The Ballad of the Sad Café is a 1991 Southern Gothic drama film directed by Simon Callow in his directorial debut, and starring Vanessa Redgrave, Keith Carradine, and Rod Steiger. Its plot follows Amelia, a moonshiner in rural 1930s Georgia whose lonely life is interrupted by the arrival of two men: First, her long-lost cousin, and later, her former husband recently released from prison.

Plot

In 1930s Georgia, Miss Amelia is a lonely, eccentric moonshiner who dominates her small farming community, selling moonshine to locals and acting as the town's makeshift doctor. While she is liked by some, others find her brusque nature unbecoming. Late one night, a hunchbacked dwarf named Lymon arrives at Amelia's mercantile, claiming to be her long-lost cousin. Amelia is skeptical of Lymon's claim, but comes to believe him when he presents a tattered photograph of them together as children. Amelia invites Lymon to stay with her indefinitely. Locals in town swiftly begin rumors that Amelia has boarded the stranger and subsequently murdered him. The charismatic Lymon invites the locals into Amelia's mercantile and entertains them, assuaging their fears.