Discoveries at the 2026 SFFILM Festival

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Photo caption: Inci Cefa Cingoz in Pinar Yorgancioglu’s THOSE WHO WHISTLE AFTER DARK at the SFFILM Fesitval. Courtesy of SFFILM.

There are plenty of big movies and big stars at year’s San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM). Last week, I previewed the fest with Getting Ready for the 2026 SFFILM Festival. Don’t overlook these three lower profile films – movies like these are the reason we go to film festivals.

  • Those Who Whistle After Dark: Newly retired museum director Mehli (Mufit Kayacan) is just settling into his retirement, with nothing to do except to get the apartment of his late sister ready for sale. Meanwhile, his social climbing wife Suzan (Hulya Gulsen Irmak) a surgical nurse, is aching for even more social status. His daughter Toprak (Inci Cefa Cingoz), after a breakup, has dropped out of her PhD program to write a novel, but now spends her time on-line gaming with her ex. Mehli is unsettled when ghosts appear in the sister’s apartment, but his retirement is going to be rocked by the secret schemes of his living wife and daughter. In her first feature, writer-director Pinar Yorgancioglu, brilliantly uses the device of the ghosts to skewer family dysfunction and social competitiveness in Istanbul’s professional class.
  • Sender: In this absurdist psychological thriller, Julia (Emmy-winner Britt Lower of Severance) receives a daily avalanche of deliveries from a thinly disguised e-commerce giant. Trouble is, she hasn’t ordered them. And the products are incoherently random. The delivery guy (David Dastmalchian) offers help, but there’s something unsettling about him. Who is placing the orders and why? As the cardboard packaging piles up everywhere in her home, Julia’s slow burning paranoia becomes more intense. Not much is more banal in post-pandemic America than getting an Amazon delivery, but writer-director Russell Goldman, in his feature debut, has turned it into something ominous and laden with menace. Also features Rhea Seehorn and Jamie Lee Curtis.
Britt Lower in Russell Goldman’s SENDER at the SFFILM Festival. Courtesy of SFFILM.
  • Two Pianos: In the latest from French director Arnaud Desplechin (My Golden Days, Ismael’s Ghosts), concert pianist Matthias (three-time César nominee Francois Civil) returns to his hometown of Lyon after a decade abroad. Matthias is already in a mid-career malaise, but things get more complicated when he re-encounters his formidable mentor Elena (Charlotte Rampling) and his best friend’s wife Claude (Nadia Tereszkiewicz of Only the Animals, The Crime Is Mine). Matthias is further rocked when he sees that the ten-year-old son of Claude, who Matthias had dated, looks exactly like Matthias. A well-crafted melodrama ensues, one with unconventional turns.

And here is one that I haven’t yet seen yet, but I think it’s a pretty good bet. The closing night film will be Power Ballad, the latest from John Carney, writer-director of Once, Sing Street and Flora and Son. Those three Feel Good movies all feature penniless Dubliners who discover themselves by harnessing their songwriting talents. The premise of Power Ballad is that a wedding singer (Paul Rudd) finds himself in an all-night jam with a no-longer-popular boy band star (Nick Jonas). Afterwards the wash-out revives his career with a monster hit. Did he steal the song from the wedding singer? The story resembles a real-life controversy.

The menu at the 2026 SFFILM Festival includes 150 films from 40 countries. Peruse the program and buy tickets at SFFILM. Here’s the trailer for Power Ballad.

Best of the 2026 SLO Film Fest

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Photo caption: Natasha Loring and Rob Mor in HOW TO DATE AGAIN, world premiere at the SLO Film Fest. Courtesy of SLO Film Fest.

The 2026 SLO Film Fest opens on Thursday. I’ve screened over a dozen of the features, and here are three Must See indies:

  • How to Date Again: In this touching and funny romance, it’s been over a year since the death of his wife, and Michael (Rob Mor) is socially isolated, locked down by grief. His well-meaning dolt of a best friend gets him on a dating app, and after two very funny misses, he meets Leigh (Natasha Loring), whose tastes and sensibilities astonishingly dovetail with his. Michael, whose dating skills have become stale, awkwardly follows Leigh’s lead. A date morphs into an idyllic road trip to Morro Rock and the Madonna Inn. Haley Joel Osment is hilarious as an off-putting desk clerk, and will appear personally at the SLO Film Fest to receive an award. Sweet and poignant, this is an uncommonly truthful film. First feature for writer-director Matt Flanders, and the screenplay is very personal; (stick around for the closing credits). World premiere.
  • Adult Children: In this smart and insightful comedy, a couple is heading off on a European vacation just as the troubled adult son from the wife’s first marriage is wait-listed for a drug rehab bed. He needs supervision to prevent relapse, so his mom enlists his two sisters to fly in and babysit him. The couple’s 17-year-old daughter, twenty years younger than her half-siblings, opts out of the trip so she can finally get to know her brother and sisters. The three adult children fled the nest early after growing up free-ranging in the alcoholic chaos of their late father. The high-achieving, somewhat anxious, teen daughter comes from much more stable parenting. As the four settle in together, they find that maturity, direction and responsibility don’t automatically accompany chronological adulthood. It’s even revealed that the older daughters are posing as altruists to mask their own neediness. By turns funny and poignant, the story benefits from an excellent ensemble cast: Betsy Brandt (Breaking Bad), Thomas Sadowski (The Newsroom, Life in Pieces), Aya Cash (You’re the Worst) and Ella Rubin (Ani’s roommate/sister Vera in Anora). The real star here is the screenplay by seasoned actress Annika Marks; she is married to director Rich Newey, and this is their second narrative feature as a filmmaking team.
  • Sender: In this absurdist psychological thriller, Julia (Emmy-winner Britt Lower of Severance) receives a daily avalanche of deliveries from a thinly disguised e-commerce giant. Trouble is, she hasn’t ordered them. And the products are incoherently random. The delivery guy (David Dastmalchian) offers help, but there’s something unsettling about him. Who is placing the orders and why? As the cardboard packaging piles up everywhere in her home, Julia’s slow burning paranoia becomes more intense. Not much is more banal in post-pandemic America than getting an Amazon delivery, but writer-director Russell Goldman, in his feature debut, has turned it into something ominous and laden with menace. Also features Rhea Seehorn and Jamie Lee Curtis.
Britt Lower in SENDER. Courtesy of SLO Film Fest.

Here are some more recommendations:

  • The Fisherman: You haven’t seen anything like this delightful comedy from Ghana. The aging fisherman Atta’s (Ricky Adelayitar) only aspiration is to finally reach the status of boat chief in his seaside village. Just when it looks like his dream is unjustly denied him, he gets the help of a sassy talking fish. Carrying around an emotional support fish that only he can hear, he gets the help of three young villagers and the crew heads off for the bustling modernity of big city Accra, where Atta is the fish out of water. Can they hustle the funds to purchase of Atta’s own fishing boat? Atta’s relationships with his longtime partner and his daughter are explored in this playful peek into both traditional and modern Ghanaian society. And there’s a talking fish.
  • This Tempting Madness: In this briskly-paced thriller, Mia (Simone Ashley of Bridgerton) emerges from a coma, and can’t remember the fall that caused her critical injuries. She learns that her husband has been jailed for trying to kill her, but she can’t accept that explanation. She embarks on an investigation to find out what really happened, and begins to unspool the mystery, uncovering ever darker discoveries. Inspired (surprisingly) by a true story. First feature for director and co-writer Jennifer E. Montgomery.
  • The Musical: In this dark comedy, Doug (Will Brill of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) is an aspiring playwright, making ends meet as a middle school drama teacher. He and his girlfriend Abigail (Gillian Jacobs of Community), another teacher, are “taking a break”, and he’s oblivious to the clues that she intends for it to be permanent. Hoping that their relationship will resume, he’s stunned to learn that she’s now dating their smarmy boss (a deliciously repulsive Rob Lowe). Stewing in bitterness, Doug plots an epic revenge. First feature for director Giselle Bonilla and writer Alexander Heller. West Coast premiere.
  • The Strawberry: Inspired by a true story, this moving drama explores end-of-life issues with clear-eyed authenticity. Recent widower Herb (Mike Farrell of M*A*S*H) receives a terminal diagnosis and resolves to maintain his dignity and resolve family relationships. This one’s a weeper. Farrell, himself 86, is excellent. The Strawberry was filmed in Cambria, and locals will recognize a popular ocean overlook and glimpses of the main drag. First feature for writer-directors Carlos and Kyle Plummer. West Coast premiere.
  • Valentina: Gregarious and fun-loving Valentina (Keyla Monterroso Mejia) is epically irresponsible with parking tickets. To recover her impounded car, she must raise some cash, despite being job-averse. What she has going for her is wily charm, a network of friends and family and the ability to expertly navigate her hometown of El Paso. Valentina is a showcase for the bubbly charisma of Mejia (Ashley in Abbott Elementary and Petra in The Studio). In her first feature, director and co-writer Tatti Ribeiro surrounds Mejia with a cast of non-actors and embeds political-awareness and remarkable verisimilitude in a comedy.

And here is one that I haven’t yet seen yet, but I think it’s a pretty good bet. The closing night film will be Power Ballad, the latest from John Carney, writer-director of Once, Sing Street and Flora and Son. Those three Feel Good movies all feature penniless Dubliners who discover themselves by harnessing their songwriting talents. The premise of Power Ballad is that a wedding singer (Paul Rudd) finds himself in an all-night jam with a no-longer-popular boy band star (Nick Jonas). Afterwards the wash-out revives his career with a monstrous hit. Did he steal the song from the wedding singer? Story resembles a real-life controversy. California premiere.

There are plenty more experiences at the fest, including features, workshops, six programs of shorts and, for the first time, episodics. Peruse the program and get your tickets at SLO Film Fest.

Aya Cash, Ella Rubin and Thomas Sadowski in ADULT CHILDREN. Courtesy of the SLO Film Fest.

MAGELLAN: slower than the slowest slow boat

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Photo caption: Gael Garcia Bernal in MAGELLAN. Courtesy of Janus Films.

The historical epic Magellan tells the story of explorer/conquistador Ferdinand Magellan’s interactions with people of the Philippines, and most of the movie is set in the Philippines. Magellan begins in 1511, a decade before his most famous voyage, with Magellan serving a more senior Portuguese conquistador. Then the film touches briefly on his life back in Portugal before, again, briefly showing him leading a Spanish-sponsored voyage back to the Philippines.

The strongest element of Magellan is the depiction of historical events from the points of view of both Magellan and of the indigenous Filipinos. I also appreciated Magellan’s equating the superstitious qualities of the Spanish Catholic veneration of religious objects and the indigenous tribe’s idol worship.

Most of us know that Magellan commanded the first expedition to sail around the globe. As Magellan shows, Magellan himself didn’t survive to return home. As Magellan does not point out, a surviving Spanish crew led by one of Magellan’s subordinates did complete the groundbreaking voyage.

Magellan also gets credit for discovering what we know as the Strait of Magellan, the safest navigable route between Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. This is essential history, but it is only possibly referenced in Magellan in a scene where the sailors are all terrified of stormy seas and Magellan isn’t doing anything about it.

Many of the stills from the movie illustrate Magellan on a sailing ship, but I chose to post the image above because very little of this movie about the world’s most famous sailor is at sea.

Magellan is played by Gael Garcia Bernal, a fine actor and a magnetic presence, who isn’t asked to do much here. I doubt that the real Magellan was as passive as the character is written here.

Renowned Filipino writer-director Lav Diaz tells this story in two hours and forty minutes of intermittently interesting action. Diaz is an intentional practitioner of a cinematic style called slow cinema, which I am coming to loathe. I actually enjoy much longer shots and much more deliberate pacing than do most, but I just can’t take slow cinema, which feels to me like it is violating the rhythm of storytelling for no reason.

Magellan seemed longer than 140 minutes to me. I found the pace to range between insufferable and excruciating.

Magellan was the Philippines submission for the Best International Feature Oscar. It is streaming on the Criterion Channel.

Surf and Skate at SLO Film Fest

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Photo caption: Matt Formston in THE BLIND SEA. Courtesy of SLO Film Fest.

This year’s SLO Film Fest, opening April 24, once again presents the richest Surf/Skate program that I’ve ever seen at a mainstream film festival. In fact, the SLO Film Festival dedicates its Friday night and Saturday night showcase screenings to Surf/Skate events – that’s respect. Here are the highlights.

  • The always popular Surf Night features the documentary The Blind Sea, about Australian surfer Matt Formston, who has become a 3-time World Champion with only 3% vision. If competitive surfing while blind weren’t enough, he takes on the monumental break at Nazaré. Expect the Fremont to be packed again with surfers enjoying drinks in the lobby and the Riff Tide surf band before the screening.
N-MEN: THE UNTOLD STORY. Courtesy of SLO Film Fest.
  • This year, the festival’s Community of Skate will be hosted by the Bay Theater in Morro Bay. The feature film is the documentary N-Men: The Untold Story, which takes us to a freeway underpass in 1975 with the story of a seminal skateboarding crew; N-Men stars Tony Hawk and Tony Alva. There’s also the world premiere of a short film about skater Pat Ngoho, a post-screening panel and an exhibition of the custom skateboard designs and live-screen printing by the SLO High School Advanced Graphic Design class..

Check out the program and get your tickets at SLO Film Fest. Here’s the trailer for N-Men: The Untold Story.

Movies to See Right Now

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Photo caption: Nick Jonas and Paul Rudd in POWER BALLAD. Courtesy of Lionsgate

This week on The Movie Gourmet – I’ve been previewing both of next week’s film fests – San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM), the longest-running film festival in the Americas, and the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival (SLO Film Fest), a brilliantly curated regional film fest, with what may be unique surf and skate film elements. Both SFFILM and SLO Film Fest are screening Power Ballad, the latest from John Carney, writer-director of Once, Sing Street and Flora and Son, and Sender, .an absurdist psychological thriller fresh from SXSW, starring Britt Lower (Severance), Rhea Seehorn and Jamie Lee Curtis. Here’s my pre-fest coverage:

CURRENT MOVIES

  • The Drama: the darkest romantic comedy that I’ve ever seen.In theaters.
  • Is This Thing On? uncoiling the bewilderment of a break-up. Hulu (included,) Amazon, AppleTV.
  • Heel: don’t try this at home. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango.
  • La Grazia: it’s time to get past his malaise. Amazon, AppleTV.
  • The Bride!: a funnier Bonnie and Clyde, with monsters.In theaters and VOD.
  • Fackham Hall: silly, low-brow, and that’s okay. HBO Max (free), Amazon, AppleTV.
  • A Private Life: a shrink and her own issues. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube.
  • Mercy: not as good as the premise. Amazon (included with Prime), AppleTV.

ON TV

Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell in HIS KIND OF WOMAN

On April 18 and 19, Turner Classic Movies presents another of my Overlooked Noir and one of the most fun to watch: His Kind of Woman. A down-and-out gambler (Robert Mitchum) is offered a deal that MUST be too good to be true; he’s smart enough to be suspicious and knows that he must discover the real deal before it’s too late. He meets a on-the-top-of-the-world hottie (Jane Russell), who is about to become down on her luck, too. Witty entertainment ensues. Bonus: this will be on TCM’s Noir Alley, with intro and outro by Eddie Muller, the Czar of Noir.

Getting Ready for the 2026 SFFILM Festival

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Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Penelope Cruz and Edward Norton in Olivia Wilde’s INVITE, opening night at the SFFILM Festival. Courtesy of A24.

This year’s San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM) opens April 24, and runs through May 4. SFFILM Festival is the longest-running film festival in the Americas, and this year’s fest is the 69th.

The Opening and Closing nights will return to the Castro Theatre, and Oakland’s Grand Lake Theatre will host the Centerpiece night. Other venues include the Premier Theater at One Letterman, the JCCSF, SFMOMA, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the Marina in San Francisco and the Berkeley Art Museum and BAMPFA in Berkeley.

The menu at SFFILM Festival includes150 films from 40 countries. Peruse the program and buy tickets at SFFILM.

Greta Lee and Williem Dafoe in Kent Jones’ LATE FAME, opening night at the SFFILM Festival. Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.

Here are some of the more special elements of this year’s SFFILM Festival :

  • A double feature at the Castro on Opening Night, kicking off with with Late Fame, staring Greta Lee and Willem Dafoe.
  • The other Opening Night film will be Olivia Wilde’s Invite, with a SF-based story, and starring Penelope Cruz, Edward Norton, Seth Rogen and Wilde herself. Personal appearance by Olivia Wilde.
  • The already sold out Closing Night program is a screening of Star Wars™: Episode V—The Empire Strikes Back, including an onstage conversation between C-3PO himself, Anthony Daniels and Lucasfilm veteran, Howard Roffman.
  • A special screening of Power Ballad, the latest from John Carney, writer-director of Once, Sing Street and Flora and Son.
  • The absurdist psychological thriller Sender, fresh from SXSW, starring Britt Lower (Severance), Rhea Seehorn and Jamie Lee Curtis.
  • A performance by Grammy-winning guitarist Gabriela Quintero of Rodrigo y Gabriela will follow the documentary about her, Mysterious Bird.
  • Movies starring Tilda Swinton, Dustin Hoffman, Chris Pine, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Jamie Lee Curtis, Paul Rudd, Danielle Brooks, Peter Mullan, Dale Dickey, Léa Seydoux, Don Cheadle, Rhea Seehorn, Britt Lower, Charlotte Rampling, Demi Moore, Keke Palmer and Nick Jonas.

As usual, I’ll be looking for under-the-radar gems and posting my recommendations just before the fest’s opening. Here’s the festival trailer.

Movies to See Right Now

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Photo caption: Zendaya and Robert Pattinson in THE DRAMA. Courtesy of A24.

This week on The Movie Gourmet – new reviews of the darkest rom com I’ve ever seen, The Drama, and the 1996 John Sayles masterpiece Lone Star. If you missed Lone Star on TCM, you can stream it from Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube and Fandango.

And I’ve also posted my First Look at the SLO Film Fest, with its very promising program.

CURRENT MOVIES

  • The Drama: the darkest romantic comedy that I’ve ever seen. In theaters.
  • Is This Thing On? uncoiling the bewilderment of a break-up. Hulu (included,) Amazon, AppleTV.
  • Heel: don’t try this at home. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango.
  • La Grazia: it’s time to get past his malaise. Amazon, AppleTV.
  • The Bride!: a funnier Bonnie and Clyde, with monsters.In theaters.
  • Fackham Hall: silly, low-brow, and that’s okay. HBO Max (free), Amazon, AppleTV.
  • A Private Life: a shrink and her own issues. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube.
  • Mercy: not as good as the premise. Amazon (included with Prime), AppleTV.
Matthew McConaughey in LONE STAR.

First Look at the 2026 SLO Film Fest

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Photo caption: Haley Joe Osment in HOW TO DATE AGAIN. Courtesy of SLO Film Fest.

The 2026 SLO Film Fest opens on April 23 and celebrates its 32nd festival, bringing its characteristic mix of aspirational cinema and sheer fun to California’s Central Coast. This year’s slate is an intoxicating mix of US and international indies and festival hits fresh from their premieres at Sundance and SXSW. Plus the richest program of surf and skate films of any mainstream film festival. The fest will run through April 28.

This is the second festival since the SLO Film Center came into being as a collaboration of the SLO Film Festival and the Palm Theatre. Fittingly, the Palm will be showcasing some films and celebrity appearances, with the festival’s biggest nights, including Surf Night, happening at the Fremont Theater. As usual, most festival screenings will take place at the Downtown Centre 7. The fest’s Community of Skate will be presented at the Bay in Morro Bay. The Masonic Event Center will host a music video showcase and one screening.

Highlights include:

  • The world premiere of How to Date Again, a humor-filled study on love and healing, with a hilarious supporting turn by Haley Joel Osment (Poker Face, and of course, Oscar-nominated for The Sixth Sense) who will appear personally to receive an award. Watch for Morro Rock and the Madonna Inn in How to Date Again.
  • The stellar family dramedy Left-Handed Girl, followed by a Q&A with writer-director Shih-Ching Tsou. You’ve seen her other work – she met Sean Baker in film editing class, and the two have since collaborated as filmmaking partners. They co-directed their first film, she produced his Starlet, Tangerine, The Florida Project and Red Rocket, and Baker and Tsou co-wrote Left-Handed Girl.
  • Britt Lower (Severance) will appear personally to receive an award and present her new psychological thriller Sender, fresh from SXSW, and also starring Rhea Seehorn and Jamie Lee Curtis.
  • The opening night movie is the West Coast Premiere of Give Me the Ball! the biodoc of groundbreaking tennis champion and cultural icon Billie Jean King.
  • The closing night film will be Power Ballad, the latest from John Carney, writer-director of Once, Sing Street and Flora and Son.
Matt Formston in THE BLIND SEA. Courtesy of SLO Film Fest.

  • The always popular Surf Night in SLO with The Blind Sea, the documentary about blind Australian surfer Matt Formston, a 3-time World Champion, as he takes on the monster waves of Nazare. Expect the Fremont to be packed again with surfers enjoying drinks in the lobby and the Riff Tide surf band before the screening.
  • Skating culture is celebrated with the third annual Community of Skate with N-Men: The Untold Story, a doc about the seminal 1975 Sacramento skating crew, starring Tony Hawk and Tony Alva. Plus a panel of pro skaters and skate filmmakers, and a skateboard design exhibition.
  • Movies featuring Tim Blake Nelson, Rob Lowe, Paul Rudd, Thomas Sadowski, Betsy Brandt, Mimi Rogers, Lois Smith, Anna Chlumsky, Nick Offerman, Rhea Seehorn, Jamie Lee Curtis, Mike Farrell, Haley Joe Osment, James Badge Dale, Simone Ashley, Aya Cash, Ella Rubin, Keyla Monterroso Mejia, Britt Lower, Kevin Nealon and Nick Jonas.
  • Films from Denmark, Vietnam, Lebanon, India, Ghana, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil and Ireland.
  • Big-screen presentations of classic cinema: Sunset Boulevard, The Master, The Seventh Seal.
  • For the first time, SLO Film Fest will also sample as yet unreleased Episodics..

There’s plenty more, with features, workshops and six programs of shorts. I’m screening my way through the program, and will post my MUST SEE recommendations before the fest opens. Peruse the program and get your tickets at SLO Film Fest.

Shi-Yua Ma in LEFT-HANDED GIRL. Courtesy of Netflix.

THE DRAMA: the darkest romantic comedy I’ve ever seen

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Photo caption: Zendaya and Robert Pattinson in THE DRAMA. Courtesy of A24.

In The Drama, the darkest romantic comedy I’ve ever seen, Emma (Zendaya) and Charlie (Robert Pattinson) are getting married in a week.  They’re out with their best friend couple, finalizing the wedding’s catering and wine menu, when the four, in their cups, play a game that changes everything.

Each of the four undertakes to share the worst thing they’ve ever done.  Emma goes last, and confesses to something shocking.  This is not something that can be explained away as a youthful indiscretion.  It is something that calls Emma’s very sanity and humanity into question. The friends are horrified, but Charlie is rocked with the possibility that his adorable bride-to-be is a dangerous psychopath.  

Wedding week continues, with the couple going through all the banal tasks – reviewing the wedding photographer’s picture list, approving the flowers, meeting the DJ, etc. All while Charlie is more and more terrified of Emma.  

Charlie, not strong of character to begin with, starts to vibrant with stress and then decompensates into a human puddle. Emma, on the other hand, is just trying to get past her embarrassment until she plunges into terror that her very worst secret is going public. Believe me, this really IS a romantic comedy, but there are elements of psychological thriller along the way.

Both Pattinson and Zendaya are excellent as two people trying to cling to situations that may not be savable. Zendaya is just so impressive – a multi-platform superstar who started making Spiderman movies at 21 and still is choosing thoughtful, interesting work like this and Challengers. Other fine performances include:

  • Mamoudou Athie, whom I just saw as a menacing criminal in Wardriver, as Charlie’s very grounded best buddy;
  • Alana Haim, reversing the goodhearted charisma of her character in Licorice Pizza, as the friend hiding her inner malice;
  • Hailey Gates, hilarious as Charlie’s assistant Mischa, whose talents do not include connecting the dots.

The Drama is the work of writer-director Kristofffer Borgli, who also created the brilliant and utterly original comedy Dream Scenario. It’s in theaters now.

LONE STAR: overlooked masterpiece

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Photo caption: Chris Cooper and Elizabeth Pena in LONE STAR.

On April 9, Turner Classic Movies airs the 1996 John Sayles masterpiece Lone Star, a multi-generational story of mystery, corruption, racism, forbidden love and redemption. The ensemble cast is phenomenal: Chris Cooper, Elizabeth Pena, Matthew McConaughey, Kris Kristofferson, Miriam Colon, Joe Morton, Ron Canada, Frances McDormand, Clifton James, Stephen Mendillo, Tony Amendola. And the best part is the elegant storytelling of writer-director John Sayles.

The story is set in a small Texan town on the Mexican border. Sam Deeds (Chris Cooper) has returned to his hometown to serve as Sheriff. He hasn’t been in his hometown for many years because of his estrangement from his father, Buddy Deeds, the recently deceased previous Sheriff. The decidedly old school Buddy Deeds, who ran the county for decades, was respected and beloved – even legendary. After Sam introduces himself as Sheriff Deeds to an older local woman, she responds “Sheriff Deeds is dead, honey. You just Sheriff Junior.“

Sam’s daddy issues are mirrored by those of Delmore Payne (Joe Morton), a ramrod-striaght Colonel who has been assigned to command the nearby US Army base. Del resents growing up without his father Otis (Ron Canada), who owns a roadhouse outside the town proper, and Del is eager to unleash his bitterness upon Otis.

Inevitably, Sam finds his high school sweetheart Pilar (Elizabeth Pena) and the two rekindle a bond. Their relationship had been broken up by Sam’s dad Buddy and Pilar’s mom Mercedes, and Sam and Pilar have always thought it was on racial grounds.

Elizabeth Pena and Chris Cooper in LONE STAR.

Human remains are found in the desert, and they are identified as those of Buddy’s predecessor as Sheriff, the corrupt, racist and extremely fearsome Charlie Wade (Kris Kristofferson). Wade went inexplicably missing, and he was such a despicable bully, the relieved community didn’t seem to search for him very diligently.

The investigation of Charlie’s suspicious disappearance and death fall within Sam’s authority. Sam sees this as an opportunity to tarnish Buddy’s iconic status. Probing for some dirt to besmirch his father’s name, Sam asks Otis if Buddy ever took money for a favor, and gets back, “I don’t recall a prisoner ever died in your daddy’s custody. I don’t recall a man in this county – black, white, Mexican – who’d hesitate for a minute to call on Buddy Deeds to solve a problem. More than that, I wouldn’t care to say.”

Charlie disappeared before Sam and Pilar were born, but there are folks who were around at the time, Otis for one. Mercedes (Miriam Colon) is now a local business leader. The town’s good ol’ boy mayor Hollis (Clifton James) was, like Buddy, one of Charlie’s deputies. It turns out that what happened to Charlie is not so much a mystery as a long-suppressed secret.

Kris Kristofferson in LONE STAR.

As Sam undertakes the present day investigation, we see flashbacks of the time when Charlie, as terrifying as a T-Rex, walked the earth, and we see the young Buddy (Matthew McConaughey), Hollis and Mercedes. Sayles unspools the story with live segues, in which a single camera shot shows the flashback action at a location and then shifts to the present at the same place. In Sayles hands, the technique is a seamless storytelling device, and never just a gimmick.

Along the way, Sam encounters a flood of memorable, fully fleshed out characters. especially a metal-detecting Army sergeant (Stephen Mendillo), a feisty Mexican old-timer (Tony Amendola) and Sam’s own ditzy ex-wife Bunny (Frances McDormand, in the same year as her Oscar-winning turn in Fargo).

As the story moves to its conclusion, there are two surprising revelations in the plot. And Sayles ends the film with one of the all-time best best closing lines.

Matthew McConaughey in LONE STAR.

Cooper and Pena lead a cast filled with exemplary performances. The villainous Charlie Wade is my favorite Kristofferson performance. McConaughey was essentially unknown, and Sayles said “I needed a guy who didn’t have any star weight but who had the presence to play off against Kristofferson.” That casting paid off with McConaughey playing a callow character, with just the hints of the charisma and authority that he would later grow into. Cooper, Colon and Morton all appeared in previous Sayles films.

John Sayles’ body of work is as impressive as that of any American indie film director – and more diverse: Passion Fish, Eight Men Out, Matewan, The Secret of Roan Inish and some of the most iconic Bruce Springsteen music videos. In Lone Star, racial relations on the Texas border are complicated and dynamic, just like those in urban New Jersey in that other Sayles ensemble piece City of Hope. He first became known for Return of the Secaucus 7, which was probably the model for The Big Chill and Thirtysomething.

Sayles was Oscar-nominated for the screenplays of both Lone Star and Passion Fish. The dialogue in Lone Star is exceptionally witty, and not just funny, but insightful thought-provoking. Sayles has also been a distinguished script doctor, responsible for many uncredited rewrites, such as Apollo 13. (He started out writing the screenplays for Roger Corman’s Piranha and another exploitation movie Alligator.)

Lone Star is John Sayles’ best movie and IMO the very best movie of 1996, along with Fargo and Secrets & Lies. If you miss it on TCM, you can stream it from Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube and Fandango.

Elizabeth Pena and Chris Cooper in LONE STAR.