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The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The story in this movie was an Edward Albee stage play. For the most part the movie looks like a stage play, with static camera shots and characters with loud exposition and bold movement. It was set in rural Georgia, we can tell by references to going up to Atlanta, but it was actually filmed near Austin, Texas on the ranch owned by singer Willie Nelson.Vanessa Redgrave is Miss Amelia who seems to practically own the town. She runs the local store and makes and sells good moonshine in this depression era. When a family gets behind in rent she goes into their house at night, takes their sewing machine, and leaves. Things begin to change when a hunchback dwarf, Cork Hubbert as Cousin Lymon, shows up claiming to be her cousin, and he recites the family connections to back up his story. Amelia takes him in and treats him almost like a long lost son, doting on him, feeding him, letting him lounge when she is working in the heat of the day, showing him her moonshine operation.Trouble starts when Keith Carradine as Marvin Macy shows up. He is just out of prison and a flashback shows us that he some time earlier had asked Amelia's hand in marriage and she accepted, but them she threw him out for no apparent reason. When she heard he was headed back their way she announced in her crowded café that she didn't want any part of him. The theme of the movie is obscure because much of what we see doesn't make sense, so we must rely on what is explained at one point by Rod Steiger as Rev. Willin. Love takes two people, the one who loves, and the one who is the be-loved. Being the be-loved is difficult, and that is what Amelia experienced. Marvin Macy wanted to love her, but she was not able to be his be-loved, so her rejection turned Marvin into a criminal. When he returned to that town he was out to destroy her, which he did in a sense. Not my favorite type of movie, but it has some interesting elements.

I caught this film on IFC one night. I felt compelled to watch this because of the performances. I don't know anything of the book nor the play. I found the movie very enjoyable and the performances rather good. Miss Amelia's part was amazing to me. Vanessa Redgrave did a great job in this movie even if it doesn't fit the book or the play. She was the main reason I was drawn to watching this movie. I found that the part where Rod Steiger told the story of the "lover and the beloved" was the fulcrum of this film. I had the feeling that cousin Lymon was just like Marvin Macy. The character was a user who just latched onto people who he could take advantage of, that is why they get together in the end. They both met the same goal even if they both used Miss Amelia in different ways. I did find that the director could have done a better job with all the coordination between the characters, they could have meshed better. It's OK not to reveal why people act the way they do with each other (Miss Amelia kicking Marvin Macy out on the night of the wedding). Rod Steiger already stated that Marvin Macy was not a great person prior to this. I think that Miss Amelia just wouldn't let Marvin Macy take any advantage of her in any manner and it started on the wedding night. It boiled down to a boxing match between the two. The fact they both hit each other at the first punch and the look on Marvin's face hit this fact home. That's my view.

I just purchased this through the Merchant & Ivory DVD collection. I must admit I was unaware of who Carson McCullers was until I realized that she also wrote "A Heart is a Lonely Hunter". True to her style, this is a dark tale with the edge of by-sexuality in the main character (as McCullers was also). The movie it self is less than imaginative with some scenic wonders and yet with placid and flat acting. Simon Callow is not a good director and I definitely love the man as an actor more. Some scenes are memorable and the color red is used beautifully as a dress and a shirt - when you see it you will know how and why. Definitely put in the rent category for a somber afternoon.

This film demonstrates an excellent use of both dialog and cinematography to evoke a mysterious, yet stark atmosphere. Redgrave is especially excellent in her portrayal of a character that defies easy description or explanation. The score, too, works to create a specific place, but never falls to the easy trap of using simple folk-music styles in order to provide a sonic backdrop.Overall, The Ballad of the Sad Cafe is a haunting and beautiful exploration of human emotions and inhuman behaviors. I would highly recommend this film to everyone interested in an eerie combination of the real and surreal.