Distinctive Tales From Kentucky

“The Wilgus Stories” consists of three short films focusing on the son of a Kentucky coal miner at various stages in his life.

In the amusing “Fat Monroe,” a 9-year-old Wilgus (William Johnson) is picked up by a gruff, cigar-chewing stranger (Ned Beatty), who criticizes his father for no apparent reason.

Filmed five years later, the freewheeling “Night Ride” pairs teenage Wilgus (again played by Johnson) with Delmer (Frank Hoyt Taylor), a good-ol’-boy uncle who whisks him along the back roads of eastern Kentucky in 1961, an era when shooting off pistols and downing drinks from a whiskey bottle qualified as a walk on the wild side.

Finally, the bittersweet “Maxine” has 23-year-old Wilgus (played by Christopher Berry) providing solace for an older woman (Robin Mullins) upset by a stubborn daughter who’s made bad choices.

Directed on a tight budget with a no-frills simplicity by Andrew Garrison, these small, evocative seriocomic tales written by Kentucky author Gurney Norman successfully capture a particular place and time without resorting to predictable plotting or trite dialogue.

Each film has a distinctive feel, with Garrison drawing natural performances from an appealing cast.

* “The Wilgus Stories” can be seen Sunday at 10 p.m. on KCET. It is rated TV-PG (may be unsuitable for young children).