Surviving Desire is a 1991 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Hal Hartley

Hal Hartley

Hal Hartley is an American film director, screenwriter, producer composer, who became a key figure in the American independent film movement of the 1980s and 1990s...

. It stars Martin Donovan

Martin Donovan

Martin Donovan is an American stage and film actor. He has had a long collaboration with the director Hal Hartley, appearing in many of his films, including Trust , Surviving Desire , Simple Men , Flirt , Amateur , and The Book of Life...

, Julie Kessler, Matt Malloy

Matt Malloy

Matt Malloy is an American character actor. He has had numerous roles in both film and TV often portraying the beleaguered everyman. Malloy's only starring role to date was alongside Aaron Eckhart in the critically acclaimed black comedy, In the Company of Men...

, Merritt Nelson, and Mary B. Ward.

Plot

College professor Jude (Donovan) becomes smitten with a student named Sofie (Ward). The two enjoy a brief time together, only to find that numerous obstacles, both tangible and intangible, prevent them from moving forward. Their conflict begins to expose parallels with the themes Jude covers in his literature class.

See also

Surviving Desire is generally distributed with two other short films by Hartley, Theory of Achievement and Ambition.