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Henry Fool

United States

1997

137 Min
Color
1.66:1
English
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
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DIR Hal Hartley

EXEC Keith Abell, Jerome Brownstein, Larry Meistrich, Daniel J. Victor

PROD Hal Hartley

SCR Hal Hartley

DP Michael Spiller

CAST Thomas Jay Ryan, James Urbaniak, Parker Posey, Maria Porter, Kevin Corrigan, Liam Aiken, Miho Nikaido, James Saito, Gene Ruffini, Nicholas Hope

ED Steve Hamilton

PROD DES Steve Rosenzweig

MUSIC Hal Hartley

SOUND Daniel McIntosh, David Paterson

Cannes (In Competition): Best Screenplay, Toronto (Special Presentations), Karlovy Vary (Forum of Independents), London, Rotterdam (Main Programme), Mar del Plata (Retrospective), Mill Valley

Synopsis

Socially inept garbage man Simon is befriended by Henry Fool, a witty roguish, but talent-less novelist. Henry opens a magical world of literature to Simon who turns his hand to writing the ‘great American poem’. As Simon begins his controversial ascent to the dizzying heights of Nobel Prize winning poet, Henry sinks to a life of drinking in low-life bars. The two friends fall out and lose touch until Henry’s criminal past catches up with him and he needs Simon’s help to flee the country. –IMDb

Director

Original

Hal Hartley

Hal Hartley, Jr. (born November 3, 1959) is an American film director, writer, and pioneer of the independent film movement, who was educated at the State University of New York at Purchase.

Hartley graduated and moved to New York City in 1984. He shot his feature film debut, The Unbelievable Truth, in 1988 and remained extremely active in the years that followed; producing feature films like Trust, Simple Men, Amateur, and Flirt. Unlike most feature film directors, Hartley also continued making short films, many of which have been collected in a DVD anthology.

His films were often noted for dialogue that was simultaneously philosophical and humorous. In the early 90s, he often composed and performed the music for his films under the pseudonym Ned Rifle. —wikipedia 

Wall

Displaying 4 of 9 wall posts.
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kampton

17Sep11

Deeply moving from beginning to end. The final scene is one of my favorites in film.

Picture of rorydean

rorydean

3Jan11

Fabulous film with fantastic artful and poetic dialog that rings true and gives the film a kind of charm that many character studies struggle with and ultimately never fully realize. Thomas Jay Ryan does such a remarkable job with the character of Henry Fool that this film requires multiple viewings.

Picture of Raven

Raven

2Dec10

Suprisingly good movie with an even better script. Unfortunately the acting and direction could have been better in my opinion. I still recommend seeing it.

Picture of bluesoul

bluesoul

16Jun10

Superb movie. Hal Hartley is one of the most neglected american filmmakers, yet is so many times so much better and more interesting than the media darlings. Probably my favorite american director.

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