Robert Frank and Rudy Wurlitzer's CANDY MOUNTAIN (1987)
On occasion of Robert Frank's centennial, a new restoration of his stirring, shaggy-dog ode to the open road, featuring music and appearances from Tom Waits and Joe Strummer.
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Nov 13, 2024, 8:00 PM
2220 Arts + Archives, 2220 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90057, USA
Candy Mountain
Directed by Robert Frank and Rudy Wurlitzer
1987, Switzerland/Canada/France, 97m, DCP
West Coast premiere of a new restoration, courtesy of Film Movement
A collaboration between legendary photographer and filmmaker Robert Frank (Cocksucker Blues) and writer Rudy Wurlitzer (Two-Lane Blacktop) yielded this ineffably laid-back road movie, featuring music and performances by Joe Strummer, Tom Waits, David Johansen and Dr. John. In some ways a distinctly Beat Generation take on 1980s music industry burnout and its surviving traces of Americana, Candy Mountain follows a lone-wolf musician (Kevin J. O’Connor) who is hired to track down a legendary guitar maker, and hitchhikes from New York City to east Canada, while running into a series of outsiders and eccentrics (played by, among others, Bulle Ogier, Laurie Metcalf and Mary Margaret O’Hara). On occasion of Robert Frank’s centennial in 2024, we’re thrilled to present a new restoration of his stirring ode to the open road.
Special thanks to Erin Farrell (Film Movement) and Alec Moeller.
“Robert Frank is, to me, the godfather of so many different things.” -Jim Jarmusch
“A quintessential road movie... Ambling along like a wry, laid-back Heart of Darkness, this likable and touching film makes good use of Frank’s remarkable photographic eye and Wurlitzer’s witty, acerbic, and quasi-mystical handling of myth that has served him well in his novels. The results are a resonant reflection on the music business and a memorable ode to wanderlust—with lots of good music (by Dr. John, Joe Strummer, David Johansen, Tom Waits, and others) on the sound track.” -Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
“In a way, this shaggy-dog hipster road film is Frank’s ultimate work—evoking the end of the road and even the end of Endsville—but he has persevered.” -J. Hoberman, The Village Voice