By the mid-‘90s, the Coen Brothers had attained the status of elder statesmen of independent cinema. Although they were beloved of critics, Palme d’Or winners for Barton Fink (1991), and were working with the likes of Paul Newman (The Hudsucker Proxy, 1994), their films remained of limited appeal. However, all of that changed with Fargo, the story of a kidnapping gone haywire, whose success at the box office and the Oscars represented a significant shift not just for the Coens, but as the moment when the alternative to the mainstream gained mass appeal, and did so without making any concessions.  

Notes by Kevin Coyne.

Screening as part of the American Independents season.