Surviving Desire is actually three short films, two of which--"Theory of Achievement" and "Ambition"--demonstrate writer-director Hal Hartley at his most quirky and abstract. They consist mostly of a series of dialogues, presented out of context, about things like Brooklyn real estate, nonlinear art, and contrasting male and female approaches to suicide. Fans of Hartley will enjoy them; newcomers will probably find them baffling. The third film, however--"Surviving Desire," from which the collection takes its title--is one of the most charming pieces Hartley has made. This hour-long story follows Jude (Martin Donovan), a college teacher obsessed with a single paragraph from The Brothers Karamazov, who's fallen in love with Sofie (Mary Ward), one of his students who's writing a short story about him. As the romance plays itself out, philosophical conversations turn into metaphysical Abbott and Costello routines, Jude breaks into spontaneous dance, a rock band in the street serenades a woman in her apartment window--and gradually a rueful and whimsical sense of life and love rises out of Hartley's erratic rhythms. Hartley is an idiosyncratic filmmaker who's not to everyone's taste; this short film is probably an ideal introduction to his work. Some of his movies seem to be working too hard for a sense of poetry and end up feeling stilted, but in "Surviving Desire" all of Hartley's devices take flight. --Bret Fetzer
2.
"Sharp and witty... Mr. Hartley taps into a universe ignored by Hollywood." The New York Times
Jude (Martin Donovan) is an uninspired college professor. Sophie (Mary Ward) is an aspiring writer, and the only student who doesn't snore through his lectures. She's intrigued by his scholarly charm. He's obsessed with her idyllic good looks. Flirtation turns to lust, and the two become lovers. Trouble is, he's head- over- heels, and she wants to end the relationship. Acclaimed director Hal Harley (Henry Fool, Flirt) captures the dizzying emotions of twenty- something love with this poignant film about passion and heartache. Also included are "Theory of Achievment" and "Ambition," two Hartley shorts The Seattle Times called "quirky, funny, edgy…"
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