Two offbeat films - Rushmore and Hands on a Hardbody, both informed with a creative dynamic from Texas, the Lone Star State, have just caught my attention.

They are both quirky and individualistic - and stand out at a time of year which Hollywood traditionally regards as a fallow period when it can unload its box office duds.

'Refreshingly unpredictable'

Rushmore, the second film from young Texan film maker Wes Anderson, is the story of a romantic triangle, and a coming of age drama. It's a teen movie that's refreshingly unpredictable starring Bill Murray, Brian Cox and newcomer Jason Schwartzman.

Schwartzman plays the central character, Max Fischer, a 15-year-old attending the prestigious Rushmore prep school, who is so over-involved in every kind of extra-curricular activity, particularly writing plays, that he neglects his academic studies. He develops an obsessive romantic interest in an older woman, Miss Cross, one of the teachers at the school.

The dynamic of the narrative in Rushmore is driven by an amusing ongoing feud between Max Fischer and business tycoon Herman Blume, who also has designs on Miss Cross. Blume is skilfully brought to the screen by Bill Murray in a much-praised portrayal. But to my mind it is 17-year-old Jason Schwartzman who is truly brilliant.

'Emotionally charged'

He gives a raw and emotionally charged performance reminiscent of Dustin Hoffman's 1967 breakthrough role in The Graduate, which catapulted him to stardom. Schwartzman, the son of actress Talia Shire, and cousin of Nicolas Cage, ended up in the film purely by chance, when a casting director spotted him at a party. Whether he's just a one-shot wonder remains to be seen.

What sets Rushmore apart isn't just a strong cast, it's also the distinctive look effected by director Wes Anderson. He shoots the actors with unusual angles and a generosity of spirit, allowing the camera to follow but not dominate their movements. The result is that the humanity of the individuals in this quirky off-beat comedy really shines through, even if some of them aren't that pleasant.

Rushmore was shot in Houston, Texas, which is about two hundred miles from Longview, the city featured in the bizarre Hands on a Hardbody.

Wacky, offbeat Americana?

No, it's not a porno film, as the title might suggest, but a documentary, which chronicles an annual sleep deprivation endurance contest, in which 24 individuals are competing to win a Nissan Hardbody truck.

The person who keeps their hands on the truck the longest, even if it means standing night and day for seventy hours, wins the vehicle.

Now, you could dismiss this endeavour as just one more example of wacky off-beat Americana. But it isn't. Documentary filmmaker SR Bindler, has an eye for detail. He's also helped by the mix of contestants, who include a former marine, a born again Christian and a macho Texan cowboy - as well as an endearing couple, who are virtually toothless.

'Revealing portrait'

Bindler was helped by native Texan actor Matthew McConaughey, who teamed up with him to help produce the film. Altogether, Bindler and five friends shot over 90 hours of videotape. His final cut is a bit rough at the edges, but what emerges is an incredibly revealing portrait of the cultural tensions that inhabit middle America.

In one very basic sense the film highlights the emptiness of people's lives. After all, why are they are so eager to endure so many hours of agony just for material reward? But this endurance test is a great leveller. You find yourself reaching out wanting to comfort Norma, the spiritual Christian, who is driven by God to win the truck, when she pulls out of the contest in an almost delirious state after some 60 hours.

You also feel equally compassionate towards the Texan Marlboro Man brimming with a rather offensive machismo who is reduced to tears when he collapses in exhaustion, also failing to win the truck.

That two such creative and idiosyncratic works as Rushmore and Hands on a Hardbody should emanate from Texas is no accident.

The Lone Star State is a microcosm of many of the underlying forces, good and bad, that drive modern America. It is where the Bible thumper meets the cowboy - it is the nexus of cultural conservatism and individualistic libertarianism.

In other words, it is extremely fertile ground - and it's giving rise to young directors, who have a vision of America that's quite separate, but just as valid, as their counterparts seeped in the film making values of New York and Los Angeles.

Tom Brook writes this regular entertainment column exclusively for BBC News Online.

A BBC entertainment correspondent, Tom has lived in New York and travelled extensively in the US for the past 20 years.