Henry Fool

Introduced by guest curator David Schwartz  

Dir. Hal Hartley. 1997, 137 mins. U.S. 35mm. With Thomas Jay Ryan, James Urbaniak, Parker Posey. Situated between the working-class Long Island of Hal Hartley’s early films and the cosmopolitan world that some of his protagonists aspire to, Queens (Woodside in particular) is the lovingly filmed setting for Hartley’s rowdy, hilarious literary saga Henry Fool. A depraved wanderer with a literary flair, Henry Fool (Ryan) inspires the shy sanitation worker Simon Grim (Urbaniak) to write a book-length poem that, of course, catapults him to literary fame. An unlikely ode to bohemian life, Henry Fool is also a bracing examination of the age-old struggle between art and commerce, and a domestic odyssey about young adults looking to escape their tortured family lives. Winner of the Best Screenplay award at Cannes.

Tickets: $15 / $11 senior and students / $9 youth (ages 3–17) / free for MoMI members at the Senior/Student level and above. There is a $1.50 transaction fee per ticket for all online purchases. The cost of admission may be applied toward a same-day purchase of a membership. 

Order tickets. Please pick up tickets at the Museum’s admissions desk upon arrival. All seating is general admission.