Not even the biggest fan of Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995), arguably Todd Solondz’s real debut following an all-but-disowned feature at the end of the previous decade, and itself a bitingly misanthropic and caustically funny film, could have expected the degree to which Solondz’s bleak, blackly humorous take on the worst of human nature would be magnified in Happiness. Hugely controversial on release for its treatment of paedophilia and rape, amongst other sensitive subjects, it is a film that finds empathy, if not hope, for the parade of grotesques on display, including Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jane Adams, and Jared Harris. 

This extremely rare 35mm screening comes courtesy of an archival print featuring Danish subtitles borrowed from the Danish Film Institute. 

Notes by Kevin Coyne.

Screening as part of the American Independents season.