Tim Kidner Now, I'm not really a literary person, but I love film and this gem sparkles. For me, an unknown director and two lead actors was given credence by solidly good reviews and when it was shown on Sky Arts, I recorded it. I had heard of - and seen Parker Posey in films before, though.Henry Fool covers vast areas of literary philosophy and it is itself literary in its sheer story-telling. Ever intriguing, the characters jump off the screen, larger-than-life, yes, but, oh, so honestly displayed, we feel we know these individuals, like they were friends and neighbours.James Urbaniak, as the gangly, bespectacled refuse collector, Simon, whose social graces are near nil, who we see right at the start stumbling across a fornicating couple, is superb. Via several narrative routes, Simon gets to meet up with roguish, ex-con (sex offender) Faustian, Henry Fool, who is a confident, scruffy novelist (Thomas Jay Ryan). Henry gets Simon to write, in an attempt to get his thoughts and feelings out and to communicate better with the world.Over the film's two-and-a-quarter hours, we witness Henry messing up his life more and more - getting Simon's sister (Posey) pregnant and drinking into addiction and getting further into debt. Meanwhile, Simon's poetry is cautiously received, initially cited as 'pornographic' but daring and brilliant, culminating in a Nobel Prize. Henry, meanwhile, always on the cusp (but never getting there) of finishing his own great memoirs, being actually rather untalented, falls further apart.What ensues from Hartley's Cannes-winning screenplay is a detailed, original and very realistic tale of two oddballs and their surrounding loved ones and associates, which never rushes either them, nor us.The sparse, atmospheric score (also attributed to Hal Hartley - source IMDb) superbly adds to the feel and tone of the film.This indie flick is probably too oddball and has no star names to draw it from near obscurity into the mainstream. Not only is it immensely enjoyable but involving and engaging, too. I usually delete films from my provider's box, once seen, but this one I want to see again. Fine film.

timonthemove Hal Hartley layered this masterpiece so seamlessly that it cannot be considered except as a whole.The essence of this film is the importance of great art and that one can, and should, commit oneself to the creation of great art independent of what any and all others think.Richard Lattimore, in the poem "If" wrote: "Do it then/if you do/incontrovertibly know/the worst thing you have done/is the best thing under the sun/if it was written true/if it was meant to be so."Simon Grim is gripped by the power of art, of a great lyrical work of poetry that leaves him no choice but to submit to it without reservation. Ultimately, its power, like a brutal gravitational force, warps the lives of those around him, and yet Simon himself, while transformed, is left largely untouched.Riots ensue. A school is burned down. One woman dies and a child is born. A worthless scoundrel becomes an ordinary, blue-collar father. A garbage man wins the Pulitzer prize.And yet I have not even touched upon what is truly great in this movie. It is only in the madness of poetry that one can drink of its greatness. If you have the capacity to be mad, to love, to dream, then perhaps this movie is for you. You will find your soul refreshed.If not, you will say to yourself, "What a maniac!" and think no more of it.But there are few true chances for inspiration in this life, and this is one of them. So much the worse for you if this chance is lost to you.

mariofranck22 Hartley is a great observer, and Henry Fool is a solid proof of it. A film which is more real than reality itself. It is so cold that it gets warm, so slow that is seems fast(like all his cinema Hartley drawed one of the most interesting characters ever seen on a screen, an heterogenic rebel called Henry Fool. I felt deeply touched when I saw how the starting shyness of Urbaniak turns into a stable and strong self-security, and the collateral effect which causes around him. I'd like to remark the emotional load contained in the soundtrack, which I'm sure you know it is composed and partially played by Hartley itself. Minimalism is a word very attached to Hartley, but the real magic resides in the wise usage of it. I still haven't seen The Book of Life, because Europe doesn't know much about Hal (I love and comprenhend him so much...)

gpadillo If Hal Hartley were never to make another film, he could easily go down as having created a genuine American Masterpiece with "Henry Fool." Hartley takes this material and stamps it with heart and soul and distance. It's like staring at a palette of beautiful colors - then stepping back to realize it's a bruise. Henry is never less than this astonishing. As Henry,Thomas Jay Ryan gives what is easily the best film debut I've seen in many years. None of the wimpy whispery-voiced drivel that passes for acting these days (from even some of our best screen actors) his performance practically pops off of the screen like a fart at a funeral. The rest of the cast - James Urbaniak, Parker Posey, Maria Porter, Kevin Corrigan, et al. - are on the same inspired level, but it's obvious why the film is named after Henry. I cannot wait to see this man in more. Obviously allegorical, "Henry Fool" fairly teems with its laundry list of symbolism both quaint and profound, easy and impossible. I found my cheeks hurting from the smile stretching across my face for much of the film. Other moments had my eyes welling with tears at the beauty – and pain – these oh, so deceptively simple lives toil through. This is not, obviously, a film for all audiences, there is something of the fairy tale here and while suspension of disbelief is required, it is also its own reward. Actually the characters, though larger than life, are so evenly and wondrously drawn as to become recognizable to all of us as ourselves or others in our own lives. Here we weigh out the seemingly unfair advantages we perceive "others" has having, the pronouncements of self-worth and desire for acceptance and understanding. Hartley's dialogue is equal to the visual aspects of his film: almost stagey (in the good sense), but with a direct honesty that many, unfortunately, will find offputting. His cast delivers these perfectly placed pronouncements with all the gravitas demanded of the situation - and sound natural doing so. It's a beautiful film to listen to. Aside from the brilliant storytelling, "Henry" is also beautiful to look at. Hartley's cameramen lens a Queenscape most unusual – one never quite feels he knows where it's taking place, despite obvious "Queens" clues. Every frame – from Henry's powerfully bizarre arrival to the last triumphant (and gloriously ambiguous) cell is a pleasure, a joy to watch. At its conclusion all I could say was "this was the best movie I've ever seen." Upon reflection, I realize it probably isn't, but at that moment (and each ensuing viewing) I recapture that same, precise feeling. That's what I want in a movie and Henry delivered.