Spring Night, Summer Night

Joseph L. Anderson's 1967 American film is set in a town around Ohio's closed mines and follows the relationship between Carl and Jessie, who are half-siblings. When Jessie becomes pregnant the town starts arguing over who the father is, and the silence inside the family becomes unbearable. The film was made with non-professional actors on a very small budget; the local speech and locations build a documentary texture. Its distributor re-cut it as an exploitation film and released it under another title, and the original version was lost for years before being restored and returned to circulation. The pace is slow and the subject uncomfortable. Who it's for: viewers interested in early examples of American independent cinema. Who it's not for: anyone avoiding the subject of incest, or wanting plot.