This past weekend, the multi-talented Eric Steele opened his The Midwest Trilogy at the Kalita Humphrey’s Theater. The Second Thought Theater-produced production combines short films and a stage piece which revolve around midwestern characters. Here are five filmmakers who also delve into the heartland.
Alexander Payne
Citizen Ruth, Election, About Schmidt
Payne is the comedic bard of the prairie, a real master of the Midwestern character.
Jason Reitman
Up In The Air, Juno, Young Adult
Tag-teaming twice with Minnesota’s Diablo Cody, the Canadian-born director has found inspiration in the heartland.
The Coen Brothers
Fargo, A Serious Man
No list of midwestern films is complete without Minneapolis-born Joel and Ethan Coen’s Fargo, though the filmmaking duo could easily be claimed by the south (Barton Fink, O Brother), Texas (Blood Simple, No Country, True Grit), and Los Angeles (The Big Lebowski.)
John Hughes
The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller, Sixteen Candles
John Hughes’s Chicago offers the midwestern capital, and its suburbs, as the American everywhere.
Terrence Malick
Badlands, Days of Heaven
The metaphysical poet of contemporary cinema, in Days of Heaven the plains have never been so beutiful, in Badlands, America’s wide open landscape has rarely seemed so dire.
