The Exiles

This dreamlike and plotless film is perhaps most reminiscent of Charles Burnett’s Killer of Sheep, but in many ways, it’s a precursor to David Lynch’s work, especially Eraserhead. The camera follows a group of Native Americans, living in Los Angeles’ Bunker Hill in the late-’50s/early-’60s, as they drift through a night of drinking, womanizing and general film noir-esque anomie. It’s stunningly pretty, and the mood is only enhanced by the weird decision to loop the dialogue on top of the visuals without syncing it. Originally released in 1961, The Exiles never found distribution, and is now finally receiving at least some small fraction of the exposure it so richly deserves.