This forgotten 90s film may rank as one of the better of the many films associated with New York writer Paul Auster (1947 - 2024), here based on his existential novel of the same name. A chance meeting between a man on an endless road trip (Mandy Patinkin) and a down-on-his-luck card shark (James Spader), leads to what they believe will be a sure-thing high-stakes poker match, followed by a strange turn of allegorical events. Roger Ebert called it "one of those movies you can argue about for hours," and Film Comment magazine described it as "Darkly comedic, fascinating, and wholly original... a movie that demands to be seen, then seen again..." Directed by Philip Haas (Angels and Insects). Not widely available on USA media or streaming services. Import Blu-ray projection.

R, 98 min., 1993. Closed captions (CC) in English.