Released 1996
Stars Chris Cooper, Elizabeth Peña, Kris Kristofferson, Matthew McConaughey
Directed by John Sayles

John Sayles' murder-mystery explores interpersonal and interracial tensions in Rio County, Texas. Sam Deeds is the local sheriff who is called to investigate a 40-year-old skeleton found in the desert....As Sam delves deeper into the town's dark secrets, he begins to learn more about his father, the legendary former sheriff Buddy Deeds, who replaced the corrupt Charlie Wade. While Sam puzzles out the long-past events surrounding the mystery corpse, he also longs to rekindle a romance with his old high-school flame. Sayles' complex characters are brought together as the tightly woven plot finally draws to its dramatic close.  -- Summary written by Tad Dibbern

"Lone Star" contains so many riches, it humbles ordinary movies. And yet they aren't thrown before us, to dazzle and impress. It's only later, thinking about the film, that we appreciate the full reach of its material. It's a great American movie, one of the few to seriously try to regard with open eyes the way we live now. Set in a town that until very recently was rigidly segregated, it shows how Chicanos, blacks, whites and Indians shared a common history, and how they knew one another and dealt with one another in ways that were off the official map. This film is a wonder - the best work yet by one of our most original and independent filmmakers - and after it is over, and you begin to think about it, its meanings begin to flower. -- Roger Ebert