PARK CITY, Utah -- Desert gurus, seminar spiritualists and every other form of New Age varmint that Los Angeles has tossed toward Santa Fe is the focus of this understated cerebral comedy about the flaky state of that current "in" spot.
Playing as a dramatic competition entrant here at the Sundance Film Festival, "Santa Fe" is a droll tale that should fork some decent returns on select-site roads. In particular, fans of novelist John Nichols, who has written extensively about the area in his New Mexico trilogy, will appreciate its satirical sense of the Southwest.
In this dry and dusty sendup, Gary Cole stars as Paul, a brainy lawman who was nearly killed in the line of duty and whose status as one of Santa Fe's finest was jeopardized by his being in a cult. A serious and scholarly sort, Paul's hostility to the pseudo-spiritualist gibberish of the area is topped off when he finds that his wife (Sheila Kelley) has taken up with a New Age acupuncturist. Further riling his sensibilities, Paul's daughter has become enamored with a self-help guru (Lolita Davidovich). Paul's predilection to quote Jean-Paul Sartre and remonstrate to them does not further endear him to his family, including his sister, a feisty councilwoman who has decided to run against the current mayor, an L.A. refugee.
In all, the film is a percolating mix of personal problems and philosophical conundrums and, best of all, writers Mark Medoff and Andrew Shea have rattled it up with all the spicy trappings of life in the area. Overall, "Santa Fe" is a portrait of a mind-set, filtered through the contradictions of that city. If "Santa Fe" has a problem, it is that it does not know its own boundaries -- the writers have woven too much tapestry into this format.
Shea's sly sensibility serves the film well, especially in his keen lensing of production designer Rosario Provenza's sunny-funny mix of things. Visually, "Santa Fe" is scrappy and succinct, owing to cinematographer Paul Elliott's smart sense of framings.
The cast is solid, especially Cole and Davidovich.
SANTA FE
Nu Image
A Doradel Pictures production
A film by Andrew Shea
Producers Larry Estes, Andrew Shea
Director Andrew Shea
Screenwriters Mark Medoff, Andrew Shea
Executive producers Sharon Bialy,
Boaz Davidson
Director of photography Paul Elliott
Production designer Rosario Provenza
Costume designer Deborah Shaw
Editor Melissa Gerrero
Music Mark Governor
Line producer Holly Keenan
Casting director Sharon Bialy
Color/stereo
Cast:
Paul Gary Cole
Crystal Tina Majorino
Lea Sheila Kelley
Dan Jere Burns
Eleanor Lolita Davidovich
Alex Richard Schiff
Culpepper Michael Harris
Nancy Pamela Reed
Richard Adan Sanchez
Running time -- 97 minutes...
Playing as a dramatic competition entrant here at the Sundance Film Festival, "Santa Fe" is a droll tale that should fork some decent returns on select-site roads. In particular, fans of novelist John Nichols, who has written extensively about the area in his New Mexico trilogy, will appreciate its satirical sense of the Southwest.
In this dry and dusty sendup, Gary Cole stars as Paul, a brainy lawman who was nearly killed in the line of duty and whose status as one of Santa Fe's finest was jeopardized by his being in a cult. A serious and scholarly sort, Paul's hostility to the pseudo-spiritualist gibberish of the area is topped off when he finds that his wife (Sheila Kelley) has taken up with a New Age acupuncturist. Further riling his sensibilities, Paul's daughter has become enamored with a self-help guru (Lolita Davidovich). Paul's predilection to quote Jean-Paul Sartre and remonstrate to them does not further endear him to his family, including his sister, a feisty councilwoman who has decided to run against the current mayor, an L.A. refugee.
In all, the film is a percolating mix of personal problems and philosophical conundrums and, best of all, writers Mark Medoff and Andrew Shea have rattled it up with all the spicy trappings of life in the area. Overall, "Santa Fe" is a portrait of a mind-set, filtered through the contradictions of that city. If "Santa Fe" has a problem, it is that it does not know its own boundaries -- the writers have woven too much tapestry into this format.
Shea's sly sensibility serves the film well, especially in his keen lensing of production designer Rosario Provenza's sunny-funny mix of things. Visually, "Santa Fe" is scrappy and succinct, owing to cinematographer Paul Elliott's smart sense of framings.
The cast is solid, especially Cole and Davidovich.
SANTA FE
Nu Image
A Doradel Pictures production
A film by Andrew Shea
Producers Larry Estes, Andrew Shea
Director Andrew Shea
Screenwriters Mark Medoff, Andrew Shea
Executive producers Sharon Bialy,
Boaz Davidson
Director of photography Paul Elliott
Production designer Rosario Provenza
Costume designer Deborah Shaw
Editor Melissa Gerrero
Music Mark Governor
Line producer Holly Keenan
Casting director Sharon Bialy
Color/stereo
Cast:
Paul Gary Cole
Crystal Tina Majorino
Lea Sheila Kelley
Dan Jere Burns
Eleanor Lolita Davidovich
Alex Richard Schiff
Culpepper Michael Harris
Nancy Pamela Reed
Richard Adan Sanchez
Running time -- 97 minutes...
- 1/23/1997
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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