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Fourteen years after directing Bonnie and Clyde and beginning the progressive New Hollywood movement of the ‘60s and ‘70s, Arthur Penn collaborated with Oscar winning screenwriter Steve Tesich (Breaking Away) and created one of Penn’s most overlooked tales about the special bonds of friendship in the 1981 gem, Four Friends.
Loosely based on Tesich’s own immigrant experiences around the Indiana steel mills, Four Friends focuses on the decade long relationship of working class pals Danilo, David, Tom and Georgia. The film is told mostly from the perspective of Danilo Prozor, a Serbian immigrant, who along with his high school buddies all love their pal Georgia, a free spirited dancer who wants to be the next Isadora Duncan.
This passionate, melodramatic saga spans Danilo’s coming of age as an aspiring writer in the turbulent ‘60s. Danilo experiences such events as anti-war protests, intellectual discoveries in college, and the drug culture. Craig Wasson and Jodi Thelen are outstanding as Danilo and Georgia. Miklos Simon is chilling as Danilo’s thickheaded immigrant father and the Steppenwolf Theatre’s Lois Smith has a scene stealing performance as Mrs. Carnahan, Danilo’s future mother-in-law.
This incredibly poignant hidden gem is one of Penn’s finest films and is an especially profound experience for those of Eastern European heritage.
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