“HARD EIGHT” 1996 | M/18 | 1h42’ [US] | FATHER FIGURES Cinema Scrngs
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## Ciclo FATHER FIGURES
[FATHER FIGURES Cinema Screenings]
“HARD EIGHT” 1996 | M/18 | 1h42’ [US] (Passado Sangrento - PT)
De Paul Thomas Anderson
Sexta Dia 17/04 às 19h30 [Friday 04/17 at 7:30pm]
Sydney, um jogador profissional experiente, acolhe um jovem perdido e ensina-lhe os códigos do mundo dos casinos. À medida que novas relações se formam, segredos do passado ameaçam desestabilizar essa frágil rede de lealdades.
Sydney, a seasoned gambler, takes a lost young man under his wing and introduces him to the codes of the casino world. As new relationships emerge, buried secrets threaten their fragile bond.
Spoken in English | Subtitled in Portuguese
Mais info e reservas:
More info and reservations:
https://prosacultural.org/cinema/fatherfigures
Thirty years before winning 3 Oscars for ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER, Paul Thomas Anderson was already exploring paternal figures in his feature debut, HARD EIGHT aka SYDNEY (1996). A captivating crime drama about a senior gambler (Philip Baker Hall) who takes a young man (John C. Reilly) under his wing, the film explores an ambiguous "father-son" relationship. Gwyneth Paltrow, Samuel L. Jackson and Philip Seymour Hoffman round out the cast. This remains Paul Thomas Anderson's least known film (his big break would come the next year with BOOGIE NIGHTS), but his natural talent is already present here. For those who admire his work, it's fascinating to analyze the paternal figures in his films in chronological order. His films feature a myriad of characters who represent complex father figures: Burt Reynolds in BOOGIE NIGHTS (1997), Jason Robards, Philip Baker Hall (again!) and Michael Bowen in MAGNOLIA (1999), Daniel Day-Lewis in THERE WILL BE BLOOD (2007), Philip Seymour Hoffman in THE MASTER (2012), and finally, Leonardo DiCaprio in ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER (2025). PTA explored father figures from the (often damaged) offspring's POV in most of his films. In ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER, the now 55-year-old (father of four) has made a film where he seems to openly question his guilt and responsibility for not making the world a better, safer place for the younger generation. In HARD EIGHT, you can see another kind of disillusionment, wrapped up in what seems to be a conventional crime flick.
Andrey Zvyagintsev's THE RETURN (2003) deals with a more literal father-son relationship than HARD EIGHT - but it's also understated in its filmic approach, and ultimately devastating. Telling the story of two Russian boys who are taken on a holiday trip by their strict father - who suddenly returned home after a 12-year absence - is a film which patiently reveals its characters' true nature. It was also Zvyagintsev's feature debut, and won the coveted Golden Lion for Best Film at the Venice Film Festival.
THE RETURN and HARD EIGHT are two of the finest debuts in modern cinema. They seem to tell us that even though most fathers are just doing the best they can, this is no excuse for the damage often caused by their actions.
(Curatorship by Aluísio leite)
All Cinema PROSA films will be shown on an illuminated pixel (65’’ QLED screen) in a room with a maximum capacity of 24 spectators.
Come and have a glass of wine or a non-alcoholic drink in the cinema room with us!