A minimalist piece to be savoured like a good short story.
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01/28/07
Old Joy (2006)
84
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:82
Fresh:69
Rotten:13
Average Rating:7.2/10
Consensus: A serene, melancholy beauty permeates this meditative portrait of deep friendship and faded glory.
Theatrical Release:26-01-2007
Synopsis: Old Joy is the story of two old friends, Kurt (Will Oldham) and Mark (Daniel London), who reunite for a weekend camping trip in the Cascade mountain range east of Portland, Oregon. For Mark, the... [More]
Reviews for Old Joy
Like a Raymond Carver story, it seems nothing much at first sight, but its crystallised moment reveals further dimensions the more you muse on it.
01/28/07
A surprising denouement provides poignancy, repaying the goodwill the film inspires through its mellow combinations of music and imagery.
01/28/07
You would be perfectly at liberty to find it boring and empty, but also to understand the tiny resonances that have made it one of the best reviewed films of 2006 in America. Somehow it does strike home.
01/26/07
Too slight to really haunt, but its subtlety is as treasurable as an old friend.
01/26/07
A spare and satisfying experience.
01/26/07
Top CriticAn unassuming, minimalist gem that shows how less can be much, much more.
01/26/07
Top CriticNotable for its visual beauty, its melancholic Yo La Tengo score and its subtle performances, it's an impressively understated and sensitively observed work.
01/26/07
Top CriticSuch watchful reticence takes a bold, confident filmmaker.
01/26/07
Top CriticMaking exceptional use of stillness and silence, this is a rather sad study of the passing of traditional concepts of American masculinity along with the landscape that forged them.
01/25/07
Top CriticDaniel London's slightly pained facial expressions say more about the stresses of impending fatherhood in two minutes than the likes of The Last Kiss manage in two hours.
11/02/06
With exquisite tenderness and delicacy, Old Joy fluidly captures the all-too-frequent occurrence of friends drifting apart as their lives branch off in different directions.
09/18/09
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04/23/09
Annoying, blank, and bereft of any narrative arc "Old Joy" has nothing familiar or enchanting to recommend it.
04/21/09
The film is like a haiku that one can only interpret through their own experience.
07/30/08
A subtle, elegant meditation on friendship and identity in a cultural moment where honest cultivation of either is treated like a luxury.
02/01/08
A minimalist stroll not worth taking...but if Old Joy doesn't do much, at least it doesn't do it for very long.
05/01/07
Old Joy may be built around a road trip, but it's also a movie about two roads -- and two souls -- diverging.
03/15/07
Reichardt’s low-budget feature, shot in one weekend with a skeleton crew, quietly observes both men and passes judgment on neither. It’s a minimalist masterpiece.
03/09/07
You may find yourself asking whether anything's going to happen. But for those who can tolerate a slow-brewing movie, [director] Reichardt's work provides sufficient rewards.
03/09/07
Latest News for Old Joy
September 21, 2006:
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This week at the movies, we've got antisocial behavior ("Jackass: Number Two," with Johnny Knoxville and the gang), hell-raising politicos ("All The King's... More...
August 24, 2006:
Critical Consensus: "Invincible," "Worms" Score; "Idlewild," "Beerfest" Mixed
This week at the movies, we've got four underdog stories. An average Joe tries to play pro football ("Invincible," starring Mark Wahlberg), the new kid in school tries... More...
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