The Yellow Handkerchief
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The Yellow Handkerchief – sp – 83 year old Arthur Cohn who is a five time Oscar winner with films dating back to 1961 was the producer of this film and guest at our screening. He noted that for many of his great movies, including The Garden of the Finzi-Continis, it was often difficult to get a distributor and the films did not achieve box office success until they won the Oscar. In the case of this current film he told us that be thought that the reason he had trouble getting a distribution (finally picked up by Samuel Goldwyn Films) was because this movie does not have sex or any significant violence which many people believe are necessary for a movie to achieve box office success. This film is a road movie which follows Brett, played William Hurt, as he is released from prison after serving 6 years and hitches a ride with a 15 year old girl played by Kristen Stewart (of Vampire movie fame) and slightly older teenage guy played by Eddie Redmayne. Both young people have their own histories of feeling unloved and would like to get away from their unhappy lives. Brett’s history unfolds through a series of short flashbacks as they travel in the south towards New Orleans. He had a troubled youth and hadn’t made much of his life. He thought perhaps things were changing around when he met May played by Maria Bello, but his view of himself as a flawed person along with some particular circumstances caused him to destroy this relationship and end up in jail. As the three travelers who were seemingly going nowhere in their lives get to understand each other and grow, there is a sense of redemption. You see these three misfits and unlikely companions travel in a battered old convertible through Louisiana on their way to New Orleans which is beautifully photographed by award winning Director of Photography Chris Menges. The energy and eternal hope that producer Cohn put into this project (which comes to the to the screen three years after it was filmed) makes us want to root for the this movie to be successful just as we find ourselves also rooting for the characters to make it in their lives. You are left with the dream of the possibility of second chances, which is no small feat. (2008)