Anarene, Texas, 1951. Nothing much has changed...

Starring: Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd, Ben Johnson, Cloris Leachman, Ellen Burstyn, Eileen Brennan, Clu Gulager, Sam Bottoms, Randy Quaid

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ - great

"You wouldn't believe how this country's changed. First time I seen it, there wasn't a mesquite tree on it. Or, a prickly pear neither. I used to own this land, you know." – Sam the Lion

Why watch this? A bittersweet story about living in a dying Texas town in 1951.

Plot Summary: This coming-of-age story is set in the early 1950s in a small, dying Texas town where two best friends navigate their senior year of high school. They confront love, betrayal, and the struggle to escape their stagnant surroundings, while an older generation grapples with the decline of their community and changing times. The closure of the town's only movie theater symbolizes the broader cultural and economic shifts affecting their lives and prospects.

Dad's Preview: There ain't much to do in the Little oil town of Anarene. For the population, it is a painful existence. As we get to know them, we wonder who will be swallowed up and who will escape. This well-crafted film perfectly sets the mood, and we can picture scenes like this playing out in real Texas hamlets like Morton, Abilene, Waco or Mineral Wells. Many of this film's young actors became majors stars, but it's veteran actor Ben Johnson who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor as Sam the Lion.

BBS Productions; Columbia Pictures