Sadness at Leaving

Sadness at Leaving (1992)

Following the erection of the Berlin wall, special agent Carl Halman is assigned by East German intelligence to move to New York where he’ll “sleep” as a writer until he is called. Using the code-name “April 23,” Carl successfully infiltrates the uptown-downtown literary world in 1950s New York. He edits a magazine, follows the Knicks, and marries Melinda, the socialite wife of best-selling jock novelist Hubert Cleaver, Ayden’s hilarious Norman Mailer pastiche. Through Carl’s eyes, we see New York City change from an outpost of Europe to the new capital of an anarchistic, post-ideological world. But then, when Carl least expects it, he’s called.

Director: Chris Kraus

Casts

	Richard Hell as Carl Halman
	Rosemary Hochschild as Melinda
	George Bartenieff as Hubert Cleaver
	Larry Gregory as Nat Cooper
	Penny Arcade as Juanita
	Paula Greevy as Elise O'Leary
	Jerome Koenig as Gus Steinermann
	Judy Nylon as Melinda (voice)
	Michael Ryan as Col. Bechstein

Crew