No Such Thing

United States, Iceland

2001

102 Min

Color

1.85:1

Icelandic, English

Currently 3.1/5 Stars.
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EXEC Francis Ford Coppola, Willi Bär, Linda Reisman

PROD Friðrik Þór Friðriksson, Hal Hartley

CAST Sarah Polley, Julie Christie, Helen Mirren, Robert John Burke, Bessi Bjarnason, Baltasar Kormákur, Paul Lazar, Annika Peterson, Miho Nikaido, David Neumann, Bill Sage, Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson, Sigurður Skúlason, James Urbaniak, Damian Young

MUSIC Hal Hartley

Cannes (Un Certain Regard), Mar del Plata (Retrospective)

Synopsis

Disgusted with human evolution and a society driven by instant gratification and voyeuristic sensationalism, a foul-mouthed Monster kills anyone who crosses his path. When a news crew sent to investigate the Monster disappears, their ratings-obsessed boss sends a guileless young woman to follow up on the story. This young journalist forges an unlikely friendship with the Monster. —IMDb

Director

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

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NRH

9May13

Despite the venom directed toward this film on its release, and the desultory nature of all Hartley's (digital, significantly) features after this, it might actually be a great or nearly great film. If nothing else his ability to light and stage clear, strong images in depth is a lost art in the generations which have preceded him. If only this was treated with respect, but then we live in a world of lost promise.