Henry fool (1997)

My friend T showed me a couple of films by Hal Hartley a long time ago. I was immediately enthralled by the scruffy style of the films – lo-fi, to say the least. Henry Fool is based on the same no-budget formula. Here, too, Hartley works with a minimum of actors, settings and so on, but the film is admittedly a lot more developed than those from the early 90’s. Henry fool is a charming film. As a parody of art about Great Artists, it is both amusing and provocative; it is a commentary on cultural politics. But a big flaw is the last half of the film, which has far too much superfluous material for its own good. There are too many twists. Simon is a garbage man. He is the quiet type, bullied by the local wannabe-gangstas. His wry sister hangs around at home, taking care of their depressed mother. One day, a poet, Henry, moves into their basement (which is equipped with an anciently glowing hearth). Or at least he tells everybody he is a poet. Henry pursues Simone to choose the path of the artists, which he does, at first with little success. Simon is blamed for having peddling pornography to children – but the opinion on his work changes… The settings of Henry fool are everyday locations. A squalid yard, The World of Donuts, a library, a train stop, an anonymous dinner table. Beneath the poker-faced surface hides a poignant story about art and non-art, about social acceptance and political bullshit. The best scenes are those where little happens. A young scoundrel hands out flyers that encourages to voters to vote for a politician who saves America. Hartley’s treatment of moral panic in a culture of class differences and collective mumbo-jumbo about “revitalizing America” is utterly brilliant and funny. Henry fool, the poet, is a walking representation of quasi-culture: the resemblance of depth which has no connection to anything serious. Henry fool is a striking example of a culture that makes a division between Being Deep, Being a Poet and leading a normal, respectable, quiet life. --- In Henry Fool, each and every character fail to live up to the dream of suburbia. We even get to see Camille Paglia in an amusing cameo. It is the deadpan humor that makes Henry fool such a good film, despite the disappointing last 30 minutes.