You can tell this film's a masterpiece because you can't buy it on DVD in the UK, like Melville's "Le Samourai", Bertolucci's "The Conformist", Altman's "Nashville" and countless others. At its core, "Lone Star" is a touching and tragic love story centred around an archaeological murder-mystery, but it's so much more besides. John Sayles lays bare the racial prejudices (white, black and Hispanic), the hypocrisies and the generation-gap squabbles of a Texas border-town community. He also makes us question whether the suspected violent deposition of a corrupt lawman by his deputy--marginally less corrupt but loved by those he protected and served, regardless of their race--might have been an end which justified its means. Beautifully acted all round, especially by Chris Cooper and Elizabeth Pena. Sayles could teach Tarantino a thing or two about how to cherry-pick a great soundtrack; this has one of the best I've heard. A marvellous movie.
A really good story about a man struggling with his father's legacy. Just a heads up, though: it is not a film starring Kristoferson and McCaunaghy. They have maybe fifteen minutes of screen time, total. That said, it is really quite a good mystery western.
This murder mystery by John Sayles explores the lives of Anglos, Hispanics, and African Americans in Southwest Texas. Lone Star explore how different cultures and generations mix, match, and interact in a place where anglos have the wealth and power although 19 out of every 20 people are Mexican by birth. African Americans who are part of the military also play a significant role in the story. Sayles film delves into the politics of race and tolerance both contemporarily and in the region's past. This film provides and excellent, and in my opinion, a very real look at racial politics and tolerance in the Southwest. The excellent cast includes: Chris Cooper, Elizabeth Pena, Kris Kristofferson, Joe Morton, Matthew McConaughey, and Frances McDormand.
Best Quotes - "I remember how Charlie Wade come to my father's hardware store once. I was just a little boy. And I heard stories about how he shot this one and how he shot that one... The man winked at me... I peed my pants. He winked at me."
"You live in a place, you should learn something about it."
Teacher: "We're not changing anything we're just trying to present a more complete picture."
Parent: "And that's whats got to stop!"
This has got to have one of the best twists out there. I was totally blindsided by it and it made the experience better than what it was turning out to be.
John Sayles best film ( that I have seen ). I wonder what could help american filmmakers write with this depth, coach with this grace, and differentiate without going insane and becoming David Lynch ? Does anyone have any ideas about this ?
One of the more underrated films of the last 10 years. A great cast with great direction and scriptwork. Cooper shows signs of how truly good he can be.
Cooper come out strong in his character role. This rendition follows an orginal movie from the 50's - 60's ere. A wonderful performance. It has a lot of flashbacks from the past and is easy to understand the history back ground of the movie, It is a well done modern day western movie. Worth your time to watch - especially those of us who remember the 50's westerns, such as: Have Gun Will Travel. Maverick, The Rebel, Gun smoke,Cheyenne, Wyatt Earp, F Troop, Bat Masterson, and other western movie. It got a lot of Raw Hide, Wagon Train, Under the Big Top, High Noon, and other things sprinkled in throughout the movie.
An epic spanning multiple generations and the constantly intertwining lives of several families seems complicated enough, but when the entire film is ultimately a parable for Mexican-U.S. relations it is a difficult task to make sure the film works and manages to explore every single one of the themes it raises without getting bogged down in them or resorting to pretention. John Sayles manages it by simply filming the script and letting the themes come to us, rather than beating the audience over the head with them.
The film is very well acted on all fronts, and a tight script and strong direction ensure the audience is never lost or anything less than entertained.
great "modern Western", if that can be called a genre...like all of John Sayles' films, it does require patience and attention, but the story and its outcome are well worth it...one of Sayles' best works to date.
MCT:March 17, 2008
MCT:January 21, 2008
MCT:November 17, 2007
MCT:November 6, 2007
MCT:July 14, 2007
