Friday, March 12, 2010

Old Joy (2006)

USA, 76 minutes
Director: Kelly Reichardt
Writers: Jonathan Raymond, Kelly Reichardt
Photography: Peter Sillen
Original music: Yo La Tengo
Cast: Daniel London, Will Oldham

Kurt, played by Will Oldham, and Mark, played by Daniel London, are both in their 30s, old friends from college. Mark is married with a newborn infant and living in Portland, Oregon. Kurt has remained a lost and wandering soul. They have not seen one another for awhile. One day Kurt calls Mark and asks if he'd like to spend the weekend in the mountains camping—he knows of a great hot spring. Mark and his wife figure it would be OK for him to get away. So off go the two old chums, stopping on the way out of town for Kurt to get some pot, which Mark politely declines throughout. Their conversation along the way is desultory and keeps missing the connections. They stop at a restaurant to eat and get directions. They get lost anyway. They find a place to camp. They find the hot spring—which does appear quite lovely. They return to Portland. Say good-bye. Resume their lives once again. I hope I haven't given too much away. The one thing I can't give away is how or why it works so well. But it does. It's allusive and sad and ultimately quite beautiful, particularly in its final scenes, which offer no answers beyond an overwhelming and almost shatteringly wistful emptiness.

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