Impure Thoughts

Institute History

  • 1987 Sundance Film Festival

Description

Four recently deceased acquaintances find themselves trapped, “just this side of heaven,” in ‘Purgatory. Left alone to reflect on the nature of their fate, the four men recall the comical contradictions of growing up Catholic in West Virginia in the early 1960’s. As the four men review their common past with mutually cultivated guilt, they trade recollections shown in flashback with young actors. In the end, they discover a single incident, common to them all, that none had ever confessed to or done penance for. Could this minor indiscretion be the cause for their predicament? Are they paying a very steep price for what has happened, in the grand scheme of things, as an innocuous event? See the film, a funny, yet thoughtful send-up of the ultimate guilt trip, and you’ll find out.

— Lawrence Smith

Screening Details

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