Ambition (1991)
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10% of users liked it
(51 ratings)
One of three short films made by Hal Hartley in 1991, along with Surviving Desire and Theory of Achievement, the nine-minute short Ambition is the shortest and most stylized film of the trilogy. (All three are available on a single videocassette, also entitled Surviving Desire.) Ambition begins with… More One of three short films made by Hal Hartley in 1991, along with Surviving Desire and Theory of Achievement, the nine-minute short Ambition is the shortest and most stylized film of the trilogy. (All three are available on a single videocassette, also entitled Surviving Desire.) Ambition begins with a perfect distillation of Hartley's deadpan style, as a bored man slowly pushes a coffee cup off a table; he then proceeds to break everything else in the kitchen. The film continues along these lines, alternating mundane, day-to-day details with comically exaggerated violence. After breakfast, the man leaves for work; on the way he gets into wordless, hand-to-hand combat with a variety of assailants. At his workplace, an odd, symbolic art gallery, the man is interviewed by a woman about his work. Immediately afterwards, he is chastised by his boss and beaten by two anonymous men in business suits. Hartley builds the film musically, using certain images and bits of dialogue as recurring motifs. The piece is structured as variations on a theme, explorations of the meaning and importance of work. The result is a pensive, sad meditation on frustrated ambition and regret, leavened by moments of witty dialogue and playful experimentation. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi
- Directed By
- Scott Goldstein
- Written By
- Lou Diamond Phillips
- Genres
- Drama, Horror, Mystery & Suspense
R,
- In Theaters
- May 31, 1991 Wide
- Studio
- Media Home Entertainment
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Cast
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Clancy Brown
as Albert Merrick
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Cecilia Peck
as Julie
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Richard Bradford
as Jordan
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Willard E. Pugh
as Freddie
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Grace Zabriskie
as Mrs. Merrick
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Katherine Armstrong
as Roseanne
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Dr. Haing S. Ngor
as Tatay
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Maria Rangel
as Female Dancer
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Teresa Bowman
as 1st Media Reporter
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Karen Landry
as Woman in Bookstore
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Chris Mulkey
as Man in Bookstore
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David Allyn
as Nondescript Man
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Bert Conway
as Gruff Man
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JD Cullum
as Jack
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Maggie Egan
as Anchor
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Wayne Federman
as Wiseass
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Randy Hall
as Male Dancer
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Robert Harvey
as Merrick's Attorney
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Ken Kerman
as 2nd Prison Gaurd
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Diana Michelle
as Long-Haired Hooker
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Michelle Milantoni
as Middle-Aged Woman
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David Burton Morris
as Man in Corvette
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Anita Ortega
as Hispanic Woman
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Daniel Robbins
as Waiter
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Mik Scriba
as 1st Prison Guard
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Aaron Seville
as 3d Media Reporter
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Kevin Shaw
as Co-Worker
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Steve Whiteford
as 4th Media Reporter
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Celeste Yarnall
as Beverly Hills Shopper
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Jake Jacobs
as Suit and Tie Man
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Lou Diamond Phillips
as Mitchell Osgood
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Rick Scarry
as 2nd Media Reporter
- Cathy Sandrich
- Julie Hutchison
- Amanda Mackey-Johnson
