The debut – and to date only – narrative feature from Talking Heads’ David Byrne, True Stories is an offbeat musical gem; a surreal voyage drifting through 1980s small-town Americana.
Bryne is our deadpan narrator, driving through the fictional Texas town of Virgil on the cusp of a much-anticipated talent show, in celebration of its sesquicentennial.
On the way, we meet an array of its eclectic inhabitants, going about their modest lives and preparing for the big event – including John Goodman as computer plant worker and aspiring country singer Louis.
Patrick says: “True Stories is absolutely joyous – a satire on commercialism in the 80s that somehow manages to be one of the warmest, most optimistic, unjudgemental character-focused films of its time. Through a series of hilarious, poignant vignettes, Byrne conjures a remarkable, endearingly unusual sense of place, fuelled by a killer soundtrack from his iconic band. A perfectly streamlined 90 minutes of cinema.”