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Lone Star [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2023-10-04  

This is not normally a site to look for film recommendations, but I thought I’d make one anyway.

Last weekend, my girlfriend and I rewatched “Lone Star,” a 1996 film written and directed by John Sayles. Starring Chris Cooper, it also has supporting roles by Kris Kristofferson, Matthew McConaughey, and Frances McDormand.

Nearly all John Sayles’ movies are worth watching, but Roger Ebert said that Lone Star was Sayles’ masterpiece. The film begins when a set of human remains is discovered outside of a small Texas border town. Chris Cooper is the sheriff who tries to determine whose remains they are and how they came to be there. In some ways, though, this is only a plot device that allows the film to explore the complexity of human relationships in the town.

One of things that most struck me on rewatching the film, and why I’m recommending it here, is how much it explores many of the social/cultural issues we’re familiar with today. These include illegal immigration, intergenerational and racial/ethnic conflict, and inter-racial relationships. There’s even a scene of parents arguing over the local history presented in school texts. Official corruption and hypocrisy are also included. It’s a good reminder that none of what we’re struggling with today is new.

The other thing that recommends this film is that these issues are not presented simplistically, but with sensitivity for the humanity of the characters, whose personal histories defy easy categorization.

If you’re looking for something different and entertaining to watch tonight, something that you will think about afterwards, I don’t think you can go too wrong with Lone Star (available for rent on Amazon).

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/10/4/2197363/-Lone-Star?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web

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