This week’s Sunday Night MUBI on FIELD OF STREAMS, brings to us an Austin classic, some great Nic Cage, and a Gen-X gem
Welcome to Field of Streams, Cinapse’s guide of what’s playing on your favorite streaming services. What are the best unknown gems on Hi-YAH? What does MUBI have going on this month? What are the most exciting things streaming on Kanopy? We’re here to help guide you towards the best and brightest streaming today. We built it for you, so come and join us in the Field of Streams.
If you’re new to MUBI, now’s the time to give a try. Their unique model presents a limited curated library, but every single film has significance. If you enter with an open mind, pressing play on literally any of their selections is likely to be an extremely rewarding experience.
THE WHOLE SHOOTIN’ MATCH
Not only is The Whole Shootin’ Match a good film, it’s an important one. Recognized not only as the progenitor of the Austin film scene, but also one of the founding documents of independent cinema in the United States, Eagle Pennell’s work is a must watch for cinephiles everywhere. That’s not to say this is a hoity-toity affair. Far from it. This film might have inspired Robert Redford to start the Sundance Film Festival as a celebration of regional independent moviemaking, but it is earthy and raw like the Texas landscape.
Lou Perryman and Sonny Carl Davis play Lloyd and Frank, a couple of guys jus trying to make a living in 1970’s Austin, a far cry from the bustling city of today. There’s no pretense here. There’s humor, frustration, and lots of want-to in these two. The Whole Shootin’ Match is very much a historical document, but also a helluva good time.
JOE
Cinapse editor-in-chief Ed Travis is a huge fan of David Gordon Green’s Joe.
The film is called Joe, and rightly so, as events largely revolve around Nic Cage’s titular character. But while Cage turns in an Oscar-worthy performance that deserves its own article dedicated solely to it, I found myself gravitating strongly towards Tye Sheridan’s Gary and Gary Poulter’s Wade this time around.
Between the incredible surges of raw emotion like those described above, the fully fleshed out characters, and the power dynamics fascinatingly explored in this deeply masculine, and ultimately powerfully satisfying and redemptive deep-south drama, Joe stands out as one of the best films of 2014.
DRUGSTORE COWBOY
Gus Van Sant really hit his stride in the 90’s, but it was 1989’s Drugstore Cowboy that propelled him into that decade. Starring Matt Dillon and Kelly Lynch, this film is Portland-riffic, but with none of the hipster sarcasm of Portlandia. The main characters are lovable drug addicts who rob pharmacies, but don’t really mean any harm. There’s even a small part for William S. Burrough’s who was just at the beginning of having a renaissance moment. This is solid Gen-X material that even Millennials can dig.
There are countless services to explore and great things to watch on all of them. Which ones did we miss that you would suggest to us? Tell us what we’re missing out on or what new services we should check out by leaving a comment below or emailing us.