Isabelle Huppert stars in Hal Hartley's Amateur (Sony)
Thomas
: "Have you ever had sex?"
Isabelle
: "No."
Thomas
: "How can you be a nymphomaniac and never had sex?"
Isabelle
: "I'm very choosy."
--from Hal Hartley's
Amateur
Contradiction is something that has always intrigued filmmaker Hal Hartley. He even named his production company True Fiction Pictures. In his first feature, The Unbelievable Truth (prompting irony again), Hartley considered whether you could love someone but not trust them. He continued to develop that ironic dichotomy in his next two films, Trust and Simple Men . In his latest film, Amateur , Isabelle Huppert plays Isabelle, a virginal ex-nun who considers herself a nymphomaniac, and Martin Donovan plays Thomas, an amnesiac with whom she falls in love. Once again, Hartley sets out to ponder the incongruities of life. Can you be both a virgin and a nymphomaniac? Can you love someone who has no identity? Can you still be held responsible for things you cannot remember and for the person you no longer are? His obsession extends to even the smallest details as when someone is shown a floppy disk and frowns at the misnomer since the item is stiff and square.
max
June 06, 2008 at 10:02 PM
A blast from the past, isn't this?
I remember discovering Hartley with my best friend in college, and along the movie Donovan and the late Shelley. Since then, we would always find his movies, not an easy task and we would later on gets some blank looks when asking in the local video stores.
I like his movies until the recent Fay Grimm that I thought was still Hartley's but not as good as his old stuff. Still, it was a joy to find his work. Amateur is probably still his best to date and I thank you for bringing this interview back.
I hope he'll make a movie sooner than the gap between the last two.
Beth Accomando
June 07, 2008 at 08:15 AM
Well Hal Hartley fans are hard to come by as his films so I’m glad to find one. I remember asking Landmark years ago to run a double bill of Hartley’s films and the manager said that all of Hartley’s films combined had only grossed $11,000 in San Diego, so they wouldn’t be bringing back a double bill of his films.
My favorite is Trust, I just love Martin Donovan in that film.
I agree that Fay Grimm is not his best but even a mediocre Hartley film is enjoyable.
Thanks for showing your support for Hartley, a true independent.
