Little City (1997) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

The film is set in San Francisco, California. The story unfolds in a compact urban landscape where the close quarters of the city amplify the interwoven relationships between the characters.

• san francisco
• setting
• location
• city

The story primarily takes place in a bar where Kevin and Rebecca work, a Catholic church, a coffee shop, and various apartments throughout the city. These interconnected spaces create an intimate urban setting where the characters' lives constantly overlap.

• bar
• church
• coffee shop
• locations
• setting

The film is set in the 1990s, reflecting the modern era of romantic relationships and the social dynamics of that time period.

• 1990s
• time period
• era
• decade

One central theme is love and betrayal, as characters pursue desire only to abandon it when appearances and impulses shift. Infidelity threads through Kevin, Nina, and Adam, revealing the fragility of trust. The constant switching of partners exposes the difficulty of forming lasting commitment.

• love
• betrayal
• infidelity
• relationships
• trust

The film explores how characters test their boundaries through intimate experiences. Rebecca explores her sexuality by entering a lesbian relationship, while Kate discovers she is more attracted to women. These journeys show how love can prompt genuine self-understanding and personal growth.

• identity
• self-discovery
• sexuality
• personal growth
• lgbtq

Characters wear social masks, appearing confident or carefree while concealing insecurity and guilt. The bar, church, and coffee shop become stages where desires clash with appearances. The pursuit of romance often hides deeper conflicts and contradictions beneath the surface.

• facade
• reality
• masks
• appearance
• deception

Adam is a cab driver who pursues painting and navigates a web of romantic complications. He is protective of Nina, suspicious of her affair with Kevin, and struggles with his inability to move on from past relationships. His arc includes confronting Kevin, breaking up with Nina, and eventually connecting with Rebecca.

• adam
• cab driver
• painter
• protagonist
• relationships

Kevin is a charming but repetitive womanizing bartender who believes his love is real but struggles to break his pattern of leaving after sex. He pursues Nina and later contemplates marriage with her, attempting to reconcile his feelings with his history of commitment issues.

• kevin
• bartender
• womanizer
• commitment
• romantic

Rebecca is a single woman new to San Francisco who takes a bartender job and befriends Kevin. She seeks genuine connection, embraces a lesbian relationship with Anne to explore her desires, and later connects with Adam, navigating vulnerability and intimacy along the way.

• rebecca
• bartender
• newcomer
• lesbian relationship
• self-discovery

Nina is Kevin's lover who is secretly seeing him while also engaging with Adam. She experiences guilt about deception and ultimately becomes pregnant, uncertain of the father's identity. Kate is Nina's rival who comes out as a lesbian after leaving Adam, ultimately choosing to stay single and focus on self-discovery.

• nina
• kate
• characters
• love triangle
• lesbian

The film has a bittersweet tone, balancing the pain of deception and broken trust with moments of personal growth. While the subject matter involves betrayal and complex love triangles, the comedic genre keeps it from being overwhelming, and the ending offers a sense of redemption and the formation of an unconventional family unit.

• tone
• bittersweet
• comedy
• romance
• emotional