Old Joy (2006)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Old Joy (2006) – K. Reichardt

It’s all about the vibe here – which is generally peaceful and introspective, underscored by a thin vein of anxiety.  Director Kelly Reichardt lets this spur of the moment camping trip by two old friends unfold naturally and uses Ozu-like still-life shots (mostly of beauteous nature) to punctuate the action (if you can call it that) and provide a pause for reflection.  The soundtrack is by Yo La Tengo at their most meditative, although there are healthy doses of silence too.  Some talk radio focused on economic and racial problems is heard in the car – which helps to advance that theme of underlying anxiety, mostly associated with the character Mark who is about to become a new dad, has a steady/busy job, and who generally seems to have moved on from a more carefree existence to a life of responsibility.  However, Kurt (played by Will Oldham a.k.a Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy) seems more free-wheeling, a sort of elemental spirit (if you will) with some deep-seated emotions bubbling under his surface, smoothed over with half-cracked story-telling about dreams and openness to experience-styled adventures.  As the movie progresses, you wonder whether Mark wishes he were still like Kurt; but that gradually and gently shifts to wondering whether Kurt wishes he were more like Mark.  There is ample room to do such wondering but the movie also lets you _feel_ this reality which might be very similar to your own, if you’ve reached a certain age. Above all, then, the wistful awareness of time having passed (and the tension between the inability and the ability to recreate earlier states) evokes the sensation that Reichardt has aptly labelled “Old Joy”.