I really dug this flick. I felt like there was so much to say about this film that giving my thoughts on it simply won't do it justice. I enjoyed the stillness and calmness of the movie -- there was almost an atmospheric, quiet ambiance about the film that made it very cerebral. Simply put, the quietness to the film and the fact that the actors weren't big-time actors led to a very realistic feeling in the film.
This film was filled with symbolism. As the two friends rode down the open rode together, you got a sense that they were embarking on a journey to get away from their every-day lives, and enter the woods: a place where simplicity thrives. Mark, who had a pregnant wife at home, had obviously been facing deep and whirlwind changes in his life with a baby on the way. While in the woods, simplicity reared it's divine head, leading to Kurt pouring out his emotions to his friend. All the while, Kurt seemed like he was holding something back. Not only until the two cohorts entered the woods did Kurt feel it appropriate to wear his emotions on his sleeve and open up to Mark. Even looking deeper into the conversations that were exchanged between Mark and Kurt, there seemed to be symbolism. Take, for example, when Mark and Kurt were around the bonfire, Kurt told Mark that he had taken night classes in physics. He mentioned how he wanted things in order. Again, this order not only applies to physics, but to his very own life.
The title "Old Joy" is quite obviously an allusion to the feeling that Kurt wants back in his life. He longs for the simplicity of times passed -- the way things used to be. It was an old, joyous time in his life that he wants to relive. Nice choice, B. This film was very unique and understated in such a way that it made this viewer's curiosity pique. Most importantly, it made me think not only about the lives of the two men on-screen, but about my own. I often find myself longing for those days of old when things were so much more simple, but I know that I can't go back in time. I feel that Kurt finally got that realization in the end of the movie. Time will keep marching on, and the best thing you can do is think back to those times and remember them fondly. I'd totally be game for an Oregon trip... no massages, though.
I could go for a massage right about now -- carrying Owen's car seat earlier pulled a muscle or something around my shoulders.
ReplyDeleteI like this quote from the Film Society of Lincoln Center:
"This affecting study of male bonding is a Whitmanesque exploration of nature, human and elemental, and the idea that old joy can have new connotations."