"I believe you are sincere & good at heart..."
no23 | Great Britain | 02/07/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This was the third Hartley film I saw & has remained my favourite. For me it holds all the quintessential characteristics of a Hartley film despite it not being feature length.Martin Donovan as usual gives a flawless performance as do the rest of the cast. Things to look out for......the bartender & the'dance routine'. GENIUS!"
Love isn't a strong enough word
no23 | 02/13/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I first saw Surviving Desire when I was 15. It was on the local PBS and the whole world stopped. I called the TV station to see what it was that I has watched. When they told me, I immediately wanted to buy it. I searched for 6 years. No one new what I was talking about, much less who Michael Donovan was, and my searches always remained fruitless. Surviving Desire changed my views on movies as a whole. When I saw it, I realized there was no excuse for crappy movies. The relationships between characters was so intimate in a very sterile way. I suggest all persons interested in fine cinema, who have a love for indie films and can appreciate something non-mainstream NEED to see this movie!"
Typical brilliant Hal Hartley
Gordon Skene | 05/30/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
""Survivng Desire", along with the three shorts are some of Hartley's earliest work. But even at this early stage, Harley's gifts are clearly visable. I first saw the shorts some years ago as part of the PBS series "Alive from Off Center" and was mesmerized. Hal Hartley is one of America's truly great directors and his ability to pull such engaging performances out of his cast is a complete pleasure to watch. His style of film making probably most closesly resembles that of Robert Bresson, in its setup and excecution. But Hartley's point of view is totally original and for that, every one of his films has been a completely rewarding experience..."
INfAtUaTiOn--such a lovely word...
p200e | Pensacola, FL | 01/29/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"i first saw "surviving desire" in ART SCHOOL--rented from an obscure video store, of course. i had seen "theory of achievement" & "ambition" on 'live from off center'--a PBS programme--and fell in love with hal hartley's smart, stylistic take on the essential: love, work, trouble, desire & conversation. weaving together disperate imagery & ideas, hartley's world explores the equation of sex & relationships: love is an act, faith is an ability. love without faith is merely infatuation. with brilliantly deadpan performances by martin donovan, mary b. ward, matt malloy, & rebecca nelson "surving desire" gives the intellectual viewer what they want: a tragedy WITHOUT a happy ending--something we can ALL relate to..."