In Hal Hartley's first feature film, THE UNBELIEVABLE TRUTH, Josh (Robert Burke), a criminal who has just been released from prison, returns home to Lindenhurst, Long Island. There he's hired as a mechanic by Vic Hugo (Christopher Cooke), the owner of a local garage. Through a mutual interest in George Washington, Josh falls in love with Vic's daughter, Audry (Adrienne Shelly). However, their romance proves to be difficult due to Audry's possessive ex-boyfriend and the mystery surrounding Josh's past.
THE UNBELIEVABLE TRUTH effectively establishes Hartley's unique aesthetic, which is darkly humorous, oddly clever, and subtly meditative. Rather than merely hint at their thoughts, the characters in this film (and other Hartley films) tend to speak exactly what they're thinking, openly expressing things often left unsaid. A quirky take on the romantic comedy, this is the debut of a highly original American filmmaker.
Film was shot in a two week period in 1989.
Feature film debut for director Hal Hartley.
Produced by Action Features.
Shown at the AFI Festival in Los Angeles April 21, 1989.
DVD Features:
Region 1
Keep Case
Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.85
Audio:
Dolby Stereo Surround
Additional Release Material:
Trailers - 1.Original Theatrical Trailer
Interview - 1.Hal Hartley - DIRECTOR
Director of Photography
Michael Spiller: Cinematographer, "Flirt"
Review 1:
"...[A] wildly hilarious black comedy....[Hartley] combines a rigorous social conscience with the exuberance of fresh comic thinking..."
Source: Rolling Stone
p.39 08/09/1990
Review 2:
"...Arch....All the offbeat appeal of its strange characters..."
Source: New York Times
p.C11 07/20/1990
Review 3:
"...It's fresh and actually gets somewhere....Hartley reveals a serious concern for how people tend to look at relationship as if they were business deals and how alienating the results are..."
Source: Los Angeles Times
p.F6 08/17/1990
Review 4:
"Hartley's determination to skew convention at every turn remains diverting."
Source: Sight and Sound
p.78-9 07/01/2004
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