''The Delta'' is an American

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 ...

tic

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...

film directed by

Ira Sachs Ira Sachs (born November 21, 1965) is an American filmmaker. His first film was the short ''Lady'' (1993). Biography Sachs was born in Memphis, Tennessee. His films include '' The Delta'' (1997), '' Forty Shades of Blue'' (2005), '' Married Li ...

. It premiered at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...

on September 9, 1996. The 85 minute film was shot with 16mm film. It won the "Outstanding Emerging Talent" award at

Outfest Outfest is an LGBTQ-oriented nonprofit that produces two film festivals, operates a movie streaming platform, and runs educational services for filmmakers in Los Angeles. Outfest is one of the key partners, alongside the Frameline Film Festival ...

in 1997, and was also nominated for the "Producer's Award" (for producer Margot Bridger) at the 1997 and 1998 Independent Spirit Awards.

Plot

''The Delta'' tells the story of 18-year-old Lincoln Bloom, who, after leading a relatively straight teenage life, is slowly drawn into the

world and discovers he is bisexual. After visiting various shady establishments (including gay bars, video arcades, etc.) and engaging in sexual acts with "men he didn't know," Lincoln meets Minh Nguyen, a Vietnamese immigrant, and travels down river with him in a cabin cruiser. In a doomed relationship, the two bond with each other, Lincoln neglecting to tell his girlfriend and leading two parallel lives.

Cast

* Shayne Gray as Lincoln Bloom * Thang Chan as Minh Nguyen (John) * Rachel Zan Huss as Monica Rachel * Colonious David as Ricky Little * Charles J. Ingram as David Bloom

Production

''The Delta'' was filmed entirely in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

, Sachs's hometown, and includes scenes of Memphis locations.

Reception

The film received mostly positive reviews, with

IndieWire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Holl ...

calling it the "essence of independent film." Kevin Thomas of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' called it "...so evocative that it is poetic in its impact." However, it was also criticized by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' and others for leaving viewers with too many questions and moving too abruptly from plotline to plotline.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Delta, The 1996 films 1996 drama films 1996 LGBT-related films American drama films American LGBT-related films Films directed by Ira Sachs 1996 independent films Films set in the United States Films shot in Tennessee Gay-related films Films shot in 16 mm film 1990s English-language films 1990s American films