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John Sayles Retrospective: Lone Star & Limbo

February 16, 2020 at 4.00pm – 7.00pm

Aero Theatre

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JOHN SAYLES: INDEPENDENT

Double Feature! Director John Sayles In Person!

LONE STAR / LIMBO

Co-presented by the UCLA Film & Television Archive and the Hugh M. Hefner Classic American Film Program

Discussion between films with director John Sayles, who will sign his new book, Yellow Earth, in the lobby at 3:00 PM.

35 mm!

 

LONE STAR

1996, Warner Bros., 135 min, USA, Dir: John Sayles

Chris Cooper plays an easygoing Texas sheriff who discovers unpleasant truths about his town and his own past in this intricately plotted murder mystery. Displaying his usual talent for ensemble characterization, director John Sayles follows nearly a dozen major players (Kris Kristofferson, Frances McDormand and Matthew McConaughey are among the film's many talented actors) as their stories intersect and raise questions about political corruption, multiculturalism, and other contemporary issues.

TRAILER 

35 mm!

 

LIMBO

1999, Sony Repertory, 126 min, USA, Dir: John Sayles

One of John Sayles’ most haunting films, LIMBO is a sublime meditation on the feeling of being stuck in a liminal state, a theme as relevant to the characters as it is to the viewer’s experience. Set in Juneau, Alaska, a town on the edge of civilization surrounded by water and wilderness, the film follows former fisherman-turned-handyman Joe (David Strathairn) and tired lounge singer Donna (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), who strike up a casual relationship to distract themselves from their otherwise dreary lives. Their sudden relationship comes much to the chagrin of Donna’s teenage daughter Noelle (Vanessa Martinez) but all three lives gradually begin to improve - until a forgotten part of Joe’s past reemerges and sets off a dramatic chain of events that leaves them stranded on a deserted island.

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