3 Women

Famous for his large ensemble pieces and kaleidoscopic portraits of society, Altman's intimate, ‘small’ films are often overlooked. Wrongly so, because the unsentimental chronicler also (and especially) measures the American malaise in these films by subverting genre conventions and sifting through the lies and myths of the land of supposedly unlimited possibilities. At first, 3 WOMEN seems like a melodrama: Life brings three young, different women together in a flat in the Californian desert. We viewers quickly realise that something is not right here - and the characters gradually do too. An enigmatic and fascinating cinematic dream that is considered a precursor to Lynch's MULHOLLAND DRIVE for a reason. (Florian Widegger)

Newly restored version