Wild Camp
April 4th, 2007
What this movie is lacking in the credibility department it more than makes up with the casting: we’ll watch anything with Isild Le Besco, and to see her in an amour fou with Denis Lavant (The Lovers on the Bridge) is a peculiar spectacle. I’ve spent many summers on European campgrounds just like the one in the movie, but passions never ran quite as high as they do here, when a married man falls for the pouty teenager in her denim mini skirt. (Wild Camp features the greatest game of boules I’ve ever seen.) Part of the excitement of Wild Camp is that for the longest time, you can’t tell if you’re watching a French vacation coming-of-age film, a romance, a horror movie, a satire, or a tragedy. I won’t ruin it.
Camping sauvage. Christophe Ali and Nicolas Bonilauri, 2005. ***
Here’s the trailer:
Old Joy
December 4th, 2006
Tasty but undercooked. The story of two old friends on a camping trip. One is expecting a child, the other gets lost because he rolls joints on the map. It’s all very moody, and Yo La Tengo lingers over the Oregon mountains as they hike, camp, and talk about “that really great night in Big Sur.” The acting’s good, and the subtly deteriorating friendship makes for engrossing chamber drama. But even at a very brief 76 minutes, Old Joy feels padded. Scenes go on for a long time, but there aren’t enough of them. Even two stoned guys on a bad camping trip talk more than that–we never quite understand why Mark (Daniel London) and Kurt (Will Oldham) liked each other in the first place, so the ending lacks punch. I wish writer-director Kelly Reichardt and short story writer Jonathan Raymond had taken Old Joy just a little further.
Old Joy. Kelly Reichardt, 2006. ***
[tags]camping, 3 stars, film, kelly reichardt, jonathan raymond, yo la tengo, oregon[/tags]
