much ado about NOTHING!
The movie developed nothing. It was a string of shots of scenery. There was no plot, character, or theme development. I was shocked when it ended. This film got made and distributed. Unbelieveable.
shareI'm 31 and I related to it. I related to how friendships get estranged as you grow up. That's all this movie was about. It makes people (half curious ones) think about their own friendships. It makes you think about yourself. I saw this movie on Sundance Channel and a lot of movies shown on there don't have your typical plot building to climax if that's what you expect from a movie.
shareI just watched this movie and as a fan of Will Oldham's music for over 10 years there was added interest for me. I thought it was a brilliant piece of cinema, well paced (ok, some would say no-paced...) with all the 'spelling it out for you' left out in place of pockets of contemplation and reflection. That's what the movie's about. Two guys - once firm friends - who have obviously gone their seperate ways, each reflecting on their own happinesses or otherwise. There's a strained, at times frustrating stiffness to the acting but that only serves to bring out the fact that these guys have trodden different paths and when brought together again, don't really know each other anymore or necessarily, themselves, or at least each question themselves in relation to the other. There's an edgy tenderness to the scene where Kurt gives Mark a massage at the spring - rather than any homo-erotic conotation it's more a protective thing that evokes a deep routed childhood friendship thats been lost along the way. You can read all manner of things into the focus on Mark's wedding ringed hand slipping into the water...maybe it implies that he feels drowned or suffocated by marriage, maybe it's a sign that he's finally relaxing a bit. Kurt represents a free spirit always looking for the next learning curve. Mark maybe feels a degree of jealousy about this but is resigned to the fact that impending fatherhood means that he can never be like Kurt. maybe h's taking this small chance to live, albeit briefly, vicariously. As someone else commented, the film turns the reflection back on the viewer. Unless of course you want a clearly defined filmic route through the 75 minutes on offer, in which case you're at the wrong movie! The photography is stunning, there's a gentleness about the film echoed in the fact that the two never really open up and force the issue and the ending is, imo, fantastic: Kurt seemingly 'lost' in the streets of his town echoing the solitude and bewilderment that he hinted at throughout: his quest for life changing moments leaving him restless and bewildered. Loved the film and the music was perfect.
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