Tributes - Retrospectives - Cinema on cinema
UNITED STATES | 113 minutes | 2017
In a diary he intends to eventually destroy, a solitary clergyman mourning his son writes of his meeting with an environmental activist, whose black view of the planet’s future triggers a profound spiritual crisis in our man of God. Ethan Hawke is superb as the troubled pastor in a performance of sublime understatement. A sensitive, unsettling reflection on faith and climate change, masterfully crafted with a stripped-down, pitch-perfect austerity that keeps the suspense on high, right up to the unforgettable finale. Schrader at his best.Director Paul Schrader will be present
Although his name is often linked to that of the "movie brat" generation (Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, Brian De Palma, etc.) Paul Schrader's background couldn't have been more different than theirs. His strict Calvinist parents refused to allow him to see a film until he was 18. Although he more than made up for lost time when studying at Calvin College, Columbia University and UCLA's graduate film program, his influences were far removed from those of his contemporaries--Robert Bresson, Yasujirô Ozu and Carl Theodor Dreyer (about whom he wrote a book, "Transcendental Style in Film") rather than Saturday-morning serials. After a period as a film critic (and protégé of Pauline Kael), he began writing screenplays, hitting the jackpot when he and his brother, Leonard Schrader (a Japanese expert), were paid the then-record sum of $325,000, thus establishing his reputation as one of Hollywood's top screenwriters, which was consolidated when Martin Scorsese filmed Schrader's script Taxi Driver (1976), written in the early 1970s during a bout of drinking and depression. The success of the film allowed Schrader to start directing his own films, which have been notable for their willingness to take stylistic and thematic risks while still working squarely within the Hollywood system. The most original of his films (which he and many others regard as his best) was the Japanese co-production Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985).
Come meet the filmmaker Paul Schrader (American Gigolo, Cat People, etc.). His influences (Dreyer, Bresson or Ozu), Hollywood, writing Taxi Driver, filming...
Masterclass
113 minutes | 0
Tears held suspended, and released.
Short film
UNITED STATES | 113 minutes | 2018
Common Spaces, veiled through distances of varying sorts,Living within the constraints of our fixed positions....
Sign-up for our newsletter to get all the latest Festival news!
To learn more about our privacy policy, click here