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Film Description
Kurt and Mark reunite for a camping trip in the Cascades range in Oregon. Both find solace in getting away from it all; Mark has imminent fatherhood on his mind, while Kurt sees the trip as the next chapter in a series of thrill-seeking adventures. As the trip progresses it soon becomes clear that their excursion will either bring them closer together or underline why they have drifted apart. A minimalist modern story of friendship, loss and alienation.
Kelly Reichart’s superb Old Joy is a film of rare beauty unburdened by typical male-bonding clichés. While it is the story of male friendship, it is not about plot or ... more >
Kelly Reichart’s superb Old Joy is a film of rare beauty unburdened by typical male-bonding clichés. While it is the story of male friendship, it is not about plot or even character but a film of mood and atmosphere that tells its story with gestures, expressions, and silences punctuated by the ambient sounds of nature.
Two friends in their early thirties meet to renew their previous friendship on a camping trip in the gorgeous Cascade Mountains of Oregon. Kurt (Will Oldham) is a balding free spirit, while Mark (Daniel London) is a working man who is about to take on the responsibility of being a father. Both men seek to recreate the magic that once brought them together but their connection is now so tenuous and their worlds so divided that it seems as if there is no longer anything to hold onto, even memory.
When Kurt fails to find the turnoff to the Bagby Hot Springs near Oregon’s Mount Hood, the two (three if you include the dog) spend the night at an abandoned campsite, prompting Kurt to remark that “there are trees in the city, and garbage in the forest, so what is the difference?” The next day they reach the springs and enjoy a moment of peace in the hot tub but it is interrupted by Kurt’s telling Mark how much he misses him and how something is wrong with their relationship which Mark denies but the sense is that something has been lost forever.
Nothing really happens in Old Joy. There are almost no peak dramatic moments but almost every scene has subtle undertones of meaning. A sense of loss permeates the film, the loss perhaps of a time when people were connected and fighting for a cause meant human involvement rather than the distancing of today’s radio talk shows or anonymous Internet message boards. < less
