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Iguana

Directed by Monte Hellman.
With Everett McGill, Michael Bradford, Roger Kendall.
Italy/Spain/Switzerland/US, 1988, 35mm, color, 98 min.

Iguana is an allegorical fable of the abuses of power which follows a disfigured and fiercely misanthropic sailor who jumps ship to become the improbable king of a remote barren island. Featuring a haunting score by Joni Mitchell and starring Everett McGill as a man raging against the calcified hierarchies of 19th century society, Iguana has gained the reputation of a cult film maudit for its harrowing depiction of the savagely exacting master-slave society created by the despotic sailor. Among Hellman's least discussed works, Iguana will be presented in its rarely screened extended director's cut. – HG

Part of film series

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Alain Kassanda,
2026 McMillan-Stewart Fellow