Gerry
Partly inspired by actual events, this low-voltage suspense thriller stars Matt Damon and Casey Affleck as hapless hikers whose ill-advised ramble through a remote desert wilderness slowly turns from farce to tragedy. Veteran indie director Gus Van Sant returns to his more experimental roots, paring down plot and dialogue in this haunting exercise in narrative minimalism. The spare, poetic landscapes and wordless extended tracking shots pay homage to Hungarian maestro Béla Tarr.
Casey Affleck, Matt Damon
- Notes From Ari WegnerA truly unique film that defies almost everything we are supposed to know about what makes a film engaging to watch. Two great actors, lost in a landscape—they walk, they talk, and Van Sant drops you into an almost meditation as the characters’ predicament becomes more and more dire. Shot by the wonderful Harris Savides, GERRY has a glorious alchemy of discipline and freedom. Improvised (or maybe seemingly improvised?) dialogue, alongside incredibly deliberate minimalist photography—I just love it. (If you enjoy the film and you’re a camera geek like me, then check out a making-of on YouTube to see one of the most epic dolly tracks I’ve ever seen built. So much work and planning. So beautiful.)
