Shepard & Dark

Year: 2013
Country: USA
Run Time: 88 minutes

Sam Shepard is an icon of letters, stage, and screen who, for decades, has represented a lost highway to America’s Western subculture. Johnny Dark has been his friend for nearly five decades, exchanging letters and dialogue about philosophy, music, theory, art, and other various topics in which these two men, seemingly different, can find common ground. SHEPARD & DARK is an endearing portrait of their decades-long relationship, which has spanned loves, losses, successes, and failures but always returns for more. This documentary follows Shepard and Dark as they look to publish their letters, pictures, and other mementos gathered since the 60s. And as the two men travel back in time, the audience is taken on the ride right along with them. With captivating moments of honesty, Sam Shepard is like a lost rebel searching for direction while his counterpart Johnny Dark is the homebody who has no intention of leaving home or being around people. SHEPARD & DARK is a case study on how heartbreak can affect two very different men; it is a journey of two old friends still able to find common ground. – T.W.

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