With Director Paul Lynch (PROM NIGHT) in person for a Q&A!
50th Anniversary 4K restoration from Canadian International Pictures!
DJ Barry Spritzer spinning classic country vinyl LPs & 45s before the film!
A road-weary country music masterpiece aching for rediscovery, The Hard Part Begins is the 1973 feature directorial debut of celebrated Canadian genre filmmaker Paul Lynch (Prom Night) – who will be attending this screening for a Q&A! – and feels very much like the Canadian bummer mirror reflection of another equally great, country music on-the-road classic, Payday (also 1973) with Rip Torn. (David Bertrand)
Veteran country musician Jim King (Donnelly Rhodes) has spent decades honing his craft, but he has yet to find success beyond the small-town touring circuit. With a prominent record label circling his current band, King and Country, Jim may be on the brink of a professional breakthrough, but the rest of his life is in disarray. From a suicidal son (David Daniels) and a terminally ill friend (Neil Vipond) to a rocky romance with his bandmate Jenny (Nancy Belle Fuller), Jim’s life is hard – and it’s only getting harder.
The feature directorial debut of celebrated Canadian genre filmmaker Paul Lynch (Prom Night), The Hard Part Begins blends the vivid Canadiana of independent classic Goin’ Down the Road with the unsentimental moral complexity of New Hollywood staples like Five Easy Pieces. Featuring a career-defining performance by Rhodes and a collection of unforgettable original songs, The Hard Part Begins is a lost treasure that’s finally getting the break it deserves. (Canadian International Pictures)