Shy People
Shy People is a 1987 American drama film directed by Andrei Konchalovsky, from a script by Konchalovsky, Marjorie David and Gérard Brach. It stars Barbara Hershey, Jill Clayburgh, and Martha Plimpton, and features music by the German electronic music group Tangerine Dream. The film is about the culture clash that takes place between Diana, a Manhattan writer, her wayward teenage daughter Grace, and their long-distant relatives in the bayous of Louisiana. It premiered at the 40th Cannes Film Festival on May 14, 1987, with Hershey winning the award for Best Actress. It received a limited release in the United States on March 11, 1988. It was one of the last film roles for actor Merritt Butrick, who died from AIDS in 1989. It was filmed by the bayous of South Louisiana. Plot summary Diana Sullivan is a successful Manhattan writer and photojournalist, seemingly oblivious to the serious cocaine addiction that her wild child daughter, Grace, has developed. Diana is given a commission by Cosmopolitan magazine to write an article about a distant branch of her family that lives in the bayous of Louisiana. She takes a reluctant Grace along with her. In Louisiana, they encounter Diana's cousin, Ruth. Married at 12 to an abusive man whose current whereabouts are an increasingly troubling cipher, the domineering Ruth rules over her three adult sons. The sons—Pauly, Tommy, and Mark—are less than perfectly cogent, with equal parts protectiveness and ferocity, while a fourth, disowned son adds to the volatility of the situation. As the fascinated Diana and wary Ruth circle one another, Grace, bored and in the grips of her addiction, toys with her naive cousins with devastating consequences. Cast Production Andrei Konchalovsky said he wanted to examine the clash of a "civilized" culture with a more "rural" culture. He conceived of the story while filming the 1979 Russian epic Siberiade. The screenplay was written by Konchalovsky with Gérard Brach and Marjorie David, who had all previously collaborated together on the script for Maria's Lovers. Principal photography took place from September 22 to December 20 of 1986. Much of the film was shot in Cajun Country in Lafayette, Louisiana. Bayou scenes were filmed in Henderson Basin and the Atchafalaya Swamp. Ruth's house was a set constructed beside a swamp in Catahoula. Scenes at Mike’s nightclub were filmed in Los Angeles. Soundtrack Shy People is the thirty-third major release and eleventh soundtrack album by Tangerine Dream. It is the soundtrack to the 1988 movie of the same name. Track listing Personnel Edgar Froese Chris Franke Paul Haslinger Jacquie Virgil — vocals on "Shy People" and "Dancing On A White Moon" Diamond Ross — vocals on "The Harbor" The movie's actual sound track uses different versions of "Shy People" and "The Harbor" with different sets of lyrics, sung by Michael Bishop. Release The film premiered at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival to acclaim, with Barbara Hershey winning the award for Best Actress. The film was given a one-week screening in Los Angeles on December 4,