Paul Auster Movies

Harold L. Humes, known to his friends as "Doc," was a modern-day Renaissance man -- he was a published novelist, invented water-resistant paper houses for use in the Third World, helped launch the literary journal The Paris Review, co-founded the New American Cinema Group, studied at MIT, and served as campaign manager for Norman Mailer's ill-fated run for mayor of New York City. Humes' friends and colleagues included George Plimpton, William Styron, and Timothy Leary, but his association with the latter proved to have unexpected consequences -- Leary turned Humes on to LSD in the mid-'60s, and Humes' outgoing, mildly eccentric personality took a left turn after he began indulging in psychedelics. Humes' career as a writer bottomed out, his marriage fell apart, and he spent much of the '70s and '80s as a vagabond, drifting from one college campus to another, where he would become a campus character until he wore out his welcome. Humes' daughter Immy Humes is an acclaimed documentary filmmaker, and Doc is Immy's filmed portrait of her father, in which he offers his own perspective on his strange life and times while a number of his famous friends share their memories him. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

From Argentine director Alejandro Chomski comes this science-fiction drama set in a dystopian future where society has crumbled and devolved. Eva Green stars as a young woman forced to brave the rampant and desperate criminals that abound as she searches for her missing brother. The film comes from a script by Paul Auster, best known for the cinematic pair Smoke and Blue in the Face. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

In this digitally shot feature from acclaimed director Wayne Wang) (The Joy Luck Club), the boundaries of sexual relations are put to the test by two individuals. Richard (Peter Sarsgaard) is a dot-com entrepreneur who, despite earning millions of dollars, feels little connection to the outside world. After frequenting a strip club, he offers Florence (Molly Parker), a sometime-stripper who also works as a drummer, $10,000 dollars to accompany him to Las Vegas for a short stay. She makes him a list of rules that must be followed: no kissing on the mouth, no penetration, and each will stay in separate bedrooms and only convene during the hours of 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. Staying in adjoining rooms, they stick to the plan as laid out until they develop a fondness for each other -- still, Florence tries to maintain the order of their agreement. Despite Richard's declarations that he is in love with her, she is forced not to let herself get too involved, even when their sexual relationship begins to increase after the arrival of Florence's hooker friend Jerri (Carla Gugino), who after a brutal fight with a man, immerses herself in the sexual lives of Richard and Florence. The film also features Balthazar Getty and Shirley Knight in small supporting roles. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide

Director Wayne Wang and screenwriter Paul Auster had enough storylines and characters left over from their charming comedy Smoke to make another film, so they shot Blue In The Face immediately after Smoke was completed. The film once again centers on the Brooklyn Cigar Store and manager Auggie (Harvey Keitel), although most of the other characters are different. The store owner's frustrated wife Dot (Roseanne) is one of them, and one of the plotlines follows her attempts to seduce Auggie. Madonna, Michael J. Fox, Lily Tomlin, and Lou Reed (as himself) also put in appearances. Blue In The Face was shot without a complete script and presents a unique combination of distinctive performances, oddball characters, improvisations, and raffish scenes. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide

Documentary filmmaker Philip Haas made his dramatic feature film debut with The Music of Chance, adapted from Paul Auster's terse, existential novel. The film follows the plight of two hapless drifters -- Jim Nashe (Mandy Patinkin), who is escaping family and responsibility with an inheritance and a red BMW, and Jack Pozzi (James Spader), a down-on-his-luck gambler and world class manipulator. Pozzi convinces Nashe to shoot the works and put his remaining $10,000 into a high stakes poker game against two rich suckers -- reclusive lottery winners Willie Stone (Joel Grey) and Bill Flower (Charles Durning), who share a lavish but isolated country estate, using the remains of their lottery fortune to construct a self-contained world on the grounds of their mansion. Instead of bilking the two millionaires, however, Pozzi and Nashe lose their windfall and find themselves indebted to Stone and Flowers, who compel them to work off their losses by constructing a stone monument on their estate, a chore that results in deception, flight, and possibly murder. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide