Made in digital video blown up to 35mm, this film is part of the french. A romantic mirage from the ruins of the 1990s american independent movement, which still has fans if no financiers, trust is a treasure, an. Before there was dogma there was the book of life, hal hartley s satirical take on the book of revelations, y2k, and the end of the world as we know it. Hal hartley is considered one of the most significant contributors to the american independent cinema that flowered in the late 1980s and that now occupies a very important place in the american film landscape. The book of life by hal hartley, martin donovan, pj harvey. The only american entry in frances collection 2000 series of millenniumthemed fare, the book of life is a glib exercise in kooky obscurantism the cinematic equivalent of hearing someone laugh at his own joke. The film, which is shot on digital video, follow jesus martin donovan as he wanders around manhattan, pondering whether or not he. Jun 05, 2019 trust, hal hartleys absurdist romance set in 1990 bluecollar long island, starring the soyoung martin donovan and adrienne shelly, blooms in a sparkling new 35mm print, under the auspices of the everambitious chicago film society. Indie film pioneer hal hartley on why the dream of the. One of the most significant contributors to the american independent cinema that developed over the late 1980s and 1990s, hal hartley has throughout his career created films that defy convention and capture the stranger realities of modern american life. In the film, jesus returns to earth on the eve of the new millennium planning to bring about the apocalypse, but finds himself surprisingly enamored of humanity. Hartley s typically wry, witty and inventive contribution to haut et courts millennium series envisages christ donovan reluctantly sent by dad to.
In contrast, hal hartleys the book of life 1998, takes a rather different approach, playfully toying with the imagery. In the book of life, he gives a playful, irreverent and quite. In the film, jesus returns to earth on the eve of the new millennium planning to bring about the apocalypse, but. The book of life short film, true fiction pictures, 1998 kimono short film, 2000 no such thing an adaptation of beauty and the beast, metrogoldwynmayerunited artists distributing corp. It stars martin donovan as jesus, and pj harvey as mary magdalene. The book of life jesus christ shows up in new york on the last day of the century to begin the end of the world. It is very slick, due in part to his use of digital.
While a gambler and a waitress talk with satan in a hotel bar, jesus arrives at jfk airport with magdalena. Watch the book of life, the independent film by hal hartley fandor. The music complements the scenes perfectly and the soundtrack makes a great cd too. Hal hartley is considered one of the most significant contributors to the american independent cinema that flowered in the late 1980s and that now occupies a. He is best known for his films the unbelievable truth, trust, simple men, amateur and henry fool, which are notable for deadpan humour and offbeat characters quoting philosophical dialogue. Imagine that time reached its end and now the world must end. Berrettini discusses seven of hartleys feature films, including the unbelievable truth, trust, simple men, amateur, henry fool, fay grim, and the book of life. With martin donovan, pj harvey, dave simonds, thomas jay ryan.
His work has been showcased at film festivals such as sundance, cannes, berlin, toronto, rotterdam, melbourne, sydney,and countless others. It is very slick, due in part to his use of digital film. Hal hartley celebrity profile check out the latest hal hartley photo gallery, biography, pics, pictures, interviews, news, forums and blogs at rotten tomatoes. Part of a european project on views of the millenium, hartley submits a film that only an american could make. Hal hartley directed this french comedy about the second coming of christ.
Hartleys typically wry, witty and inventive contribution to haut et courts millennium series envisages christ donovan reluctantly sent by dad to. Buy the book of life dvd from amazons movies store. Combining the deadpan aesthetic of buster keaton with the lean economy of robert bresson, his films are arch comic explorations of truth, communication, and desire. Ornstein, paul albe, don creech, hal hartley, the book of life 1998. Sisters of mercy short film by hal hartley starring parker posey. Shot on digital video for a french series celebrating the year 2000, the book of life doesnt have the sort of glossy production values going for it that make movie buffs exclaim thank god lawrence of arabia is finally on dvd. Hupperts affecting performance, written specifically for her, evokes the pop art crime films of the french new wave, and is one of her finest contributions to englishlanguage cinema. Apr 21, 2014 a movie i had been searching for, for years because of this awesome quote i heard in a jedi mind tricks intro. This was hartleys first longer video piece using the rough impressionistic distortion.
Martin donovan and pj harvey in the book of life 1998 martin donovan in the book of life 1998 pj. Hal hartley is the most original and talented independent filmmaker of the last 25. The book of life imagines jesus returning to earth in 1999 accompanied by pj. Henry fool may have reached for a lot more than it could grasp, but independent figurehead hal hartleys followup doesnt even have high ambitions to excuse its failures. First in our series exploring different sides of isabelle hupperts career is hal hartleys charming amateur. As a companion piece to hal hartleys movie the book of life, this soundtrack is actually a bit of a curiosity at just under 58 minutes. The book of life, an american animated film directed by jorge gutierrez and produced by guillermo del toro, set against the mexican day of the dead holiday. The book of life hal hartley 1998 set on the eve of the millennium december, 31, 1999, hal hartleys the book of life manages to send up the notion of the apocalypse in hartleys typically offbeat way. The book of life 1998 hal hartley, martin donovan, p. Mark l berrettini since the late 1980s, hal hartley has challenged standards of realist narrative cinema with daring narrative constructions, character development, and the creation of an unconventional visual world. The book of life, a 1998 film directed by hal hartley. Theres really a difference from the earlynineties films through the late nineties to now. It is december 31, 1999 and new years eve takes on new meaning when the devil, jesus christ, and christs assistant magdelina discuss and debate the.
The book of life 1998 rotten tomatoes movie trailers. What happens if jesus christ has second thoughts about the apocalypse. Hal hartley has written and directed 12 feature films since his acclaimed 1989 debut, the unbelievable truth. Only an hour long film and you feel like it told you material worth for 10 hours. A movie i had been searching for, for years because of this awesome quote i heard in a jedi mind tricks intro. Harvey, dave simonds january 12, 2020 the end of the millenium has taken on a certain significance in modern day prophecies. There was a type of business in the 90sit started in the 80s, and for a few years in the 90swhere there was a real commercial interest in alternative work, and it seemed to be profitable for distributors. The book of life presents an unrelenting kaleidoscope of fastmoving images and hearpounding music that perfectly captures a technodriven. Jan 12, 2020 the book of life 1998 hal hartley, martin donovan, p.
Trust, hal hartleys absurdist romance set in 1990 bluecollar long island, starring the soyoung martin donovan and adrienne shelly, blooms in a sparkling new 35mm print, under the auspices of the everambitious chicago film society. Before there was dogma there was the book of life, hal hartleys satirical take on the book of revelations, y2k, and the end of the world as we know it. This was hartley s first longer video piece using the rough impressionistic distortion techniques hed developed through the mid 1990s. Information and translations of the book of life in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. Hal hartley is the only american director to contribute to frances collection 2000 seen by series, a group of onehour tv films about the end of the millennium. Popularly associated with the american independent filmmaking scene of the early nineties, he went on to write and direct such films as no such thing 2001 for united artists and fay grim 2006 for hd net films. The cinema of hal hartley columbia university press. This was hartleys first longer video piece using the rough impressionistic distortion techniques hed. Book of life, in the jewish and christian religions, a book in which god records the names of the righteous the book of life sinclair novel, a 1921 novel by upton sinclair the book of life harkness novel, the third of the all souls trilogy by deborah harkness the book of life, a collection of short stories by stuart nadler the book of life. In this darkly comic retelling of the apocalypse, jesus martin donovan. Hartley has created for our viewing pleasure a highly provocative tale complete with a wellconceived script, taut and pointed dialogue and a mesmerizing soundtrack ranging from urban, industrial sounds to bittersweet melancholy. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. The similarities between hal hartleys sophomore film and his debut are. Daily meditations with krishnamurti, a collection of meditations gathered from lectures and writings of jiddu.
Close behind was another indie pioneer, jim sheridan, who made his daniel daylewis. Indie film pioneer hal hartley on why the dream of the 90s. As a companion piece to hal hartley s movie the book of life, this soundtrack is actually a bit of a curiosity at just under 58 minutes. Book of lifegirl from monday by bill sage, martin donovan.
In this pioneering critical overview of his work and its culturalhistorical context, mark l. Hal hartley born november 3, 1959 is an american film director, screenwriter, producer and composer who became a key figure in the american independent film movement of the 1980s and 90s. Hal hartleys the unbelievable truth was nominated for the grand jury prize at sundance in 1989. Imagine you are jesus and you are sent to destroy everything because its part of gods plan. But writerdirector hal hartley s evergrowing number. Both the book of life and the girl from monday are presented with dolby digital 2. The biggest change is that the original indie film business doesnt exist anymore. Watch the book of life online vimeo on demand on vimeo.
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