My review was written in May 1989 after a Cannes Film Festival Market screening.
"Tale of Two Sisters" is an experimental feature combining improvised conversations with surreal imagery. Commercial prospects are nil, but a small cult following could be developed.
Filmmaker uses a basic storyline of two adult siblings, Valerie Breiman and Claudia Christian, having a reunion after five years and mulling over their childhood and unresolved mutual resentments.
Upon this he overlays, in the shredded footage manner not used often in American films since Henry Jaglom's 1971 "A Safe Place", memories and nightmarish or surreal images to illustrate the women's feelings. Unfortunately, some of Adam Rifkin's imagery smacks of the usual film student's fondness for Fellini, particularly "8-1/2".
More damaging to the film's overall impact is the frequent appearance of Dee Coppola as the girls' mom. Her huge breasts and grotesque makeup create a silly figure at odds with what the women say about their family life as kids.
Christian does best at improvising anecdotes and her true feelings, while pretty younger sister Breiman comes off as mannered and phony without a script to rely on.
Rifkin delivers some interesting photographic effects, particularly in brief black & white sequences, while voiced-over poetry by Charlie Sheen adds another dimension to the footage and should spur curiosity to see this offbeat film.
