True Stories - re:View

Jay and Josh discuss the little-seen film True Stories, written and directed by Talking Heads frontman David Byrne.

[TheMentalLizard]

My dad worked on this movie and as a result I know a lot about the production of it.
Wild Wild Life was all locals that were cast at a casting call for a "talent show"
There are multiple sets of twins in this film.
The Mall is actually NorthPark Mall which is still open and doing well in Dallas.
My mom is sitting behind the producers wife during the fashion show (she's in the pink sweater).
The teeth in giant head that pops the corn on the cob are actually my dad and my uncle.
During the parade the Cute lady dies of cuteness, She was supposed to be buried in a giant fuzzy pink casket, This scene was cut from the film.
The room Pop Staples does his ritual in was decorated by my dad.

[Stand_By_For_Mind_Control]

Goodman didn't lie. He's maintained a panda bear shape for decades now.

[andrew_cunningham]

David Byrne's character here reminds me of Joe Pera's shtick. So wholesome it's creepy, but _so wholesome_ it wraps back around to feeling genuine and funny.

[nathanisaksson]

“It’s like the world observed by an alien.” That describes a lot of David Byrne’s Talking Heads lyrics. I’ve always thought that.

[dustanjhlady]

I love David Byrne's non-judgmental depictions. He respects his audience enough that they should have their own morals. He will never tell you something is good and bad. He shows you what is, in the most creative way and you should know if that is good or bad.

[Goose.Films.]

The first song on the soundtrack album for this movie is titled Road Song, it's the one that plays over the montage at the films opening. It's credited to two artists: David Byrne and Meredith Monk. Yes, THAT Meredith Monk. This video was fortuitous

[Adammonroemusic]

David Bryne is a pretty sharp guy. In his book "How Music Works, " there are a few insightful chapters about why music has developed the way it has. Fairly obvious stuff once you've read it, but also stuff you probably aren't going to hear too many other people talking about.

[TriangleJeff]

I like the Jay and Josh combo tbh, always talk about interesting movies.

[FFXIgwyn]

My film professor showed us this movie in class. I loved it. The reactions from the other students were a mixed bag of confusion and frustration.

[Svartalfgeist]

The segment of John Goodman singing ''People Like Us'' will forever live on gloriously in my memories.

[donaldb]

There's a Talking Heads song called The Big Country which this film reminds me of. It's about a man flying in a plane over a small town. He describes the town in a similar, quirky, off-beat sort of way that the movie does. But then the chorus turns savage; he says "I wouldn't live there, if you paid me. I couldn't live like that, no siree."

The move is more subtle than the song. The attitude of the chorus is never voiced explicitly. But there is satire, albeit quite gentle and good-natured. The tone of the film is so delicate. Irony and sincerity are so close together here that it's impossible to tease them apart.

[alexhall]

3:00 I love this scene. It's obvious Louis is put off by what the lying woman is saying, but he doesn't comment on it at all. He could be upset about how frequently she obviously lies, but he's unassuming enough that he might merely be upset about how long she talks without letting him chime in. He might even be upset because he believes what shes saying and thinks he's not right for her because she lives an eventful, exhausting life, and he's not ready for that.

[blatherskite]

This was John Goodman's breakthrough role; he was a virtual unknown when he was cast in True Stories. In some ways it arguably hurts the film (a little bit) when you see it for the first time nowadays, having such a recognizable star in there among the mostly-unknowns playing the locals, so it's worth remembering that when this film was released he stood out for his performance, not just because "Oh look, it's John Goodman" :)

[atree]

David loves science, the characters that hide in people and also deadpan humour. Also his music and writings are incredibly optimistic and open in nature. This film seems to be an intersection of all of these things. Thanks for drawing my attention to it.

[CharcoChoc]

Thank you RLM for this RE:view, I never would have seen this movie if you hadn't done this. What a great film.

[noahking]

This sounds like the greatest movie ever made.

[jakobsanchez]

The Criterion Collection put out a pretty amazing release of this film. The film's transfer looks absolutely gorgeous.

[JayHitcher]

Wow, awesome to see more people who love this movie. As a small-town Texan (Paris specifically, which is about 700 miles east of where they shot that Wim Wenders flick), I always thought True Stories was the best representation of what that life is like. Yeah, it's not quite as weird as Byrne depicts it to be, but it's just close enough to reality that you can imagine there being a place, hidden away from the highways and interstates, where this is the norm. Everything about the setting--the landscapes, the big factories, the weird parades and conventions, the clear visual conflict between the old and new--is spot on. I have no idea how some weirdo from New York managed to nail it so well.

It also pairs well with Linklater's Slacker, if you wanna see the natural weirdness you get in the big cities.

[urban_radagast]

As an autistic person, I have a really strong connection to this movie and David Byrne's work.

[jkclark]

I remember seeing this movie on cable as a kid. Late at night, by myself. It was weird and absolutely fascinating, like a dream. I couldn't explain it to anyone the next day. It was one of those experiences that was unique to the times; when you would just stumble across a movie and never see it again and wonder if you ever really saw it at all.