Screening times:
Friday, Oct 25, 6:30 PM - SOLD OUT
Sunday, Oct 27, 6:30 PM - SOLD OUT
Robert Frank, Rudy Wurlitzer | Switzerland, Canada, France | 1987 | 91m | English
with Kevin J. O'Connor, Harris Yulin, Tom Waits, Joe Strummer
New York City, 1980s. A struggling, deadbeat musician named Julius has fallen on hard times. With no guitar, band or paying gigs, he cooks up a get-rich-quick scheme – to find the legendary, yet elusive guitar-maker Elmore Silk. Considered one of the greatest luthiers in the business, Silk’s disappearance from the scene has only made his work more coveted by musicians and record company executives looking to make a buck off his name.
Julius sets out to track the man down, leaving the city to track down this instrumental legend. Meant to be a simple journey upstate, Julius stumbles down a long, winding road full of dead-ends and wrong turns towards an eventual, mythical destination: The wilderness of Nova Scotia.
Considered a lost classic of the 1980s Candy Mountain has been long unavailable, with fans sharing cut-rate DVD and VHS copies to keep the cult alive. It stars character actors Kevin J O’Conner and Harris Yulin, with a supporting cast featuring real-life music legends Tom Waits, Leon Redbone, Joe Strummer, Dr. John, David Johansen, Mary Margaret O'Hara, and Rita MacNeil, with other talents lending a hand including Laurie Metcalf, Tantoo Cardinal, and Jayne Eastwood. The film combines the keen eye of legendary photographer Robert Frank with novelist/screenwriter Rudy Wurlitzer’s mythic American prose to produce the quintessential, shaggy dog road movie.
"A beautiful, autumnal end-of-the-road road film, written by Rudy Wurlitzer and directed by Robert Frank, Candy Mountain was at once point disowned by Frank for being too slick. Take it from me, the slick is way cool." -J. Hoberman, Village Voice
"Ambling along like a wry, laid-back 'Heart of Darkness,' this likable and touching film makes good use of Frank's remarkable photographic eye and Wurlitzer's witty, acerbic, and quasi-mystical handling of myth that has served him well in his novels." -Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
"You get sweeter on Candy with every passing mile." -Desson Thomson, Washington Post
Silver Shell Award - San Sebastián International Film Festival
