Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we talk about movie directors! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between.
Today we speak to Nancy Savoca, the great filmmaker whose sophomore feature Dogfight is now available via Criterion. The digitally-restored, director-approved Blu-Ray includes new commentary from Savoca and producer Richard Guay, a new interview with Savoca and actor Lili Taylor conducted by filmmaker Mary Harron, and a great essay by film critic Christina Newland, among other features.
We speak with Savoca about Missing Movies, her mentors John Sayles and Maggie Renzi, her first film True Love, directing singular performers like River Phoenix and Lili Taylor, and the HBO creativity boom of the mid-to-late ‘90s (including Carl Franklin’s Laurel Avenue and Cher and Savoca’s If These Walls Could Talk), and lesser-seen gems of Savoca’s that...
Today we speak to Nancy Savoca, the great filmmaker whose sophomore feature Dogfight is now available via Criterion. The digitally-restored, director-approved Blu-Ray includes new commentary from Savoca and producer Richard Guay, a new interview with Savoca and actor Lili Taylor conducted by filmmaker Mary Harron, and a great essay by film critic Christina Newland, among other features.
We speak with Savoca about Missing Movies, her mentors John Sayles and Maggie Renzi, her first film True Love, directing singular performers like River Phoenix and Lili Taylor, and the HBO creativity boom of the mid-to-late ‘90s (including Carl Franklin’s Laurel Avenue and Cher and Savoca’s If These Walls Could Talk), and lesser-seen gems of Savoca’s that...
- 5/2/2024
- by Dan Mecca
- The Film Stage
The film-maker and author, who died last week aged 74, will also be remembered by those lucky enough to know her as an unforgettable phrasemaker
A WhatsApp from Maggie Renzi, the producer of John Sayles’s Lone Star and most of his other films: “Cari has died.”
No need for a surname, there’s only one Cari in our lives. Maggie and John sat me next to Cari Beauchamp in a pizza restaurant in Cannes around 2001. For three hours that night I listened to this expansive Californian.
A WhatsApp from Maggie Renzi, the producer of John Sayles’s Lone Star and most of his other films: “Cari has died.”
No need for a surname, there’s only one Cari in our lives. Maggie and John sat me next to Cari Beauchamp in a pizza restaurant in Cannes around 2001. For three hours that night I listened to this expansive Californian.
- 12/19/2023
- by Mark Cousins
- The Guardian - Film News
Near the end of Matewan (1987), socialist union organizer Joe Kenehan (Chris Cooper), a guiding light and galvanizing force for a West Virginia town of striking coal miners under siege, attempts to console frustrated young Danny Radnor (Will Oldham), a nascent preacher and union man. Overwhelmed by the violence and hardships they’ve suffered, the boy gives into despair, declaring in rage and desperation that it’s every man for himself. Joe’s stirring reply is that they must all look after each other, no matter what. Though followed by a long-brewing scene of climatic violence, this quiet but deeply moving moment between […]
The post Cinema of Bread and Roses: An Interview with Maggie Renzi and John Sayles first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Cinema of Bread and Roses: An Interview with Maggie Renzi and John Sayles first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 12/18/2023
- by Ruairí McCann
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Near the end of Matewan (1987), socialist union organizer Joe Kenehan (Chris Cooper), a guiding light and galvanizing force for a West Virginia town of striking coal miners under siege, attempts to console frustrated young Danny Radnor (Will Oldham), a nascent preacher and union man. Overwhelmed by the violence and hardships they’ve suffered, the boy gives into despair, declaring in rage and desperation that it’s every man for himself. Joe’s stirring reply is that they must all look after each other, no matter what. Though followed by a long-brewing scene of climatic violence, this quiet but deeply moving moment between […]
The post Cinema of Bread and Roses: An Interview with Maggie Renzi and John Sayles first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Cinema of Bread and Roses: An Interview with Maggie Renzi and John Sayles first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 12/18/2023
- by Ruairí McCann
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
One of independent film’s key players, Ray Price, died July 16 at the age of 75 from heart failure after a long battle with cancer, his long-term partner Meg Madison confirmed.
Talking to Price about movies, past and present, was an exhilarating sport that could take a while. He knew his stuff — no one loved movies more — but more than anyone during the great indie decades of the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, he was a respected innovator who thought outside the box. He began as an exhibitor in San Francisco and moved on to marketing, releasing, and distributing movies, leaning toward the outrageous in how he lured audiences to sample challenging fare.
“Ray, while being a defiantly singular individual, was also emblematic of a bygone age of independent film,” Magnolia Pictures co-ceo Eamonn Bowles wrote me in an email. “From theatre chain owner to distributor, exquisite marketer, and production exec, he...
Talking to Price about movies, past and present, was an exhilarating sport that could take a while. He knew his stuff — no one loved movies more — but more than anyone during the great indie decades of the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, he was a respected innovator who thought outside the box. He began as an exhibitor in San Francisco and moved on to marketing, releasing, and distributing movies, leaning toward the outrageous in how he lured audiences to sample challenging fare.
“Ray, while being a defiantly singular individual, was also emblematic of a bygone age of independent film,” Magnolia Pictures co-ceo Eamonn Bowles wrote me in an email. “From theatre chain owner to distributor, exquisite marketer, and production exec, he...
- 7/21/2023
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Ray Price, the respected indie film innovator who served as president of American Zoetrope and First Look Pictures and as a marketing and distribution executive for companies including Landmark Theatres and Trimark Pictures, has died. He was 75.
Price died Sunday at Whittier Hospital Medical Center from heart failure after a long battle with cancer, his longtime partner, Meg Madison, said.
Throughout his career, Price displayed an encyclopedic knowledge of film, mentored generations of executives and leaned toward the outrageous in the ways he lured audiences to sample challenging movies.
Along the way, he championed filmmakers including Carl Franklin (1992’s One False Move), Allison Anders (1992’s Gas Food Lodging), Tran Anh Hung (1993’s The Scent of Green Papaya), Gurinder Chadha (1993’s Bhaji on the Beach) and John Sayles (1994’s The Secret of Roan Inish).
“Ray, while being a defiantly singular individual, was also emblematic of a bygone age of independent film,...
Price died Sunday at Whittier Hospital Medical Center from heart failure after a long battle with cancer, his longtime partner, Meg Madison, said.
Throughout his career, Price displayed an encyclopedic knowledge of film, mentored generations of executives and leaned toward the outrageous in the ways he lured audiences to sample challenging movies.
Along the way, he championed filmmakers including Carl Franklin (1992’s One False Move), Allison Anders (1992’s Gas Food Lodging), Tran Anh Hung (1993’s The Scent of Green Papaya), Gurinder Chadha (1993’s Bhaji on the Beach) and John Sayles (1994’s The Secret of Roan Inish).
“Ray, while being a defiantly singular individual, was also emblematic of a bygone age of independent film,...
- 7/21/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Morgan Neville will introduce Doc NYC highlight Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Lifetime Achievement Award honoree Joan Churchill and Alan Barker’s Shoot From the Heart on Haskell Wexler; Todd Haynes’s The Velvet Underground; Morgan Neville’s fast-paced Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain, and Liz Garbus’s revealing Becoming Cousteau on Jacques-Yves Cousteau are four of the early bird highlights of Doc NYC 2021.
The three highlights in Doc NYC’s Short List programme shed light on the workings of adventurous, troubled men who have been idolised by many and put on a pedestal as role models of independent masculinity. The fourth, the...
Lifetime Achievement Award honoree Joan Churchill and Alan Barker’s Shoot From the Heart on Haskell Wexler; Todd Haynes’s The Velvet Underground; Morgan Neville’s fast-paced Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain, and Liz Garbus’s revealing Becoming Cousteau on Jacques-Yves Cousteau are four of the early bird highlights of Doc NYC 2021.
The three highlights in Doc NYC’s Short List programme shed light on the workings of adventurous, troubled men who have been idolised by many and put on a pedestal as role models of independent masculinity. The fourth, the...
- 10/31/2021
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The saga continues, featuring Adam Rifkin, Robert D. Krzykowski, John Sayles, Maggie Renzi, Mick Garris and Larry Wilmore with special guest star Blaire Bercy from the Hollywood Food Coalition.
Please support the Hollywood Food Coalition. Text “Give” to 323.402.5704 or visit https://hofoco.org/donate!
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Key Largo (1948)
I Don’t Want to Talk About It (1993)
Camila (1984)
I, the Worst of All (1990)
The Wages of Fear (1953)
Le Corbeau (1943)
Diabolique (1955)
Red Beard (1965)
Seven Samurai (1954)
Ikiru (1952)
General Della Rovere (1959)
The Gold of Naples (1959)
Bitter Rice (1949)
Pickup On South Street (1953)
My Darling Clementine (1946)
Viva Zapata! (1952)
Panic In The Streets (1950)
Yellow Sky (1948)
Ace In The Hole (1951)
Wall Street (1987)
Women’s Prison (1955)
True Love (1989)
Mean Streets (1973)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
The Abyss (1989)
The China Syndrome (1979)
Big (1988)
Splash (1984)
The ’Burbs (1989)
Long Strange Trip (2017)
Little Women (2019)
Learning To Skateboard In A War Zone (If You’re A Girl) (2019)
The Guns of Navarone...
Please support the Hollywood Food Coalition. Text “Give” to 323.402.5704 or visit https://hofoco.org/donate!
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Key Largo (1948)
I Don’t Want to Talk About It (1993)
Camila (1984)
I, the Worst of All (1990)
The Wages of Fear (1953)
Le Corbeau (1943)
Diabolique (1955)
Red Beard (1965)
Seven Samurai (1954)
Ikiru (1952)
General Della Rovere (1959)
The Gold of Naples (1959)
Bitter Rice (1949)
Pickup On South Street (1953)
My Darling Clementine (1946)
Viva Zapata! (1952)
Panic In The Streets (1950)
Yellow Sky (1948)
Ace In The Hole (1951)
Wall Street (1987)
Women’s Prison (1955)
True Love (1989)
Mean Streets (1973)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
The Abyss (1989)
The China Syndrome (1979)
Big (1988)
Splash (1984)
The ’Burbs (1989)
Long Strange Trip (2017)
Little Women (2019)
Learning To Skateboard In A War Zone (If You’re A Girl) (2019)
The Guns of Navarone...
- 4/17/2020
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
John Sayles’ coal strike epic is grand American filmmaking bolstered by fine Haskell Wexler cinematography, great performances by dedicated actors, and a screenplay that avoids the common pitfalls of liberal filmmaking — by assuming the structure of an action Western. Filmed on a shoestring not far from the site of historical events, the pro- Union picture revs up viewer emotions, winding up as a moving, satisfying experience. Matewan’s been out of circulation far too long, but those that remember it will give it a high recommendation.
Matewan
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 999
1987 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 133 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date October 29, 2019 / 39.95
Starring: Chris Cooper, James Earl Jones, Mary McDonnell, Will Oldham, David Strathairn, Ken Jenkins, Kevin Tighe, Gordon Clapp, Bob Gunton, Jace Alexander, Joe Grifasi, Nancy Mette, Jo Henderson, Josh Mostel, Gary McCleery, Maggie Renzi, Tom Wright.
Cinematography: Haskell Wexler
Film Editor: Sonya Polonsky
Original Music: Mason Daring
Produced by Peggy Rajski,...
Matewan
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 999
1987 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 133 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date October 29, 2019 / 39.95
Starring: Chris Cooper, James Earl Jones, Mary McDonnell, Will Oldham, David Strathairn, Ken Jenkins, Kevin Tighe, Gordon Clapp, Bob Gunton, Jace Alexander, Joe Grifasi, Nancy Mette, Jo Henderson, Josh Mostel, Gary McCleery, Maggie Renzi, Tom Wright.
Cinematography: Haskell Wexler
Film Editor: Sonya Polonsky
Original Music: Mason Daring
Produced by Peggy Rajski,...
- 10/29/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
“Money talks nobody walks.” As part of this year’s Greater St. Louis Humanities Festival – which runs from Sept. 23-Oct. 2, and whose theme is “E Pluribus Unum?” – Cinema St. Louis presents a free screening Monday, September 26 at 7 Pm of writer/director John Sayles’ masterful City Of Hope (1991), which compellingly explores the racial attitudes and socioeconomic forces that divide the citizens of the fictional (but all too realistic) Hudson City, N.J.
An ambitious, richly detailed panorama of a city in decline – and rapidly approaching crisis – City Of Hope addresses urban decay in the United States by poking around in Hudson City’s political garbage, turning over and exposing the contaminated dirt of patronage, bribery, and special interests, demonstrating how the toxins trickle down to the middle class and poor, seep into our attitudes, and poison our thoughts. The sprawling cast includes actors from the director’s informal stock company – Joe Morton,...
An ambitious, richly detailed panorama of a city in decline – and rapidly approaching crisis – City Of Hope addresses urban decay in the United States by poking around in Hudson City’s political garbage, turning over and exposing the contaminated dirt of patronage, bribery, and special interests, demonstrating how the toxins trickle down to the middle class and poor, seep into our attitudes, and poison our thoughts. The sprawling cast includes actors from the director’s informal stock company – Joe Morton,...
- 9/23/2016
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Keep up with the always-hopping film festival world with our weekly Film Festival Roundup column. Check out last week’s Roundup right here.
Full Lineup Announcements
– The fiercely independent 17th Annual Woodstock Film Festival presents an outstanding lineup of films to be shown in Woodstock, New York, as well as Rhinebeck, Rosendale, Saugerties, and Kingston. The festival runs October 13 – 16.
The festival opens on October 13 with the World Premiere of “Blind,” a romantic narrative feature written by Michael Mailer (son of famed American author Norman Mailer) and starring Alec Baldwin (who will attend the screening with Mailer) and Demi Moore. You can find out more about the slate right here.
– The Mill Valley Film Festival, presented by the California Film Institute, has announced the complete lineup for the 39th edition of the Festival, taking place October 6 – 16. The 11-day event will screen films across Marin County and will feature premieres, panel discussions,...
Full Lineup Announcements
– The fiercely independent 17th Annual Woodstock Film Festival presents an outstanding lineup of films to be shown in Woodstock, New York, as well as Rhinebeck, Rosendale, Saugerties, and Kingston. The festival runs October 13 – 16.
The festival opens on October 13 with the World Premiere of “Blind,” a romantic narrative feature written by Michael Mailer (son of famed American author Norman Mailer) and starring Alec Baldwin (who will attend the screening with Mailer) and Demi Moore. You can find out more about the slate right here.
– The Mill Valley Film Festival, presented by the California Film Institute, has announced the complete lineup for the 39th edition of the Festival, taking place October 6 – 16. The 11-day event will screen films across Marin County and will feature premieres, panel discussions,...
- 9/15/2016
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Under Dean Elizabeth Daley (and the too often unheralded work of archivist extraordinaire Ned Comstock), the quality and quantity of USC’s collections have grown. And it's a joy for academics and book writers to use the Doheny Library in the middle of a beautiful campus. Landing these archives is getting more competitive. Roddy McDowell talked two-time Oscar winning actress Luise Rainer into putting her material with Boston University. Director John Sayles, who was courted by a variety of institutions, decided to go with The University of Michigan because, as his partner Maggie Renzi says, “We wanted the films to be taught in the classroom in a range of disciplines in a great university.” And Jeanine Basinger has put Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut on the film archives map by methodically seeking out and winning the collections from the likes of Frank Capra, Ingrid Bergman and Elia Kazan. John Waters also has his papers there,...
- 2/3/2015
- by Cari Beauchamp
- Thompson on Hollywood
“Work from your most generous place,” producer and keynote speaker Sarah Green advised during today’s annual Sundance Producers Brunch at the Sundance Film Festival. Green has had an amazing year, producing the works of masters old and young (Terrence Malick’s Tree of Life and Jeff Nichols’ Take Shelter), but her speech focused not on her accomplishments but on the sustenance provided by her web of professional associates and collaborators. She laughingly described her own beginnings, watching “Maggie Renzi get City of Hope financed over lunch. I thought it was easy.” She talked about mentoring the producer Georgia Kacandes from Apoc to Poc to Upm, learning, in the process, “not to micromanage.” Indeed, in a field in which becoming a veteran is as much about keeping up with new technologies, shifting production landscapes, and youthful energies, her advice to “learn from your trainees” was especially apt. “Form a producers group,...
- 1/23/2012
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
John Sayles and producer Maggie Renzi tell Cari Beauchamp about their book tour for Sayles' A Moment in the Sun: Since Return of the Secaucus Seven in 1979, John Sayles, along side his long-time producer and partner Maggie Renzi, have been making independent films, telling the stories they want to tell (Lone Star, Matewan, Eight Men Out and more than a dozen others). In between, Sayles has supplemented his income with often uncredited studio writing jobs as well writing short stories and novels. It is exemplary of Sayles, who writes, directs and edits his own films, that he never uses the possessory credit and when speaking of his movies, always uses the word "we"... While he reveres the collaboration necessary for filmmaking (one of the ...
- 5/9/2011
- Thompson on Hollywood
Sneak Peek the first teaser poster supporting the upcoming Philippines-lensed feature "Amigo" (aka "Brother From Another Country") from director John Sayles.
"...An American invasion of a foreign country. A battle for hearts and minds. A pacification programme to quell an insurgency. Guerrilla warfare. Firefights. American filmmaker John Sayles winds the clock back to 1900 and the Us occupation of the Philippines in his new film, 'Amigo', finding parallels behind this event in history and current events in Iraq and Afghanistan..."
Written/directed by Sayles for producer Maggie Renzi, "Amigo" cast includes Garret Dillahunt, Joel Torre, Chris Cooper, DJ Qualls, Yul Vazquez, Rio Locsin, Ronnie Lazaro, Bembol Roco, Lucas Neff, James Parks, Dane DeHaan, Stephen Taylor, Bill Tangradi, Jemi Paretas and Brian Lee Franklin.
Click the images to enlarge...
"...An American invasion of a foreign country. A battle for hearts and minds. A pacification programme to quell an insurgency. Guerrilla warfare. Firefights. American filmmaker John Sayles winds the clock back to 1900 and the Us occupation of the Philippines in his new film, 'Amigo', finding parallels behind this event in history and current events in Iraq and Afghanistan..."
Written/directed by Sayles for producer Maggie Renzi, "Amigo" cast includes Garret Dillahunt, Joel Torre, Chris Cooper, DJ Qualls, Yul Vazquez, Rio Locsin, Ronnie Lazaro, Bembol Roco, Lucas Neff, James Parks, Dane DeHaan, Stephen Taylor, Bill Tangradi, Jemi Paretas and Brian Lee Franklin.
Click the images to enlarge...
- 8/24/2010
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
John Sayles has written and will direct Honeydripper, a period musical drama starring Danny Glover, blues guitarist Keb' Mo', R&B singer Ruth Brown and Gary Clark Jr., a Texas blues guitarist. Set in 1950s Alabama, Sayles' original script centers on Tyrone (Glover), owner of the Honeydripper juke joint. When business at Tyrone's blues club begins to drop off, against his better judgment, Tyrone hires Sonny (Clark), a young electric guitarist, in a last-ditch effort to draw crowds during harvest time. "It's about that Bo Diddly moment, when music moves from the blues to rock 'n' roll," said Maggie Renzi, Sayles' longtime producing partner. "John would say he likes to make movies on subjects he doesn't already know, and he knows there's lots of room to explore here."...
- 7/20/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Myriad Pictures has acquired all international rights to John Sayles' upcoming feature, Silver City. Maria Bello, Thora Birch, Chris Cooper, Richard Dreyfuss, Daryl Hannah, Danny Huston, Kris Kristofferson, Mary Kay Place and Tim Roth round out the cast. Marking Sayles' 15th outing as both the writer and director on a project, Silver is a timely satire bearing various parallels with the present American government. The feature follows a grammatically challenged politician, from a long line of right-wing politicians, whose campaign, career and credibility are threatened by a mysterious corpse. Haskell Wexler served as cinematographer on the feature, which will be released by Newmarket Entertainment Group on Sept. 17. The film was produced by Maggie Renzi and Sayles through their Anarchists' Convention banner. Myriad will introduce the film to international buyers at this month's Cannes Film Market.
Billy Zane has joined the cast of John Sayles' Silver City. The project, lensing in Denver, is a political drama/murder mystery that tells the story of a small town in Colorado and the events leading up to a local election. Those events include the discovery of a man's body in a lake and the mystery surrounding his death. Zane plays a very successful lobbyist with political ambitions and the boyfriend of Maria Bello's character. Danny Huston, Chris Cooper, Kris Kristofferson, Cheech Marin, Daryl Hannah, Richard Dreyfuss and David Clennon star. Maggie Renzi is producing from a script by Sayles. Zane is repped by Paradigm Talent & Literary and Mosaic Media Group.
- 9/29/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Daryl Hannah, who worked with helmer John Sayles on his upcoming Casa de los Babys for IFC Films, will reteam with the director on his next project, Silver City. At the same time, the actress has inked with Writers & Artists Agency. Details of Silver City are being closely guarded, but it's described as a political drama/murder mystery that tells the story of a small town in Colorado and the events leading up to a local election. Among those events is the discovery of a man's body in a local lake and the mystery surrounding his death. Hannah will play a wild girl named Wendy. Maggie Renzi is producing from a script by Sayles. Shooting is due to begin next month. In addition to Writers & Artists, Hannah will continue to be repped by manager Chuck Binder. Hannah has been on a roll lately, starring onscreen in the Polish brothers' Northfork for Paramount Classics. She also has four other projects in the can: She next stars in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill, followed by Sayles' Babys, Kenny Golde's The Job and Steve Anderson's The Big Empty.
Filmmaker John Sayles, now prepping for the September release of his Casa De Los Babys for IFC Films, is setting his sights on Silver City. Sayles and producer Maggie Renzi are packaging the indie project. They've set Danny Huston for a lead role in the film and are in talks with recent Oscar winner Chris Cooper to join the cast along with Kris Kristofferson and Cheech Marin, sources said. Several other actors are expected to sign on shortly, with lensing to begin in September. While details of the project are being closely guarded, Silver City is described as a political drama/murder mystery telling the story of a small town in Colorado and the events leading up to a local election. Among those events is the discovery of a man's body in a local lake and the mystery surrounding his murder.
CANNES -- British production company 4Way Pictures -- set up by director Antonia Bird, actor Robert Carlyle, novelist Irvine Welsh and broadcaster Mark Cousins -- has snapped up the rights to Emily Barr's novel Backpack, the company said Thursday. Barr, a British-based columnist and travel writer, penned a novel about a young woman's compulsive desire to travel to exotic places and an encounter with a serial killer. Bird is developing the project and plans to direct. 4Way is also developing Jamie McGillivray as a co-production with John Sayles, who wrote the script and will direct. Sayles will co-produce the movie through his company Anarchists Convention with Maggie Renzi. Based on an idea from Carlyle, the movie is a historical adventure set in 18th century Scotland and North America. The project is being repped at Cannes by lawyers Susan Bodine and Jeremy Gawade. 4Way is also developing The Dope Priest with the U.K. Film Council. Written by Nicholas Blincoe from his novel of the same name, the project is billed as a daring romantic comedy exploring the complexity of identity in Israel and the Palestine Authority. The company said it has received an undisclosed amount of backing from BBC Films and Scottish Screen to develop projects from Welsh screenwriter Dean Cavanagh.
- 5/16/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Moving from passion fish to mystical seals, versatile filmmaker John Sayles' latest is a first-rate, all-ages fairy tale steeped in Irish folklore.
Adapted from Rosalie Fry's enduring juvenile story, "Secret of the Ron Mor Skerry", the renamed "The Secret of Roan Inish" is a gentle, lilting film of "The Secret Garden" variety, currently playing at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Given its healthy Irish brogues, low-key animatronics and absence of familiar faces, the secret of "The Secret of Roan Inish" lies in its more ambient charms.
Ten-year-old Belfast native Jeni Courtney is ideally cast as the film's central character, Fiona, a determined girl whose widowed father sends her to live with her grandparents (Eileen Colgan and Mick Lally) on a remote Irish fishing village. There, she becomes quickly acclimatized to the townsfolk and their love of imparting local mythology, particularly in regard to the "Selkie", a fabled Celtic creature that was part-woman, part-seal.
Raised to be a sensible young woman, Jeni is nevertheless taken in by the stories, convinced that they might hold the key to the whereabouts of her lost little brother, presumed to have drowned at sea. She decides to conduct her own investigation.
Sayles has anchored the rather lofty story line with a prevailing logical base that easily lures the viewer into the proceedings. The richly observed terrain is brought out to full earthy effect through Sayles' trademark gift for storytelling and crisp dialogue. Of course, he's ably assisted in his efforts by esteemed cinematographer Haskell Wexler, who captures the moody Northwest Irish coast with a misty clarity.
THE SECRET OF ROAN INISH
First Look Pictures Releasing
Producers Maggie Renzi, Sarah Green
Associate producer Paul Miller
Director-screenplay John Sayles
Director of photography Haskell Wexler
Editor John Sayles
Production designer Adrian Smith
Color/stereo
Cast:
Fiona Jeni Courtney
Tess Eileen Colgan
Hugh Mick Lally
Eamon Richard Sheridan
Tadhg John Lynch
Running time -- 104 minutes
No MPAA rating
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
Adapted from Rosalie Fry's enduring juvenile story, "Secret of the Ron Mor Skerry", the renamed "The Secret of Roan Inish" is a gentle, lilting film of "The Secret Garden" variety, currently playing at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Given its healthy Irish brogues, low-key animatronics and absence of familiar faces, the secret of "The Secret of Roan Inish" lies in its more ambient charms.
Ten-year-old Belfast native Jeni Courtney is ideally cast as the film's central character, Fiona, a determined girl whose widowed father sends her to live with her grandparents (Eileen Colgan and Mick Lally) on a remote Irish fishing village. There, she becomes quickly acclimatized to the townsfolk and their love of imparting local mythology, particularly in regard to the "Selkie", a fabled Celtic creature that was part-woman, part-seal.
Raised to be a sensible young woman, Jeni is nevertheless taken in by the stories, convinced that they might hold the key to the whereabouts of her lost little brother, presumed to have drowned at sea. She decides to conduct her own investigation.
Sayles has anchored the rather lofty story line with a prevailing logical base that easily lures the viewer into the proceedings. The richly observed terrain is brought out to full earthy effect through Sayles' trademark gift for storytelling and crisp dialogue. Of course, he's ably assisted in his efforts by esteemed cinematographer Haskell Wexler, who captures the moody Northwest Irish coast with a misty clarity.
THE SECRET OF ROAN INISH
First Look Pictures Releasing
Producers Maggie Renzi, Sarah Green
Associate producer Paul Miller
Director-screenplay John Sayles
Director of photography Haskell Wexler
Editor John Sayles
Production designer Adrian Smith
Color/stereo
Cast:
Fiona Jeni Courtney
Tess Eileen Colgan
Hugh Mick Lally
Eamon Richard Sheridan
Tadhg John Lynch
Running time -- 104 minutes
No MPAA rating
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
- 9/13/1994
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.