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Posted: |
Feb 9, 2010 - 1:51 PM
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By: |
Thor
(Member)
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There hasn't been much talk about this 2007 Gus van Sant film around these parts.
It's classic van Sant in many ways - you've got the murder mystery and you've got the non-chronological narrative, revealing pieces of the case layer by layer. It's a basic story - a skateboard kid who struggles with his own personal teen issues gets mixed up in a bizarre and gruesome "freak murder", and tries to come to terms with that/get away with it.
The interesting thing was the long, almost hypnotic sequences of the kid skating around to that avantgarde French rock; that's where he truly lives. Everything else is just necessities. It's a tight, good narrative at 1 hour and 20 minutes, even though there is no real satisfying resolution.
Which brings me to the eclectic soundtrack. You've got several Nino Rota tracks (from AMARCORD, GUILLIETA DEGLI SPIRITI) scattered about, often underlining the kid's reflective moments, trying to write down his trauma. Also some beautiful choral music (Beethoven) played as contrast over the gruesome murder of the security guard that is split in two by the train. I think this may very well be the most experimental van Sant has been, music-wise. It works like gangbusters, though.
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This is a very interesting film, actually. I saw it recently. It wasn't quite as good as I expected it to be (the trailer promised something a bit more coherently experimental), but I like the way it worked, was willing to hover in a mood. The use of Nino Rota and the French avante garde stuff definitely got my attention, as you say.
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