TRUE STORIES

Showings

Chauncey -Theater 1 Sat, Feb 29, 2020 10:00 PM
Series Info
Series:Bijou After Hours
Film Info
Rating:PG
Runtime:89 minutes
Director:David Byrne
Year Released:1986
Production Country:US
Language:English
Trailer:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MIHT9d25wY&t=54s

Description

Presented by the Bijou Film Board, and as part of Bijou's After Hours program.
FREE for UI students (present student ID at box office) and $7.00 for the general public!

"It's a bold attempt to paint a bizarre American landscape. This movie does what some painters try to do: it recasts ordinary images into strange new shapes." - Chicago Sun-Times

"An exuberant and wonderfully oddball stew of deadpan comedy, character drama, music video, and art installation." - Flavorwire

"What makes True Stories so wildly different from the dream-visions of all the quirky and hip directors who followed its example is its vehement refusal to condescend or to mock the people on screen." - Film Freak Central


Director David Byrne (of Talking Heads) takes an outside-looking-in glance at Texas and Texans in True Stories. Casting himself as the protagonist/narrator, Byrne adopts what he thinks is "standard" western garb and drives his red convertible into the small town of Virgil. Here he observes the town's preparations for celebrating Texas' sesquicentennial, taking time out to introduce us to several of the local oddballs. Swoosie Kurtz plays Miss Rollings, the Laziest Woman in the World; Alix Elias is The Cute Woman, who decorates her home in the most hideously "sweet" manner imaginable; John Goodman is talent-contest entrant Louis Fyne, who harbors dreams of being a C&W star; Spalding Gray is Earl Culver, a vegetable-obsessed civic leader; Jo Harvey Allen is The Lying Woman; and so it goes. The script by Southerners Byrne, Beth Henley and Steven Tobolowksy strives to avoid subtlety.


Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa-sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in or to participate in this program, please contact the Bijou Film Board in advance (@bijoufilm on Facebook or at (319) 335-3041).