An unstable dad who after getting out of a mental institution tries to convince his daughter that there's Spanish gold buried somewhere under suburbia.
A fresh-out-of-the-mental institution father and his emancipated teenage daughter venture together on a quest for an ancient Spanish treasure buried beneath their local Costco in this take on the modern family and the American dream.Written by
Anonymous
The screenplay written by Michael Cahill was entered into the 2004 American Zoetrope Screenwriting contest and though didn't win, was a finalist. See more »
Goofs
The final entry in the journal read by Miranda throughout the movie is dated before the very first. See more »
Quotes
Miranda:
Animals were popping up in the most unlikely places. Someone at work said she saw a deer in the cosmetics aisle at Target.
See more »
California Stars
Written by Woody Guthrie, Jeff Tweedy and Jay Bennett
Performed by Billy Bragg and Wilco
Published by Woody Guthrie Publications (ASCAP), Titanic Majesties Music (ASCAP)
administered by Bug, Warner-Tamerlane Publishing , o/b/o itself
Ver Music and Words Ampersand Music (BMI)
Courtesy of Elektra Entertainment Group
By Arrangement with Warner Music Group Film and TV Licensing See more »
User Reviews
Too silly to be serious,too wistful to be dismissed
Fifteen-year old Miranda(Evan Rachel Wood,luminescent!!) has had to grow up fast,since her mother left her and her father and said father,Charlie(Michael Douglass,in a word:WOW!) was institutionalized for reasons not entirely made clear but discernible through observation. When Charlie is de-institutionalized,he returns to his daughter with a grand plan to find gold in the hills along the Pacific Coast Highway. She is,in a word,skeptical.
Director and writer Mike Cahill makes a movie that is both at once full of quirk and melancholy,with the daughter as somewhat of a de facto narrator. The quest for finding the treasure,while ridiculous and unquestionably irresponsible,is still almost noble and pure. Wood and Douglass shine very nicely as the estranged,mentally delicate father and daughter duo who haven't stopped loving each other,even if they get each other even less than they did before. A simple story,framed by quirky music(jazz?folk?) and a nearly poetic filming of contemporary California coastline as it contrasts the 16th century maps that Charlie references. Lost in the sea of fall releases from last year,this film is a very pleasant find on the rental shelves.
31 of 35 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
Fifteen-year old Miranda(Evan Rachel Wood,luminescent!!) has had to grow up fast,since her mother left her and her father and said father,Charlie(Michael Douglass,in a word:WOW!) was institutionalized for reasons not entirely made clear but discernible through observation. When Charlie is de-institutionalized,he returns to his daughter with a grand plan to find gold in the hills along the Pacific Coast Highway. She is,in a word,skeptical.
Director and writer Mike Cahill makes a movie that is both at once full of quirk and melancholy,with the daughter as somewhat of a de facto narrator. The quest for finding the treasure,while ridiculous and unquestionably irresponsible,is still almost noble and pure. Wood and Douglass shine very nicely as the estranged,mentally delicate father and daughter duo who haven't stopped loving each other,even if they get each other even less than they did before. A simple story,framed by quirky music(jazz?folk?) and a nearly poetic filming of contemporary California coastline as it contrasts the 16th century maps that Charlie references. Lost in the sea of fall releases from last year,this film is a very pleasant find on the rental shelves.