sex lies and videotape
The Unbelievable Truth
Two of the great works of late 1980s American independent film which paved the way for the massive commercial successes of Kevin Smith and Quentin Tarantino. Steven Soderbergh created a sensation at the Cannes Film Festival with his debut feature, which chronicles the frustrated sex lives of thirtysomethings in Baton Rouge. Although its acknowledged technology may seem dated, the film retains its engrossing power thanks to masterful performances from Spader and MacDowell. In Hal Hartley’s sharply comic first feature, The Unbelievable Truth (which also saw the debut of actor-director Adrienne Shelly, who died tragically last year), a stranger returns to a Long Island suburb after serving time for a crime he may not have committed. Incorporating deadpan performance and absurd plotting, Hartley created an obvious template for the likes of both Wes and P.T. Anderson.
PROGRAM
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sex lies and videotape
Directed by Steven Soderbergh.
With James Spader, Andie MacDowell, Peter Gallagher.
US, 1989, 35mm, color, 100 min.
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The Unbelievable Truth
Directed by Hal Hartley.
With Adrienne Shelly, Robert Burke, Julia McNeal.
US, 1989, 35mm, color, 90 min.
Part of film series
Screenings from this program
Tol’able David / To the Last Man
Buffalo Bill and the Indians... / The Ballad of Cable Hogue
Daydreams / Drifters
The Silent World / In The Pink: Faded Films
