For Steven Soderbergh s third feature film, the acclaimed director adapts A.E. Hotchner s 1972 memoir. Set in 1933 St. Louis, KING OF THE HILL follows 12-year-old Aaron Kurlander (a magnetic Jesse Bradford), a bright, affable boy coming of age during the heart of the American depression. His financially troubled family consists of a salesman father (Jeroen Krabbe) who must leave home to search for employment, a chronically ill mother (Lisa Eichhorn), and a younger brother (Cameron Boyd) who has been sent away to live with relatives. Their home in a poverty-stricken neighborhood is the dank Empire Hotel, where Aaron befriends hotel guests and management, including Lester (Adrien Brody) and Mr. Munco (Spalding Gray). When Aaron`s not at school--where he`s an honor student and master marble player--he`s at the hotel trying to cope with the familial and economic adversities that consume his world and keep his stomach growling. Eventually, the broken family is reunited when Mr. Kurlander secures a job as a clerk, but it is up to Aaron to forgive his father for abandonment if they`re to become a family again. Soderbergh films KING OF THE HILL with colorful photography, adding optimism even when things are at their most hopeless. Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005. For personal use only. All rights reserved.