John Sayles is one of the best--and certainly among the most interesting--American directors working in film today. Self-financed on a small budget, using his large number of talented friends as cast and crew, Sayles crafts films that owe allegiances to no one but himself. Virtually never does he make the same film twice, and almost all of them are a great pleasure to watch.
"Lone Star" is Sayles' masterpiece. It succeeds on every level: as mystery, as romance, as social commentary. Set in a Texas border town, it creates a rich world peopled with characters and situations we understand and identify with.
There is plot, mood, color, drama, passion, suspense and even humor, but if pressed to explain what it really is about, I would say that the theme is how the present is a product of the past, and how people are given opportunities to be imprisoned by it or to transcend it.
"Lone Star" is one of only two American films of this decade (the other is "Schindler's List") to which I would give a '10'. It's been a long time since I have felt so thoroughly challenged, entertained and satisfied by a single piece of art.
"Lone Star" is Sayles' masterpiece. It succeeds on every level: as mystery, as romance, as social commentary. Set in a Texas border town, it creates a rich world peopled with characters and situations we understand and identify with.
There is plot, mood, color, drama, passion, suspense and even humor, but if pressed to explain what it really is about, I would say that the theme is how the present is a product of the past, and how people are given opportunities to be imprisoned by it or to transcend it.
"Lone Star" is one of only two American films of this decade (the other is "Schindler's List") to which I would give a '10'. It's been a long time since I have felt so thoroughly challenged, entertained and satisfied by a single piece of art.