Hoezo in KINO

“Tell me, Harold, how many of these, eh, ‘suicides’ have you performed?” Hal Ashby’s slightly morbid yet life affirming odd couple comedy pairs trust fund loner teen Harold (Bud Cort, who can be seen in The Life Aquatic) with the very spry septuagenarian Maude (screenwriter and Oscar winner Ruth Gordon) as a chance meeting at a funeral changes their lives forever. The film was mostly ignored at its release but a steadfast run of 1.957 shows over three years in the Westgate Theater in Edina, Minnesota eventually made the film a word-of-mouth phenomena of quirky indie cinema despite its rather questionable central love story. With a great soundtrack by Cat Stevens, who wrote two songs especially for the film, the lovely costume and set design and two brilliant central performances, Harold and Maude seems tailor-made for Wes Andersons and remains a strong influence throughout his career. English language without subtitles.