated facts at you for a few hours and then ends with a flash of confusion, but smart in that if you're rooting around in your popcorn, you might miss what's going on. There's no repetition, it just moves.
I had the added bonus of hearing Hartley speak about his film at the Atlanta Film Festival. He didn't respond at length to many questions until someone asked about dutch angles. Then he started talking. He apparently loves them, in case you didn't figure it out by watching. He also spoke about his creative process on set where he acts out the movement he'd like to see, and then has his actors do their interpretation of how he was moving, and calls it a day. I'd love to be on set for a lot of that - fast moving and efficient film making.
Go rent it, you won't regret it.