''Lone Star'' is a 1996 American neo-Western

mystery film A mystery film is a film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur Detective, sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means of clues, ...

written, edited, and directed by

John Sayles John Thomas Sayles (born September 28, 1950) is an American independent film director, screenwriter, editor, actor, and novelist. He is known for writing and directing the films '' The Brother from Another Planet'' (1984), '' Matewan'' (1987), ...

. Set in a small town in

South Texas South Texas is a geographic and cultural region of the U.S. state of Texas that lies roughly south of—and includes—San Antonio. The southern and western boundary is the Rio Grande, and to the east it is the Gulf of Mexico. The population of th ...

, the film deals with a sheriff's (played by

Chris Cooper Christopher Walton Cooper (born July 9, 1951) is an American actor. Having made his debut as a stage actor, he made his Breakthrough role, breakthrough on television as Sheriff July Johnson in the acclaimed Western television miniseries ''Loneso ...

) investigation into the murder of one of his predecessors (

Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (June 22, 1936 – September 28, 2024) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was a pioneering figure in the outlaw country movement of the 1970s, moving away from the polished Nashville sound and toward a m ...

) decades earlier. The cast also stars

Joe Morton Joseph Thomas Morton Jr. (born October 18, 1947) is an American actor. Known as a character actor for his numerous roles on stage, television and film, he has received several awards including a Primetime Emmy Award as well as a nomination for ...

Elizabeth Peña Elizabeth Maria Peña (September 23, 1959 – October 14, 2014) was an American actress. Her film credits include '' Down and Out in Beverly Hills'' (1986), '' Batteries Not Included'', '' La Bamba'' (both 1987), ''Jacob's Ladder'' (1990) ...

Clifton James George Clifton James (May 29, 1920 – April 15, 2017) was an American actor known for roles as a prison floorwalker in '' Cool Hand Luke'' (1967), Sheriff J.W. Pepper alongside Roger Moore in the James Bond films '' Live and Let Die'' ...

Ron Canada Ronald Ellis Canada (born May 3, 1949) is an American actor and producer, with a specialty in portraying judges and detectives. He is best known for '' One on One'' (2001–2004), '' The Shield'' (2003–2004), and '' Lone Star'' (1996). Early ...

Frances McDormand Frances Louise McDormand (born Cynthia Ann Smith; June 23, 1957) is an American actress and film producer. In a career spanning over four decades, McDormand has received numerous accolades, including four Academy Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awa ...

and

Matthew McConaughey Matthew David McConaughey ( ; born November 4, 1969) is an American actor. He achieved his breakthrough with a supporting performance in the coming-of-age comedy '' Dazed and Confused'' (1993). After a number of supporting roles, his first su ...

. The film premiered at the 1996

South by Southwest Festival South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

and received widespread critical acclaim, with critics regarding it as a high point of 1990s independent cinema as well as one of Sayles's best films. Sayles's screenplay was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

BAFTA Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs or BAFTA Awards, is an annual film award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to f ...

, and

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...

. The film was also nominated for four

Independent Spirit Awards The Independent Spirit Awards, originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards, and later as the Film Independent Spirit Awards, are awards presented annually in Santa Monica, California, to independent filmmakers. Founded in ...

, with Elizabeth Peña winning Best Supporting Female. ''Lone Star'' was recognized by the

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...

AFI's 10 Top 10 AFI's 10 Top 10 honors the ten greatest American films in ten classic film genres. Presented by the American Film Institute (AFI), the lists were unveiled on a television special broadcast by CBS on June 17, 2008. In the special, various actors ...

list in 2008 as a nominated Western Film.

Plot

Two off-duty sergeants discover a human skeleton on an old U.S. Army rifle shooting range along with a Masonic ring, a Rio County sheriff's badge, and, later, an expended .45 pistol bullet. Sam Deeds,

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

of Frontera,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, begins an investigation.

Forensics Forensic science combines principles of law and science to investigate criminal activity. Through crime scene investigations and laboratory analysis, forensic scientists are able to link suspects to evidence. An example is determining the time and ...

backs up the identity of the skeleton as Charlie Wade, the infamously corrupt sheriff who preceded Sam's father, the recently deceased Buddy. Wade mysteriously disappeared in 1957, along with in county funds. Buddy's high reputation and election as Sheriff resulted from his being widely believed to have confronted Wade and driven him from town. Frontera, on the banks of the Rio Grande, is a

border town A border town is a town or city close to the boundary between two countries, states, or regions. Usually the term implies that the nearness to the border is one of the things the place is most famous for. With close proximities to a different coun ...

with

racial Race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 16th century, when it was used to refer to groups of va ...

strife among the

Tejano Tejanos ( , ) are descendants of Texas Creoles and Mestizos who settled in Texas before its admission as an American state. The term is also sometimes applied to Texans of Mexican descent. Etymology The word ''Tejano'', with a ''J'' instead ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

Native American Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

, and white populations. There, the white population is no longer the majority. As a teenager, Sam hated his tyrannical father and left town as soon as he was old enough. He only returned to the town two years prior. Matthew McConaughey 2011 AA

The town is enlarging and renaming their courthouse in Buddy's honor and proposing the building of an unneeded new prison. As a teenager, Sam had been in love with Tejano girl Pilar Cruz. However, their relationship was strongly opposed by both Buddy and Pilar's mother Mercedes, who took steps to separate them. After a chance meeting, the now divorced Sam and the widowed Pilar, now a teacher, begin to rekindle their lingering passion. Mercedes is again against this. Pilar mistakenly believes that Mercedes objects to Sam because of his "

Anglo Anglo is a prefix indicating a relation to, or descent from England, English culture, the English people or the English language, such as in the term ''Anglosphere''. It is often used alone, somewhat loosely, to refer to people of British d ...

" ethnicity. Despite being of Mexican origin, however, Pilar devalues Mexicans, claiming she is of Spanish descent. Colonel Delmore Payne has returned to town as the commander of the local U.S.

Army base A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. A military base always provides accommodations for ...

. Delmore has been estranged from his father Otis "Big O" Payne, a local nightclub owner and leader of the Black community, since childhood, when the serial womanizer abandoned Delmore and his mother. When a quarrel involving a soldier from the base results in a shooting at Otis's club—witnessed by Delmore's own resentful underage son who is surreptitiously at the club to scout out his grandfather—Delmore confronts Otis and threatens to make his establishment "off-limits." Otis counters that his establishment is the only place in town where Black soldiers are welcome. Despite being warned by Hollis and prominent local figures not to poke into events from thirty years before, Sam doggedly investigates the events leading up to Wade's murder. Wade terrorized the local Black and Mexican communities,

extorting Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit (e.g., money or goods) through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded t ...

money from business owners and committing numerous murders by setting up his victims and shooting them for "

resisting arrest An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken into custody, the person can be Interroga ...

". In front of a horrified Deputy Sheriff Hollis, Wade murdered Eladio Cruz, Mercedes's husband, who was running a

migrant smuggling People smuggling (also called human smuggling), under U.S. law, is "the facilitation, transportation, attempted transportation or illegal entry of a person or persons across an international border, in violation of one or more countries' laws, ...

operation across the border without

kickbacks A kickback is a form of negotiated bribery in which a commission is paid to the bribe-taker in exchange for services rendered. Generally speaking, the remuneration (money, goods, or services handed over) is negotiated ahead of time. The kickback ...

to Wade. Uncovering secrets about his father's nearly 30-year term as sheriff, Sam discovers Buddy's own corruption, kickbacks, and use of

prison labor Penal labour is a term for various kinds of forced labour that prisoners are required to perform, typically manual labour. The work may be light or hard, depending on the context. Forms of sentence involving penal labour have included invo ...

for personal building projects. Buddy forcibly evicted residents of a small community to make a lake, with Buddy and Hollis receiving lakefront property. Sam eventually discovers love letters from Buddy's longtime mistress—Mercedes Cruz. Sam confronts Hollis and Otis about Wade's murder. Upon discovering Otis's clandestine gambling operation at the nightclub, a furious Wade ordered Otis to hand over extortion money. Wade was about to use his "resisting arrest" setup to kill Otis. Buddy arrived just as Hollis shot Wade to prevent Otis's murder. The three buried the body and took $10,000 from the county as an alibi for Wade's "abscondence". They gave the money to Mercedes—who was destitute after Wade killed Eladio—to buy her restaurant. Buddy and Mercedes later got involved. Sam decides to drop the issue, saying that Wade's murder will remain unsolved. Hollis is concerned that people will assume that Buddy killed Wade to take his job. Sam replies, "Buddy's a goddamn legend; he can handle it." Showing Pilar an old photo of Buddy embracing Mercedes, Sam says that Eladio died 18 months before she was born, revealing that Buddy is Pilar's father. Both are appalled over the years of deception and repercussions, but since Pilar cannot have any more children, they decide to continue their romantic relationship, despite the knowledge that they are

half-siblings A sibling is a relative that shares at least one parent with the other person. A male sibling is a brother, and a female sibling is a sister. A person with no siblings is an only child. While some circumstances can cause siblings to be raised ...

Cast

Themes

The film deconstructs the concept of borders, both in the literal and figurative sense. The film takes place in a

(its name Frontera is the Spanish word for "border"), along the U.S.-Mexico border. In Frontera, figurative barriers exist between different racial and cultural groups, specifically the Anglo, Black, and Tejano communities. The film goes on to subvert the idea of borders, as it depicts literal border crossings (such as Mercedes and Eladio immigrating to Texas from Mexico), as well as border crossings in a racial, generational, and cultural sense. Through its cross-cultural and time-spanning narrative, the film explores how people from disparate ethnicities and cultures are intertwined, past and present. Nuances and differences within and among specific communities are shown. For instance, Otis is African-American but is also of

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...

descent. Pilar believes she is fully Tejano, only to discover she is half-white. The Tejano community itself has Mexican, Chicano, Mexican American, Spanish, Hispano, American and/or Indigenous ancestry. Mercedes is herself an immigrant from Mexico, but over the years has chosen to distance herself from that heritage, choosing to identify as "Spanish" and looking down on other Mexican immigrants. The moral border between "good people" and "bad people" is likewise complicated, as Sam learns the truth about his father and some of his unsavory dealings. Sam is intent on unraveling the inflated myths that surround Buddy as an upstanding sheriff. He ultimately discovers that the father he despises is neither as bad as he has always believed him to be, nor as good as his burdensome legend depicts. Intergenerational borders that divide Sam and Buddy, as well as Otis and Delmore Payne and Mercedes and Pilar Cruz, are eventually bridged as characters learn various truths about their parents and repair the fissures in strained relationships. Other themes include

historical revisionism In historiography, historical revisionism is the reinterpretation of a historical account. It usually involves challenging the orthodox (established, accepted or traditional) scholarly views or narratives regarding a historical event, timespa ...

, mythmaking, and how legends are used to obscure inconvenient truths. The question of who gets to interpret history and why is most evident in the competing stories about Buddy, as well as in the school board meeting scene in which parents and teachers argue over the appropriate version of Texas history to teach high school students. In historical accounts of the

Battle of the Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event and military engagement in the Texas Revolution. Following a siege of the Alamo, 13-day siege, Mexico, Mexican troops under president of Mexico, President Antonio L� ...

, it is often the heroic feats of Anglo figures like

Davy Crockett Colonel (United States), Colonel David Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was an American politician, militia officer and frontiersman. Often referred to in popular culture as the "King of the Wild Frontier", he represented Tennesse ...

and

Jim Bowie James Bowie ( ) (April 10, 1796 – March 6, 1836) was an American military officer, landowner and slave trader who played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution. He was among the Americans who died at the Battle of the Alamo. Stories of him ...

that are celebrated, while the contributions of Mexicans, African-Americans, and Native Americans are relegated to the margins. Sayles stated he wanted the film to address the concept of historical revisionism, saying "One of the things that 'Lone Star' is about, to me, is the way in which American culture has always, always been many cultures. utin many places, the dominant culture gets to write the history." The dismantling of myth is encapsulated with the film's final lines, "Forget the Alamo." "

Remember the Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event and military engagement in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alamo ...

" is a famous battle cry that honors Texans' loss to the Mexicans at the Battle of the Alamo. The "Forget" line deconstructs the mythmaking behind the Alamo story and the barriers that separate Pilar and Sam—the racial barrier, as well as the barrier of their blood relation. In an essay for

The Criterion Channel The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films". A "sister company" of arthouse film distributor ...

, Domino Renee Perez writes, "The Alamo, both as a historical site and as a symbol, looms large in Texas mythmaking. But Sayles's film is more about revealing the dark secrets behind, rather than building up, a myth—the myth of Buddy Deeds. Pilar and Sam's resolve to forget represents a turn away from that legacy as they attempt to write their own futures, ones not beholden to any history." Writers noted that the school board scene of parents challenging teachers has taken on a prescient meaning in light of the contemporary political climate and controversy over

critical race theory Critical race theory (CRT) is an academic field focused on the relationships between Social constructionism, social conceptions of Race and ethnicity in the United States census, race and ethnicity, Law in the United States, social and political ...

. In 2021, Texas passed a law that limits the manner and extent to which students learn about issues of race and racism in relation to American culture and history.

Production

Background

decided to make a film about the Texas border after going there in 1978 to shoot a cameo for an earlier film he wrote, and then visiting

the Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event and military engagement in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alamo ...

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

, and coming up with a script that "had elements of a Western, but it was more of a detective story. It was one of those rare instances where I wrote it and we got the money to make it right away."

Casting

Sayles cast newcomer

, whose biggest role prior to ''Lone Star'' was in

Richard Linklater Richard Linklater (; born July 30, 1960) is an American filmmaker. He is known for making films that deal thematically with suburban culture and the effects of the passage of time. In 2015, Linklater was included on the annual ''Time'' 100 li ...

's '' Dazed and Confused'', in a major role because "I needed a guy who didn't have any star weight but who had the presence to play off against Kristofferson."

Filming

Filming took place on-location throughout southwestern

and along the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...

, mainly in the towns of Del Rio, Eagle Pass and Laredo. Sayles did not want to film the flashback scenes with visible cuts to the present-day scenes, and instead utilized

pans Cookware and bakeware is food preparation equipment, such as cooking pots, pans, baking sheets etc. used in kitchens. Cookware is used on a Kitchen stove, stove or range cooktop, while bakeware is used in an oven. Some utensils are considere ...

so the transitions occurred within a single camera shot. These allowed the transitions to "feel like it was just a flow like time or like river". An example is the scene where a present-day Sam is seen in the same place in present day where he and Pilar have just strolled together discussing their past, and where Sam lingers to recollect a scene that took place on the same spot 23 years before between his 15-year old self and a 14-year old Pilar.

Music

Mason Daring Mason K. Daring (born September 21, 1949, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American musician and composer of scores for film and television. He has worked on nearly all the films directed by John Sayles, adapting his style to fit whatever perio ...

s soundtrack uses music from a variety of genres, including

juke joint Juke joint (also jukejoint, jook house, jook, or juke) is the African-American vernacular term for an informal establishment featuring music, dancing, gambling, and drinking, primarily operated by African Americans in the southeastern United St ...

music,

conjunto The term ''conjunto'' (, literally 'group', 'ensemble') refers to several types of small musical ensembles present in different Latin American musical traditions, mainly in Mexico and Cuba. While Mexican conjuntos play styles such as '' norteño' ...

, and

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

, to highlight the melting pot of cultures in Rio County.

Reception

Box office

''Lone Star'' premiered at

South by Southwest South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

on March 14, 1996. It later screened in the

Directors' Fortnight The Directors' Fortnight (, formerly ) is an independent section held in parallel to the Cannes Film Festival. It was started in 1969 by the French Directors Guild after the events of May 1968 resulted in cancellation of the Cannes festival as a ...

section at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

on May 10, 1996. It was released in North American theaters on June 21, 1996 and ultimately made $13 million at the box office on an estimated budget of $3–4.5 million.

Critical response

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, it has a score of 78 out of 100 based on reviews from 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Writing at the time of release,

Janet Maslin Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, who served as a film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1977 to 1999, serving as chief critic for the last six years, and then a literary critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000, M ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' said, "This long, spare, contemplatively paced film, scored with a wide range of musical styles and given a sun-baked clarity by Stuart Dryburgh's cinematography, is loaded with brief, meaningful encounters... And it features a great deal of fine, thoughtful acting, which can always be counted on in a film by Mr. Sayles". "All the film's characters are flesh and blood", Maslin added, pointing particularly to the portrayals by Kristofferson, Canada, James, Morton and Colón. The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

''s

Kenneth Turan Kenneth Turan (; born October 27, 1946) is an American retired film critic, author, and lecturer in the Master of Professional Writing Program at the University of Southern California. He was a film critic for the ''Los Angeles Times'' from 1991 ...

praised the film, writing its triumph is "how well it integrates Sayles' ocialconcerns with the heightened tension and narrative drive the thriller form provides". Film critics Dennis West and Joan M. West of '' Cineaste'' praised the psychological aspects of the film, writing, "''Lone Star'' strikingly depicts the personal psychological boundaries that confront many citizens of Frontera as a result of living in such close proximity to the border".

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

awarded the film 4 out of 4 stars. His review read, "'Lone Star' is a great American movie, one of the few to seriously try to regard with open eyes the way we live now. Set in a town that until very recently was rigidly segregated, it shows how Chicanos, blacks, whites and Indians shared a common history, and how they knew one another and dealt with one another in ways that were off the official map. This film is a wonder -- the best work yet by one of our most original and independent filmmakers -- and after it is over, and you begin to think about it, its meanings begin to flower."

Ann Hornaday Ann Hornaday is an American film critic. She has been film critic at ''The Washington Post'' since 2002 and is the author of ''Talking Pictures: How to Watch Movies'' (2017). In 2008, she was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. Ea ...

, then writing for the ''

Austin American-Statesman The ''Austin American-Statesman'' is the major daily newspaper for Austin, the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is owned by Hearst Communications. The distribution of the following ''The New York Times'', ''The Washington Post'', '' ...

'', declared it "a work of awesome sweep and acute perception", judging it "the most accomplished film of ayles'17-year career". ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' writer

Hal Hinson Hal Hinson is an American film critic who wrote for ''The Washington Post'' from 1987 to 1997. As of July 2015 he has 887 reviews collected on the website Rotten Tomatoes. Hinson has been cited as a critic who is unpopular with his fellow criti ...

characterized it as "a carefully crafted, unapologetically literary accomplishment." In 2004, William Arnold of the ''

Seattle Post-Intelligencer The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, United States. Th ...

'' said that the film was "widely regarded as Sayles' masterpiece", declaring that it had "captured the zeitgeist of the '90s as successfully as "

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

" did the '70s". In 2020, Hornaday compiled a list for ''The Washington Post'' titled "The 34 Best Political Movies Ever Made", in which she ranked ''Lone Star'' at number 10. Describing ''Lone Star'' as Sayles's masterwork, she wrote, "A simultaneously epic and finely drawn intergenerational and time-shifting murder mystery set on the Texas-Mexico border, 'Lone Star' interrogates history, narrative and tidal shifts in power through the lens of race and immigration, but never at the expense of their complexities. Timely when it first came out, today it feels more relevant than ever." In 2024, ''Lone Star'' was rereleased in a brand new 4K restoration leading to further critical analysis of the film. Writing in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'',

Peter Bradshaw Peter Nicholas Bradshaw (born 19 June 1962) is a British writer and film critic. He has been chief film critic at ''The Guardian'' since 1999, and is a contributing editor at ''Esquire'' magazine. Early life and education Bradshaw was educat ...

lavished the film with praise, calling it an "overlooked strand of indie movie-making and myth-making in 90s Hollywood, distinct from the brilliant ironies and shocks of Tarantino or the literary noir of the Coen brothers." He gave the film five stars saying "it is thoughtful and complex and grownup."

Accolades

The film received an

nomination for

Best Screenplay This list of screenwriting awards for film is an index to articles on notable awards given for film screenwriting. The list is organized by region and country of the awards venue or sponsor, but winners are not necessarily restricted to people fro ...

for

. The film also won the

Belgian Grand Prix The Belgian Grand Prix (; ; ) is a motor racing event which forms part of the Formula One World Championship. The first national race of Belgium was held in 1925 at the Spa region's race course, an area of the country that had been associated ...

, and the awards for Best Director and Best Screenplay from the

Society of Texas Film Critics Awards The Society of Texas Film Critics Awards were first awarded in 1994, when the Society of Texas Film Critics (STFC) was formed by 21 print, television, radio, and internet film critics working for different media outlets across the state of Texas. ...

. The screenplay was nominated for a

Writers Guild of America Award The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949. Eligibility Th ...

, a

, and a

won the

Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female The Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female was an award presented annually by Independent Spirit Awards, Film Independent. It is given in honor of an actress who has delivered an absolutely outstanding performance in a supporting acto ...

and the

BRAVO Award The Bravo Award was an annual award which was handed out by the Italian magazine ''Guerin Sportivo'' to the most outstanding young European Association football, footballer. The first winner of the award was Englishman Jimmy Case. The first no ...

for Outstanding Actress in a Feature Film. The film was nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards: Best Male Lead (

Best Film The following is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various films, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Bes ...

, and

. The film is recognized by the

list in 2008 as a nominated Western Film.

Home media

In 2023,

The Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home video, home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films". A "sister company" of art film, arth ...

announced they were releasing a 4K digital restoration of ''Lone Star'', supervised by Sayles and cinematographer

Stuart Dryburgh Stuart Dryburgh (born 30 March 1952 in London) is an English-born New Zealand cinematographer. Biography Born in London, his family emigrated to New Zealand when he was a child. He completed a degree in architecture at the University of Auckla ...

. The restoration was released on Blu-ray disc on January 16, 2024. The edition includes a new interview with Dryburgh and a conversation between Sayles and filmmaker

Gregory Nava Gregory James Nava (born April 10, 1949) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Personal life Nava was born in San Diego, of Mexican and Basque heritage. Nava graduated from St. Augustine High School in San Diego and attended ...

Notes

References

External links

* * * *
''Lone Star''
essay at ''

Bad Subjects ''Bad Subjects'' (more formally ''Bad Subjects: Political Education For Everyday Life'' and sometimes ''The Bad Subjects Collective'') was a research collaborative that operated generally out of California as part of the open access electronic pub ...

'' magazine by Tomás Sandoval, discusses the historical aspects of film (archived) * by

Siskel & Ebert Gene Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) and Roger Ebert (June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013), collectively known as Siskel & Ebert, were an American film critic duo known for their partnership on television lasting from 1975 to Siske ...

* {{Belgian Film Critics Association Grand Prix 1996 films 1996 independent films 1996 romantic drama films 1996 Western (genre) films 1990s American films 1990s English-language films 1990s mystery films American independent films American murder mystery films American romantic drama films American teen drama films American teen romance films American Western (genre) films Castle Rock Entertainment films Columbia Pictures films Contemporary Western films English-language independent films English-language mystery films English-language romantic drama films English-language Western (genre) films Films about immigration to the United States Films about Mexican Americans Films about sibling incest Films about race and ethnicity Films about racism in the United States Films about interracial romance Films about police misconduct Films about police brutality Films about infidelity Films directed by John Sayles Films scored by Mason Daring Films set in 1957 Films set in 1973 Films set in 1996 Films set in Texas Films shot in Texas Films with screenplays by John Sayles Hispanic and Latino American drama films Satellite Award–winning films Sony Pictures Classics films