Joe the King
Rank
Middle 40-60% of all time (see others with this rank)
Festival Year
1999 (click here to see all competition films from this year)
Category
Dramatic Competition
Cast
Noah Fleiss, Ethan Hawke, Val Kilmer, John Leguizamo, Max Ligosh, Karen Young
Non-Cast Credits
Frank Whaley, Robin O'Hara, Scott Macaulay, Jennifer Dewis, Lindsay Marx, Janet Grilo, John Leguizamo, Michael Mayers, Miran Miosic, Dan Quellette, Robert Whaley, Anthony Grimaldi
Description
One of Joe's first lasting impressions came from being humiliated in front of his class by the teacher for trying to hide the fact that his father was the school janitor. Five years later, Joe is still ashamed of his father, but now it's for being an abusive, unemployed alcoholic.
Set in the 1970s, Joe the King is a touching portrayal of a kid who feels the weight of the world on his shoulders. Through beautiful cinematography and a nostalgic sound track, writer/director Frank Whaley does a wonderful job of capturing the nuances of the time period.
Joe is a victim of good infentions gone wrong. Forced to work illegally as a dishwasher in a restaurant, he has no qualms about stealing from the till to repair other parts of his broken life, including paying off his dad's debts and replacing his mom's album collection, destroyed in his father's drunken rage. Joe eventually gets caught and is sentenced to six months in juvenile prison. He has one day of freedom and sadly spends it playing alone, It's not until he says good-bye to his family that they finally begin to realize what he has sacrificed for them.
The film's greatest strength comes from the compassionate performances by Noah Fleiss as Joe and Val Kilmer as his father. Joe the King truly captures the isolation and raw emotion of Joe's life and honestly portrays the hardships of growing up in a hostile environment.
