Henry Fool 

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Love him or just don't understand him, Hal Hartley has made a habit of putting out laconic, curious, confusingly hilarious movies for about ten years now. His latest, "Henry Fool," threatens to dabble in the mainstream, but remains firmly in his camp of surreal weirdness.

James Urbaniak stars as Simon Grimm, a trashman befriended by a mysterious drifter named Henry Fool (Thomas Jay Ryan), who convinces him, like a Byronic Hero, to proliferate his unbelievably striking poetry. As Simon's words bring him more fame, and more trouble, he must come to grips with his genius and find a way to save the friend who delivered him from a life unexamined.

Ultimately, "Henry Fool" is about the triumvirate of souls—the Inspirer, the Artist and the Editor—that comprise the three stool legs of every great piece of art. Each of the three cannot really be the other, nor can they truly commiserate on a human level; in a way, they must always be kept apart in the synergy of creation. Inspiration is ugly; Artistry is painful; Editing is cruel. "Henry Fool" dabbles with the highest of concepts—the disgust we have for true creation, the arbitrariness with which we dispose of our romantics—without ever losing its sense of humor. It has to be seen to be believed, a true stroke of genius from the uncomfortable filmmaker Hartley himself. Please, please go.

—Ian Williams

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