Nearly Lost 90s Indie Gem Beautifully Restored, Now Available on Blu-ray
DIRECTED BY NANCY SAVOCA/1993
BLU-RAY STREET DATE: APRIL 23, 2024/KINO LORBER
In the video clip below, I have a few things to say about Household Saints, a recently restored film from 1993 directed by Nancy Savoca that enjoyed a run through the festival circuit late last year and into the spring before being issued on Blu-ray back in April. I enjoyed the film quite a bit, gladly taking in a second viewing to more fully enjoy the charming character portrayals delivered by a wonderful cast featuring Tracey Ullman, Vincent D’Onofrio, Lili Taylor, and a young Michael Imperioli in one of his earliest screen appearances, prior to his 90s collaborations with Spike Lee and star-making role on The Sopranos. I also gave a bit of attention to Dogfight, which could be considered an unofficial companion release with Household Saints, as both films were directed by Savoca, prominently featured Taylor, and were published a week apart under different labels.
After rewatching my video, I realize that I could have gone into more depth on the film itself, so here’s a little more about what made it such a delightful discovery for me. Beyond the winsome performances mentioned above, the story delivers a lot of unexpected novelty as we get cozy with three generations of an Italian American family going through life in post-WWII America by way of New York City and environs. The story opens in the late ’40s and takes us into the early ’70s as we watch the characters respond to cultural trends and shifting sensibilities that impact their relationships, their economic and class status, and most intriguingly, their religious beliefs and spiritual practices. The depictions are perhaps a touch stereotypical in that the older immigrant parents are traditionally pious, earthy, and superstitious (but in a very winsome way), while their children (D’Onofrio and Ullman as the couple brought together under dubious circumstances) veer away from the old world customs, buying into the promise and premise of achieving middle-class prosperity without much reliance on honoring the sacred traditions and running all the big decisions of their lives through a Catholic filter. Their religious adherence comes close to simply maintaining a formal connection to the Church for all the big life events (weddings, funerals, baptisms, and so on) but stops well short of giving any indication that they take seriously the religious dogmas bequeathed to them by their elders.
So imagine their surprise when their daughter (and only child) Teresa, born in the prime years of the Baby Boom, turns out to possess deep spiritual yearnings even more ardent and unswerving than the grandmother who departed this mortal realm shortly before Teresa was born. Despite the parents’ best efforts to steer their daughter to a path of moderation and benign conformity with what the other kids were doing, Teresa pursues a path of rigorous devotion, an utterly earnest to attain beatified sainthood. It’s a remarkable turn of the plot, rendered all the more impressive by the script’s insistence on treating each character with dignity, respect, and empathy. Savoca co-wrote the screenplay with her husband Richard Guay, adapting the story from a novel of the same name written by Francine Prose in 1981. Savoca had known the novel for several years and felt compelled to bring the story to cinematic life. In that, I believe she succeeded quite marvelously, infusing vibrant visuals and sly soundtrack selections across the spectrum of pop and sacred music to bolster the contributions of this strong ensemble cast.
Household Saints does a great job addressing topics of faith, fidelity, mortality, the occurrence of miracles, and intergenerational conflicts without becoming maudlin or tipping the scales in favor of any particular point of view. This is a film that can appeal to diverse audiences even if they don’t share in any of the particulars of ethnicity, religious traditions, or the cultural trappings of decades receding ever farther into a past that many contemporary viewers can only view as “history.” And with a nice assortment of supplements (listed below) to bolster the overall package, Household Saintsmakes for an enthusiastically recommended introduction to Nancy Savoca. The recognition she received this past spring with a double-shot of well-regarded Blu-ray releases of her early 90s work is thoroughly deserved and long overdue.
Blu-ray Extras:
- Renata (1982, Nancy Savoca’s student film)
- Bad Timing (1983, Nancy Savoca’s student film)
- The Many Miracles of Household Saints (2023, making-of documentary by Martina Savoca-Guay)
- Archival interviews with Jonathan Demme, Vincent D’Onofrio, Tracey Ullman, Lili Taylor,
Nancy Savoca, Richard Guay, Judith Malina, Peter Newman - New interview with Nancy Savoca and Lili Taylor by Richard Guay
- Trailers
