Behold a dusty-hued, daringly surreal desert gem from filmmaking legend Robert Altman (Nashville, The Player, M*A*S*H*). In a desolate California town, endlessly chirpy and gloriously vain Millie Lammoreaux (Shelley Duvall) works as a physical therapist at the local spa. Living in a singles-only apartment building, she’s soon joined at work by mysterious teenager Pinky Rose (Sissy Spacek) who’s looking to become her new roommate. As the pair grow closer, Pinky begins to obsessively absorb her friend’s personality and appearance (à la Bergman’s Persona). That’s until she discovers Millie with a man: Edgar (Robert Fortier), the macho husband of local artist Willie (Janice Rule — the last of the title's three women), and their kinship begins to unravel.

Altman has long claimed that the story of 3 Women came to him while his wife was being treated in hospital and a restless night’s sleep saw him dream of directing a film starring Shelley Duvall and Sissy Spacek against a desert backdrop. He jotted down a handful of notes upon waking up and then returned to dreaming. The result is suitably phantasmagoric. Full of elliptical tensions, spooky tundra imagery and offbeat humour, 3 Women is a gorgeously shot cult classic that might just happen to also be ripe for psychoanalysis. Oh, and Shelley Duvall deservedly received the Best Actress Award upon its premiere at the 1977 Cannes Film Festival.