2007 Athens Film Festival
For 'Old Joy,' less is more
By Rachel Hanes, Staff Writer
April 29, 2007 | 1:18 p.m.
This year’s Athens Film Festival is sure to be an entertaining and thought provoking fest, especially if the other films are able to follow "Old Joy," a simple yet emotionally intense film about two old friends reuniting after years of separation.
Mark (Daniel London) and Kurt (Will Oldham) are the two long-lost friends who plan a camping trip in Portland, Oregon to sew up loose ends and try to be the friends they once were. Mark, who is married and a soon-to-be dad, leads an average life and lives with the pressures of everyday existence. Kurt, on the other hand, is always cracking a joke or smile and is constantly on one adventure or another. The camping trip offers Mark time to escape from his normal existence and Kurt a chance to reconnect with someone he once saw as family.
Director Kelly Reichardt takes this seemingly simple film and molds it into a beautiful, emotional and complex masterpiece. The contrast between the city from where Mark and Kurt depart to the forest where they try to reconcile is one of the film’s highlights and is second only to the relationship that is illustrated between the two old friends. The two experience more “awkward silences” than any one person could stand to encounter, and the distance between the two is evident through the tension that exists between them. However, it is not a tension of hatred or intolerance; it is one of confusion and loss of common ground.
There is also a wide distance between the two friends and the real world while they make their way to the hot springs in the Cascade Mountains. Mark is removed from the life he has grown to understand and in which he simply exists. The audience grows to hope that Kurt, who lives his life on his own terms and seems to be a truly caring friend, can teach Mark to appreciate each moment. The real question is, however, if the two old friends can ever be the way they once were.
The story of "Old Joy" is one to which many can relate. Friends come and go, and the process of reconnecting -- if one is lucky enough to have the opportunity -- is never easy. Its humility is captivating and its imagery beautiful in a simple look on the complexity of the loss of old friendships.
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Speakeasy Rating: A
Running time: 1 hour 16 minutes
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Genre: Drama, Adaptation
Go here to view the movie's Web site.
To see showtimes for this and other films featured in the Athens International Film and Video Festival, click here.