The Ballad of The Sad Cafe
– A small-town eccentric opens a café in her decaying home...
01 Jun 1991
English
Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. Parents are urged to be cautious. Some material may be inappropriate for pre-teenagers.
Simon Callow
Edward Albee (play), Michael Hirst, Carson McCullers (novel)
Vanessa Redgrave, Keith Carradine, Cork Hubbert, Rod Steiger
A tangled triangle. In the rural South of the early 20th century, Miss Amelia is the town eccentric, selling corn liquor and dispensing medicine. She takes in her half-sister's son, a diminutive crook-back named Lymon. He suggests they open a café in the downstairs of her large house. Marvin Macy gets out of prison and returns to town; turns out he was married to Amelia but it wasn't consummated. He pleaded, then got angry. Is he back for revenge? Eventually, Amelia and Marvin stage a no-holds-barred fight in the café. Lymon's complicated response to Marvin and to Cousin Amelia figures in the resolution.
1 nomination.
Criterion Collection