''Twin Falls Idaho'' is a 1999

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

directed by

Michael Polish Mark Polish and Michael Polish (born October 30, 1970), known informally as the Polish brothers, are American twin screenwriters and film producers. Michael usually directs their films, and Mark often has an acting role. Life The Polish brothe ...

, who co-wrote and co-stars in the film with

Mark Polish Mark Polish and Michael Polish (born October 30, 1970), known informally as the Polish brothers, are American twin screenwriters and film producers. Michael usually directs their films, and Mark often has an acting role. Life The Polish brothe ...

. It premiered at the 1999

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,6 ...

and was acquired by Sony Pictures Classics, who gave the film a

limited release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few theaters across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unit ...

on July 30, 1999.

Plot

The film portrays the lives of shy conjoined twins Blake and Francis Falls, who take residence in a rundown hotel to hopefully reunite with their estranged birth mother. They find their gateway to the outside world through an eccentric young prostitute named Penny. They agree to attend a Halloween party with Penny and pretend to be wearing a "Siamese Twins" costume. The rest of the movie involves the brothers dealing with Francis's health problems, the changing relationship between the brothers, and Blake's budding relationship with Penny. Ultimately, Francis's health deteriorates too far and the twins have to be separated. Francis is too sick to survive and dies, but Blake survives and must begin a life apart from his twin. Penny visits him and the two start a relationship.

Cast

Reception

The film has a 78% "Fresh" rating on

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based on 46 critics’ reviews. Critic

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

gave the film four out of four stars, writing "It is one of those films not much interested in plot, but is fascinated by what it is like to be somebody, or two somebodies. The movie doesn't depend on special effects to create a shared body..and instead uses the performances." He added, "We can imagine he brothers’lifetime of isolation from the normal things people do", and concluded "In its quiet, dark, claustrophobic way, this is one of the best films of the year."

Janet Maslin Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for ''The New York Times''. She served as a ''Times'' film critic from 1977 to 1999 and as a book critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000 Maslin ...

of ''

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'' said, "It's a film that dwells as hauntingly on loneliness as it does on never actually being able to be alone", and that Mark Polish gives an "especially affecting performance.”

Accolades

At the 1999 Deauville American Film Festival, ''Twin Falls Idaho'' was honored with the CinéLive Award, the Fun Radio Trophy, and the Jury Special Prize (tied with Sarah Polley’s ''

Guinevere Guinevere ( ; cy, Gwenhwyfar ; br, Gwenivar, kw, Gwynnever), also often written in Modern English as Guenevere or Guenever, was, according to Arthurian legend, an early-medieval queen of Great Britain and the wife of King Arthur. First me ...

''). It also won the Audience Award at the Athens International Film Festival and was nominated for an Open Palm Award at the

Gotham Awards The Gotham Awards () are American film awards, presented annually to the makers of independent films at a ceremony in New York City, the city first nicknamed "Gotham" by native son Washington Irving, in an issue of ''Salmagundi'', published o ...

. The film received a Special Recognition notice from the National Board of Review for excellence in filmmaking.

References

External links

Official site
at Sony Pictures Classics * * * {{Michael Polish 1999 films 1999 independent films American drama films 1990s drama films Films about twin brothers Films about brothers Fictional conjoined twins Films directed by Michael Polish 1999 directorial debut films 1990s English-language films