Directed by Hal Hartley
137 minutes
In English with English subtitles

Hal Hartley (Trust, Simple Men, Amateur) is absolutely singular in the realm of cinema. He carved out his own vision of filmmaking, and did so with such an incredibly unique style. His films are absurdist, but also offer lots of insights into the modern world. This one is lively as hell, and just when you think you have a grasp on the story, it takes a sudden wild turn. Hartley was one of a handful of promising independent directors of the 90s, but was slowly pushed out of the industry as it became more and more commercialized and formula orientated.

This movie descends upon Simon; a shy, introverted, socially inept garbage man, who lives with his sister (Parker Posey) and his mother, who both treat him with little respect. Simon's life is utterly meaningless, he is just going from day to day. Into Simon's life comes Henry Fool (the wonderful Thomas Jay Ryan), a heavy-drinking, witty, roguish, charismatic but talentless novelist who has traveled the world. Through Henry's encounter Simon's life is shaken and utterly changed. The film has an epic sweep to it somehow, and the entire adventure unfolds in Hartley's unique visual choreography.

Henry Fool is a dashing mediation on art and the side-effects of stardom, and it was hailed by some critics as writer-director Hal Hartley's best film. All of Hartley's movies defy easy categorization, and Henry Fool is no exception. The film has an incredible flair, and it's rare that a film tries to tackle such subjects, let alone manages to do so with a combination of razor-sharp intelligence and deadpan humor. It's a Shakespearean treatise on human suffering. It is also an anti-establishment, humanist work with all the exuberance and irreverence of a 1930s screwball comedy. Written, produced, directed and composed by Hal Hartley, it won the award for Best Screenplay at Cannes in 1998 and still resonates today (maybe even more so than when it was made) in a society obsessed with the cult of celebrities.