Old Joy is a film about nothing, not literally, but it is a simple film where two old friends from Portland, Oregon decide to camp in the Cascades and then visit a hot spring. Daniel London and William Oldham (indie musician and actor) play the long time friends. I think the story is more about the unspoken or rather not fully communicated aspects of the friendship. London plays the more responsible and settled character-he is about to have a child with his wife, his car is more reliable, a Volvo, and he has been volunteering in the community. The Oldham character shows up with a wagon and some borrowed items, his van isn’t running well, he still seems to be struggling through life looking for his place. They drink beer smoke pot and talk about the past and present in a roundabout manner. There seems to be a bit of tension between the two when the Oldham character tries to apologize for some past transgression, but it never reveals exactly what it is. He also expresses his admiration for London later at the hot spring when tells him he respects what he is doing with his volunteering. London reveals some of what he feels about Oldham when he calls his wife to tell her that they are going to be late since Oldham can’t remember where the hot spring is and says “you know how he is.” The pace is quite slow and relaxed as shots of slugs, wildlife, and nature are interspersed throughout the film. I think I can relate to these characters because they remind me of people that I went to college with who are about the same ages as these characters. Oregon looks similar to Washington State and my college friends and I used to go camping almost every summer, but we’ve fallen out of practice. Then again, I don’t always visit in the summer, others have kids and other responsibilities-so we don’t do it anymore. It is a subtle slow moving film that creates a sort of pace that reminds me of early Jim Jarmusch films. The film also boasts a great Americana soundtrack by Yo La Tengo. The film was based on a short story by director Kelly Riechardt. It’s not for everyone, but it comes across as a small pleasure to me-less than 80 minutes long, however, it produces thoughtful introspection..
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