NEO-WESTERN

Programmers Leendert and Thomas about NEO-WESTERN

The term Neo-Western captures the imagination of cinephiles and scholars alike. Emerging in the latter half of the 20th century, the Neo-Western reinterprets the mythology of the American West through a modern lens. While classic Westerns, from John Ford’s Stagecoach (1939) to Sergio Leone’s The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966), defined the genre with clear moral divides and frontier heroism, Neo-Westerns subvert these traditions. They explore a world where the lines between right and wrong are blurred, and where the frontier—once a place of opportunity—has become a battleground of corruption, violence, and moral decay.

Though some argue that the Western faded after its Hollywood golden age, the Neo-Western proves that its themes remain more relevant than ever. The lawless landscapes have shifted—sometimes to urban sprawls, sometimes to decaying rural America—but the archetypal figures endure: the lone drifter, the weary lawman, the ruthless outlaw. In films like No Country for Old Men (2007), Hell or High Water (2016), and The Rider (2017), we see the same existential struggles that fueled the genre’s earliest works, but now set against the backdrop of a changing, often indifferent world.

This April, we invite you to explore the evolution of the Western in our Neo-Western retrospective—a journey through barren deserts, dying towns, and the moral wilderness of the modern age. Whether you’re a longtime devotee of the genre or discovering it anew, these films promise a gripping exploration of justice, survival, and the myths that shape America.