Old Joy (2006)

Director:

Kelly Reichardt

Writers:

Jonathan Raymond (writer)
Kelly Reichardt (writer)

Release Date:

26 January 2007 (UK)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Two old pals reunite for a camping trip in Oregon's Cascade Mountains. |

Plot Keywords:

Cellular Phone | Male Nudity | Man Child | Bird | Alienation

Awards:

4 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Daniel London	...	Mark
Will Oldham	...	Kurt
Tanya Smith	...	Tanya
Robin Rosenberg	...	Waitress
Keri Moran	...	Lawnmower
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Autumn Campbell	...	Diner Patron
Steve Doughton	...	Diner Patron
Matt McCormick	...	Weed Salesman
Darren Prolsen	...	Homeless Man
Jillian Wieseneck	...	Diner Patron

Runtime:

USA:76 min | UK:73 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

UK:15 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Portland, Oregon, USA

Company:

Film Science

Trivia:

The small New York distributor Kino International spent roughly $40,000 to transfer the film from 16 mm to 35 mm; $24,000 on 22 prints; $6,500 on 200 trailers; $4,000 on 50,000 postcards and about $3,000 on Web advertisements.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Mark and Kurt stop to get gas, Mark pumps his own gas. In Oregon, however, you are not allowed to pump your own gas.

Quotes:

Kurt: Sorrow is nothing but worn out joy.

Movie Connections:

References Jesus Christ Superstar (1973)

Lazy and inarticulate

No, this is not an example of a subtle film-making. It is an attempt to mask all the film-making idleness with pretense of meaning that exists everywhere but inside those sad 76 minutes (barely over the minimum for a feature).

And that time span is mostly filled with a meaningless b-roll, something that can easily be mystified into "thinking space for audience" - but unfortunately does little more than to show the incompetence for using those moments creatively. The rest (which could easily fit into a 20-30 min short, and would probably end up as such if edited by anybody other than director herself) consists of dialogs without any duty to really say anything. Little that we know about the characters isn't conveyed here either. The dialog only states their miscommunication.

I was left puzzled after watching, by the utmost absence of any kind of comment, or statement, or even a direction of thinking. So I went to hear what filmmakers have to say in the commentary bonus track on the DVD. To my further shocking disappointment, they have to say - nothing. I felt nobody there cared to say anything, nor did they say anything of any substance, and the "commentary" track runs quiet for 95% of the runtime.

Not only can I strongly state that reading the plot of this film here on IMDb will give you more than actually watching this film, but I have an equally definite and disturbing impression that the creators of this make-believe artifact never were nor will be able of making anything substantial or meaningful. Sorry.

The only thing bringing that 2nd star on are few interesting visual moments (things happen even in the boredom of the dentist waiting room), due to some nice camera compositions. Certainly not enough to sustain the interest and meaning more than 2 minutes in total.