One of my favorite writer/directors is John Sayles. I've been following his career for about twenty years now because he makes important, occasionally historical, films outside the box...well, initially he wrote B-movie classics like ALLIGATOR, PIRANHA and THE HOWLING, then used the money to make his more "important films" like BROTHER FROM ANOTHER PLANET, MATEWAN and EIGHT MEN OUT. Unquestionably, he is one of the independent film pioneers!
Sayles' latest film (his 17th feature) is AMIGO, which is opening in theaters next week. AMIGO follows a village mayor caught in the murderous crossfire of the Philippine-American War.
Here's the trailer:
Sayles says the only American film he's encountered that deals with the conflict is THE REAL GLORY from 1937. He goes on to say, "Hollywood’s fidelity to historical accuracy is notoriously weak, but film producers assume, correctly, that Americans’ knowledge of that history is even weaker. Popular movies, for better or worse, often replace recorded facts with a kind of mythic history that people accept (and often prefer) as truth."
If you haven't seen any of his work before AMIGO I highly recommend going back and seeing his earliest films and working your way up to AMIGO. You will discover an intellectual artist, a prolific storyteller and an interesting filmmaker, who also edits his films! His eclectic mix of work, which is visceral, dramatic (sometimes very funny) and cinematic, will impress, intrigue and inspire.
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