The films are hot, but the Revue’s AC will be cranked for the films in this summer’s Heat Wave lineup.
Heat Wave at the Revue Cinema, a lineup of the greatest summer movies ever made, concludes with the murder mystery LONE STAR with an introduction by WE REALLY LIKE HER! co-curator, EMILY GAGNE!
Break out your portable fans because the heat is on in more ways than one in Lone Star (1996), an underrated and twisty yarn about a racially divided Texas border town and a decades-old murder mystery that, if solved, could unravel everything.
Poetically directed by American indie icon John Sayles (Baby It's You, The Brother from Another Planet), this western thriller follows Sheriff Sam Deeds (Chris Cooper) after he discovers the skull of a infamous lawman Charlie Wade (Kris Kristofferson in a wickedly villainous turn), whose sudden "disappearance" in the late '50s left the police department in the hands of Sam's father, Buddy (cue Matthew McConaughey hot off Dazed and Confused). As Sam unearths some deeply dark truths about his community, he rekindles an old flame, getting hot and heavy with Tejano teacher Pilar (the late, great Elizabeth Peña) much to her mother Mercedes' (Míriam Colón) dismay.
In the grand tradition of the Heat Wave series, Lone Star is a bonafide scorcher in terms of its desert setting and sweat-inducing plot. But, more importantly, it will put your feet to the fire intellectually as Sayles frankly depicts the long-term effects of colonial violence and the dangers of white-washing history. Let's just say, you should prepare to leave feeling the burn. (EMILY GAGNE)