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Buster's Mal Heart

Released Apr 28, 2017 1h 38m Mystery & Thriller Drama TRAILER for List
70% Tomatometer 50 Reviews 55% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
An eccentric mountain man is on the run from the authorities, surviving the winter by breaking into empty vacation homes in a remote community. Regularly calling into radio talk shows, where he has acquired the nickname"Buster," to rant about the impending Inversion at the turn of the millennium, he is haunted by visions of being lost at sea, and memories of his former life as a family man.
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Buster's Mal Heart

Critics Reviews

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Ben Sachs Chicago Reader This peculiar indie drama scores points for originality and impressive performances, though it's elusive in its design and feels unsatisfying on the whole. Apr 13, 2020 Full Review Julie Hinds Detroit Free Press Smith's eye for arresting images is as strong as Malek's gift for being both present in the moment and lost in his character's anxieties. Jun 5, 2017 Full Review Michael Phillips Chicago Tribune Whatever wavelength the quietly riveting Malek and the equally intriguing Sheil are on, they're on it together. Rated: 3/4 Jun 1, 2017 Full Review Elissa Suh MUBI Sarah Adina Smith teasingly dips to sci-fi, only to haphazardly scatter it all for the sake of philosophy. In lieu of a rule-bound universe, we get a smattering of quantum mechanics, apocalypse myths and a shaking fist at God and the Bible. Feb 27, 2020 Full Review Ashlee Blackwell Graveyard Shift Sisters These themes of class and ethnicity in Buster's Mal Heart aren't frying pan head blows. They're subtle in order to sneak into your subconscious and reveals how a system, also subtly placed in Reagan's America is shattered. Feb 11, 2020 Full Review Michael J. Casey Boulder Weekly All work and no play... Aug 3, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (94) audience reviews
Regina P I'm a huge fan of Rami Malek's acting. I could watch him act in anything. His acting is just mesmerizing to me. I hope Hollywood gives him more roles. This was good. I wasn't crazy about it, but Rami always shows up to work. He did his part. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/14/24 Full Review O t Raw and emotional. Best movie I've seen in years honestly ❤️ Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review jim d As a fan of Rami Malek and slow, brooding movies, I really wanted to like this one. Unfortunately there just isn't much that's compelling here. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review ronald h "Buster's Mal Heart" will infuriate some viewers, annoy others, delight others, and generate quite a few Google "explanations." It's incoherent yet coherent. It's not filmed sequentially, yet it has a cohesive feel. Rami Malek plays Jonas / Buster in alternating scenes of the same man at different points in his life—or more precisely, in his head. He's a man split in two. One of him is Jonas, a caring family man who works as a hotel concierge and lives with his in-laws so he and his wife can save money for a piece of property and someday live a simple, independent life. The other is Buster, a wild-eyed, bearded mountain man who breaks into vacation homes, eating people's food and sleeping in their beds. Malek also plays a third character in dreamlike sequences, symbolically adrift in a rowboat in the middle of the ocean. This film is absolutely bursting with symbolism, much of it biblical. It raises more questions than it answers. It doesn't proceed in a linear fashion from beginning to end. You just watch and absorb. This review has been deliberately obscure in terms of details. That's because it's impossible to describe. Personally, I was drawn into it, and I think most thoughtful viewers will be, too. The rest of you—Well, you're probably better off sticking with the usual Hollywood fare. Sarah Adina Smith is to be congratulated for making such an audacious and weird film. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review tony h A bit discontinuous, but they may improve with a second viewing?! Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review donna m New Title - A slow moving abstract sloth! He is a great actor but it was no thriller. I dozed off a couple of times. Yes a mystery - as in what the F did I just watch. Waste of my time. I don't do surreal. It was not intellectually deep. Best described as a slow moving abstract sloth. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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Buster's Mal Heart

Buster's Mal Heart: Official Clip - The End is Coming Buster's Mal Heart: Official Clip - The End is Coming 1:39 Buster's Mal Heart: Official Clip - The Last Free Man Returns Buster's Mal Heart: Official Clip - The Last Free Man Returns 1:43 Buster's Mal Heart: Official Clip - The Last Free Man Buster's Mal Heart: Official Clip - The Last Free Man 3:34 Buster's Mal Heart: Official Clip - That Was Buster Buster's Mal Heart: Official Clip - That Was Buster 2:41 Buster's Mal Heart: Official Clip - Robbing Season Buster's Mal Heart: Official Clip - Robbing Season 1:59 Buster's Mal Heart: Official Clip - Slaves To The System Buster's Mal Heart: Official Clip - Slaves To The System 3:14 Buster's Mal Heart: Official Clip - Kidnapped Christmas Dinner Buster's Mal Heart: Official Clip - Kidnapped Christmas Dinner 3:28 Buster's Mal Heart: Official Clip - You're a Lunatic! Buster's Mal Heart: Official Clip - You're a Lunatic! 1:45 Buster's Mal Heart: Official Clip - Hotel Horror Buster's Mal Heart: Official Clip - Hotel Horror 2:26 Buster's Mal Heart: Official Clip - Buster's Last Stand Buster's Mal Heart: Official Clip - Buster's Last Stand 2:16 View more videos
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Movie Info

Synopsis An eccentric mountain man is on the run from the authorities, surviving the winter by breaking into empty vacation homes in a remote community. Regularly calling into radio talk shows, where he has acquired the nickname"Buster," to rant about the impending Inversion at the turn of the millennium, he is haunted by visions of being lost at sea, and memories of his former life as a family man.
Director
Sarah Adina Smith
Producer
Jonako Donley, Travis Stevens
Screenwriter
Sarah Adina Smith
Distributor
Well Go USA
Production Co
Snowfort Pictures, Everything Is Everything
Genre
Mystery & Thriller, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 28, 2017, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
May 22, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$72.6K
Runtime
1h 38m
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