Review of Old Joy (2006) by Christopher N — 12 May 2008

It wasn't until this film ended that I had decided whether or not I had enjoyed it, which usually I have a good grasp on within the first 30 minutes. That probably comes off as a deterrent, but with a bit of explanation, and a bit of a disclaimer as well, I would highly recommend 'Old Joy'.

Two old friends who have gone in very different directions in life get together for a bit of a reunion in the form of a retreat to some hot springs in the wilderness. That's really the most simple explanation of the plot that one can give.

The film lingers and just "is". We are treated to long scrolling views from the drivers side window. The camera does a lot of observing throughout and rarely cuts to anything of interest. Generally we are looking at 1) Wilderness, 2) The guys in the car, 3) The guys in the wilderness 4) Close ups of the guys thinking.

If it does sound boring to you, then it is clearly not your kind of film. I found it to be meditative and relaxing though, as if I was a 3rd party to the trip. It was similar experience to watching 'Gerry', but this had more dialog, although it wasn't really about anything.

The ending kind of tied things up rather nicely. You leave with the feeling that MAYBE our two leads learned a little something from each other, or about each other. It was just interesting to observe the relationship between two friends, who really may not understand each other as well as they thought they did...or maybe they do. That's kind of the fun of 'Old Joy', just trying to figure out what it all means, if it means anything at all.