The Rain People (1969)
Country: US
Technical: col 101m
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Cast: Shirley Knight, James Caan, Robert Duvall
Synopsis:
Having learnt that she is pregnant, a New York housewife takes off in her husband's station wagon to 'get away and sort herself out'. On her journey west she encounters an ex-footballer turned simpleton by a head injury, and an abusive motorcycle cop.
Review:
The director's sophomore effort at a personal project was a seminal road movie, predating Five Easy Pieces, Scarecrow and Alice Doesn't Live Here Any More, to say nothing of Thelma and Louise! The camerawork and characters are more redolent of Cassavetes. As Caan's puts it, the 'Rain People' are washed away in their own tears when they cry. Natalie is introduced to us in the rain, and the film ends with her crying; on the way, her flight from motherhood is belied by her 'adoption' of Kilgannon, the docile quarterback. She is often cruel, sometimes enigmatic, certainly reckless in her behaviour; she flees commitment but feels responsible for him at the same time, as she does for her husband. It's a remarkable film from a male writer-director, touching on a number of themes, and it lingers long in the memory.
Country: US
Technical: col 101m
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Cast: Shirley Knight, James Caan, Robert Duvall
Synopsis:
Having learnt that she is pregnant, a New York housewife takes off in her husband's station wagon to 'get away and sort herself out'. On her journey west she encounters an ex-footballer turned simpleton by a head injury, and an abusive motorcycle cop.
Review:
The director's sophomore effort at a personal project was a seminal road movie, predating Five Easy Pieces, Scarecrow and Alice Doesn't Live Here Any More, to say nothing of Thelma and Louise! The camerawork and characters are more redolent of Cassavetes. As Caan's puts it, the 'Rain People' are washed away in their own tears when they cry. Natalie is introduced to us in the rain, and the film ends with her crying; on the way, her flight from motherhood is belied by her 'adoption' of Kilgannon, the docile quarterback. She is often cruel, sometimes enigmatic, certainly reckless in her behaviour; she flees commitment but feels responsible for him at the same time, as she does for her husband. It's a remarkable film from a male writer-director, touching on a number of themes, and it lingers long in the memory.
Country: US
Technical: col 101m
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Cast: Shirley Knight, James Caan, Robert Duvall
Synopsis:
Having learnt that she is pregnant, a New York housewife takes off in her husband's station wagon to 'get away and sort herself out'. On her journey west she encounters an ex-footballer turned simpleton by a head injury, and an abusive motorcycle cop.
Review:
The director's sophomore effort at a personal project was a seminal road movie, predating Five Easy Pieces, Scarecrow and Alice Doesn't Live Here Any More, to say nothing of Thelma and Louise! The camerawork and characters are more redolent of Cassavetes. As Caan's puts it, the 'Rain People' are washed away in their own tears when they cry. Natalie is introduced to us in the rain, and the film ends with her crying; on the way, her flight from motherhood is belied by her 'adoption' of Kilgannon, the docile quarterback. She is often cruel, sometimes enigmatic, certainly reckless in her behaviour; she flees commitment but feels responsible for him at the same time, as she does for her husband. It's a remarkable film from a male writer-director, touching on a number of themes, and it lingers long in the memory.