John Sayles

By: Uli Cain, Cinefidel¹³

I am not a fan of the Auteur Theory, I do not believe a director is the author of a film for there are so many components to getting a film made, but with that said, I think John Sayles is a great Auteur. He writes his films, he directs, he edits, and he acts on occasion. He is in complete control from thought to finish. Yet Sayles has a great trust for his frequent collaborators and gives them the space needed to be their characters. I loves Sayles’ words on Brother from Another Planet and working with lead Joe Morton. Sayles had many things to worry about, but he just gave Joe the roll and allowed him to go with it, control the character, be the character, to the point that Sayles just said action.

A good director trusts his cast and crew to be true to the mission, and Sayles is always to that mission and respects the process of filmmaking.

So, here’s a list of my favorite John Sayles films.