{{short description|1996 film by Tom DiCillo}} {{More citations needed|date=January 2019}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox film | name = Box of Moonlight | image = boxofmoonlightposter.jpg | caption = Theatrical release poster | director = Tom DiCillo | producer = Thomas Bliss<br>Marcus Viscidi | writer = Tom DiCillo | starring = John Turturro<br>Sam Rockwell<br>Catherine Keener<br>Lisa Blount<br>Annie Corley<br>Dermot Mulroney | music = Jim Farmer | cinematography = Paul Ryan | editing = Camila Toniolo | studio = Lakeshore Entertainment<br>JVC Entertainment Networks<br>Largo Entertainment<br>Lemon Sky Productions | distributor = Trimark Pictures (United States)<br>Largo International (International) | released = {{Film date|1996|08|30|Italy|1997|07|25|U.S.}} | runtime = 112 minutes | country = United States<br>Japan | language = English | budget = | gross = $782,641 }} '''''Box of Moonlight''''' is a 1996 American independent deadpan buddy comedy-road film directed and written by Tom DiCillo and produced by Thomas Bliss and Marcus Viscidi.<ref name="rooney">{{cite web |last1=Rooney |first1=David |title=Review: ''Box of Moonlight'' |url=https://variety.com/1996/film/reviews/box-of-moonlight-1200446246/ |website=Variety |access-date=January 29, 2026 |date=August 30, 1996}}</ref><ref name="baumgarten">{{cite news |last1=Baumgarten |first1=Majorie |title=''Box of Moonlight'' |url=https://www.austinchronicle.com/screens/box-of-moonlight-11917015/ |access-date=January 29, 2026 |work=The Austin Chronicle |date=September 19, 1997}}</ref>
Set in the East Tennessee countryside, the film follows everyman Al Fountain (portrayed by John Turturro), an uptight electrical engineer who is assigned by his employer as the construction foreman of a factory under construction in Tennessee, leaving his estranged son Bobby and wife Deb (portrayed by Annie Corley) behind in their Chicago home.<ref name="maslin">{{cite news |last1=Maslin |first1=Janet |title=Film Review: ''Box of Moonlight'' |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/film/moon-film-review.html |access-date=January 29, 2026 |work=The New York Times |date=July 25, 1997}}</ref><ref name="ebert">{{cite web |last1=Ebert |first1=Roger |title=''Box of Moonlight'' |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/box-of-moonlight-1997 |website=Roger Ebert |access-date=January 29, 2026 |date=August 8, 1997 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160320021027/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/box-of-moonlight-1997 |archive-date=2016-03-20}}</ref>
The factory project is later called off shortly after Al's arrival in Tennessee. Al returns to his hotel room to discover a strand of gray hair, prompting him to breakdown. He later drives a rental car to nearby lake from his childhood and encounters a young hillbilly, the Kid (portrayed by Sam Rockwell), that takes Al on an adventure through the nearby countrysides and towns to help Al find a new perspective in life.<ref name="hemblade">{{cite web |last1=Hemblade |first1=Christopher |title=''Box of Moonlight'' - Review |url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/box-moonlight-review/ |website=Empire |access-date=January 29, 2026 |date=January 1, 2000}}</ref>
Filming took place on location in and around the city of Knoxville, Tennessee during a 35-day period in the fall of 1995, on a budget of $3.5 million.<ref name="TMC">{{cite news |title=''Moonlight'' Dawning Sixth Try Gets Film Out of Box for Tom DiCillo |url=https://www.mcall.com/1997/11/07/moonlight-dawning-sixth-try-gets-film-out-of-box-for-tom-dicillo/ |access-date=January 29, 2026 |work=The Morning Call |date=November 7, 1997}}</ref>
The film premiered on August 30, 1996 at the Venice International Film Festival and opened to American audiences at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival.<ref name="TDvenice">{{cite web |last1=DiCillo |first1=Tom |title=''Moonlight'' in Venice |url=https://www.tomdicillo.com/moonlight-in-venice |website=Tom DiCillo |access-date=January 29, 2026 |date=December 20, 2023}}</ref><ref name="mubi">{{cite web |title=''Box of Moonlight'' |url=https://mubi.com/en/us/films/box-of-moonlight |website=Mubi |access-date=January 29, 2026}}</ref>
==Plot summary == {{More plot|date=October 2017}} Al Fountain is a methodical and somewhat neurotic engineer. On the way home from work after leaving his construction site, he takes a side trip for nostalgia's sake in the woodland area. There he meets Buck "The Kid", an eccentric character who gives him a new perspective on his life. The two men bond with two women with similar personalities. The pair swap stories and ideas. The kid lives outside with many items and furniture in the woods. They rob a man's tomatoes from his garden and vandalize the factory that Al works at. The two part ways with Al having a different and freer outlook.
==Cast== {{Cast listing| * John Turturro as Al Fountain * Sam Rockwell as Buck/Bucky aka "the Kid" * Catherine Keener as Floatie Dupre * Lisa Blount as Purlene Dupre * Dermot Mulroney as Wik * Annie Corley as Deb Fountain * Rica Martens as Doris * Alexander Goodwin as Bob Fountain * Stuart Greer as Stinky * Sam Gleason as Rental Car Lot Attendant }}
==Production== Production was done mostly in autumn of 1995 in and around Knoxville, Tennessee on a thirty-five day shooting schedule and a budget of 3.5 million dollars.<ref>''American Cinematographer''. United States, ASC Holding Corporation, 1996.</ref><ref>''Projections''. United Kingdom, Faber & Faber, 1996.</ref>
The motel that Turturro's character stays at during his trip is a now closed but still{{when|date=September 2018}} there is a motel in Maryville, Tennessee, that is named the 411 Motel, on Hwy 411 in Maryville, TN({{Coord|35.714640|-84.020166|display=inline}}).
The strip club used was "Bambi's" on the Alcoa Highway which is now{{when|date=September 2018}} called Ball Gentlemen's Club in Knoxville, TN({{Coord|35.909554|-83.956060|display=inline}}).
Many of the scenes were shot in South Knoxville near Seymour, Strawberry Plains, Greenback, and Norris Lake and have been drastically changed since shooting due to mining, suburban development, and culture.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.popcultmag.com/posts/the-making-of-tom-dicillos-90s-indie-gem-box-of-moonlight/|title=PopCult article|date=2 May 2018 }}</ref>
The wrestling scenes that Al and The Kid watch were filmed during an actual Smoky Mountain Wrestling event with Buddy Landell as the good guy and Headbanger Thrasher as "Saddam Insane" in 1995.
Most of the in-town driving scenes were filmed in East and North Knoxville, Maryville, and Alcoa. Many of the routes are not consistent.
== Influence and reputation == ''Box of Moonlight'' has a cult following among Tom DiCillo and counterculture fans. Janet Maslin of ''The New York Times'' wrote in July 1997 that "the 1970s-style premise of ''Box of Moonlight'' is so dated and fanciful that this quixotic film winds up seeming amazingly fresh."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/film/moon-film-review.html | title=Box of Moonlight }}</ref> On a July 26, 1997 episode of ''Siskel & Ebert'', it received two thumbs up from Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert.<ref name="atthemovies">{{cite book |last1=Ebert |first1=Roger |author-link1=Roger Ebert |last2=Siskel |first2=Gene |title=Air Force One/Good Burger/Cafe Society/In the Company of Men/Box of Moonlight |date=26 July 1997 |publisher=Buena Vista Television}}</ref>
{{Rotten Tomatoes prose|59|6.6|17|access-date={{RT data|access date}}}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Box of Moonlight {{!}} Rotten Tomatoes |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/box_of_moonlight |access-date=2025-05-22 |website=www.rottentomatoes.com |language=en}}</ref>
==DVD release== The 1998 Lions Gate release includes a "secret" commentary by Tom DiCillo that is not listed on the packaging.
==References== <references />
==External links== * {{IMDb title|id=0115738|title=Box of Moon Light}} * {{rotten-tomatoes|box_of_moonlight}} * {{Mojo title|boxofmoonlight}} * [https://www.tomdicillo.com/portfolio/box-of-moonlight/ Tom DiCillo Insightful Page]
{{Tom DiCillo}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Box Of Moonlight}} Category:1996 films Category:1996 comedy-drama films Category:1996 independent films Category:American comedy-drama films Category:American independent films Category:1996 English-language films Category:Films directed by Tom DiCillo Category:Films shot in Tennessee Category:Largo Entertainment films Category:1996 American films Category:English-language comedy-drama films Category:English-language independent films Category:Films set in Tennessee Category:Films set in Appalachia Category:Films about criticism and refusal of work Category:Workplace comedy films Category:Films about hillbillies Category:American buddy comedy films Category:American buddy drama films Category:Films about construction workers Category:Films about engineers Category:Culture of Knoxville, Tennessee Category:American black comedy films