The Ballad of the Sad Cafe (film)
| The Ballad of the Sad Café | |
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Film poster
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| Directed by | Simon Callow |
| Produced by | Ismail Merchant |
| Written by |
Edward Albee Michael Hirst Carson McCullers |
| Starring |
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| Music by | Richard Robbins |
| Cinematography | Walter Lassally |
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Release date
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Running time
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100 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
The Ballad of the Sad Café is a 1991 Merchant Ivory film, produced by Ismail Merchant and directed by Simon Callow, starring Vanessa Redgrave and Keith Carradine.Michael Hirst adapted the Edward Albee play, which in turn was based on a novella in a collection of short stories of the same title by Carson McCullers. The film was entered into the 41st Berlin International Film Festival.
The story's protagonist is a lonely moonshiner named Miss Amelia who dominates a small Georgia town. She changes in attitude and kindness as two men, Cousin Lymon (a small, hunchbacked man claiming to be Miss Amelia's cousin) and Marvin Macy (Miss Amelia's ex-husband) enter her life. Her general store becomes a center for culture and music, and The Sad Café itself becomes a symbol of Miss Amelia's disposition. Amid this plot, issues of work vs. pleasure, material vs. psychological health, and conflicting loyalties emerge. The short story is told in flashback—giving the reader, first, a look at the ruined café before describing its heyday and subsequent demise.
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