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Limbo
1999
Set in Alaska, where the rugged lifestyle of fishermen and cannery workers is gradually giving way to tourism and museums, LIMBO features a colorful cast of characters--a fisherman who has lost his boat, lesbians who own a profitable Alaskan lodge, bar patrons reflecting on the transformation of the state into one huge theme .. Read more
| Starring | Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, David Strathairn, Vanessa Martinez, Michael Laskin |
|---|---|
| Director | John Sayles |
| Genres | Drama, Gay/Lesbian |
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Limbo
Set in Alaska, where the rugged lifestyle of fishermen and cannery workers is gradually giving way to tourism and museums, LIMBO features a colorful cast of characters--a fisherman who has lost his boat, lesbians who own a profitable Alaskan lodge, bar patrons reflecting on the transformation of the state into one huge theme park. The narrative soon focuses on an itinerant lounge singer (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) who begins a romance with a local handyman (David Strathairn), much to the chagrin of her moody teenage daughter (Vanessa Martinez).
Continuing the narrative experiments of director John Sayles's previous films (LONE STAR, MEN WITH GUNS), LIMBO eventually takes a surprising turn, leading to a risky and controversial conclusion that critics either applaud or loathe. LIMBO is a story about telling stories, whether it be in the form of bar rants, Mastrantonio's surprisingly good singing, or the vivid diary found in an abandoned house. This unique film also looks at how people cope with tragedy and learn to take risks again.
| Starring | Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, David Strathairn, Vanessa Martinez, Michael Laskin, Leo Burmester, Herminio Ramos |
|---|---|
| Director | John Sayles |
| Studio | SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT |
| Run time | DVD: 2 hrs 2 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Drama, Gay/Lesbian |
| Language | English |
| Dubbed | German |
| Subtitles | Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Norwegian, Polish, Swedish, Turkish |
| Released | DVD: 10 Jul 2000 Production year: 1999 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (4)
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John Sayles is both a pivotal indie director and mainstream screenwriter for hire, and the two sides are evident in this jarring blend of social study and outdoor adventure. When exploring the conflicting relationships within a small Alaskan coastal community, the film brims with life. However, contrivance takes over once former fisherman David Strathairn, torch singer Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and her troubled teenage daughter, Vanessa Martinez, are stranded on a remote island. The ending is audacious enough, but the film's hard-won sense of spirituality is no substitute for the engrossing melodrama that precedes it.
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Audacious and ambitious even for Sayles, this starts, City of Hope-style, by tracing the connections between various... read more on Time Out
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Most helpful member's review
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15 out of 16 people found this review helpful
People in transit
From writer/director John Sayles, you always expect something with a bit more substance than the typical Hollywood movie. He choses to make subtle, slow-burning films about people at difficult times in their lives, yet he can make maintstream movies - he wrote the script for Piranha.
These are real people, trying to make something of damaged lives, bumping into each other in the darkness that follows them from their pasts, maybe finding love and companionship.
The Alaskan setting hauntingly echoes the isolation of the characters.
Like so many John Sayles' films, it sounds like it will be just worthy and rather gloomy! Not at all. There are great songs, a touching love story, an exciting plot involving drug smuggling, and some wonderful acting from Kris Kristofferson and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio.
My one disappointment was the ending, which at first viewing I really did not understand. I had to listen to Sayles' audio commentary to make sense of it - great to have that, but in the cinema you wouldn't, so surely the ending should be immediately understandable to all. Once I knew what Sayles was getting at, it did make the film richer and more satisfying - but it wasn't at all obvious.
Don't let that put you off, though - this film is moving, thought-provoking and lovely to look at, and features one of the most moving love stories between mature people that I have seen on the screen. -
Most recent members' review
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2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
Limbo: Bad title... great film.
John Sayles is always an innovative director who chooses story over big name actors and Limbo is possibly my favourite of his (although Lone Star and Matewan are both contenders). The depiction of a small Alaskan fishing town on the cusp of development and industrial change is spot-on (at least from a Londoners point of view) and David Strathairn as a haunted handy-man with a past spot on. As this film is in no hurry the characters have time to breath that crisp Alaskan air and become real people. This is the film's strength for when the film makes an unexpected change of pace and you find yourself immersed in a gripping survival thriller there are no macho histrionics but real people in a difficult situation.
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