Pure punishment.
Gerry (2003)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:97
Fresh:58
Rotten:39
Average Rating:6.1/10
Consensus: The type of uncompromising film that divides filmgoers over whether it is profound or pretentious.
Theatrical Release:Feb 14, 2003 Limited
Synopsis: In Gus Van Sant's GERRY, a film more concerned with atmosphere and visual breadth than with story or plot, a frivolous hike through the desert evolves into an existential journey for two young men.... In Gus Van Sant's GERRY, a film more concerned with atmosphere and visual breadth than with story or plot, a frivolous hike through the desert evolves into an existential journey for two young men. The film features only two characters, both named Gerry and played by the film's co-creators Casey Affleck and Matt Damon. Driving through a desert populated with imposing rock formations and bordered by miles of sky, the two Gerrys stop to see an unspecified "thing" which they are unable to find. The two young men then attempt to return to their car, but cannot find the pathway back. As they wander through the increasingly difficult desert terrain, their journey strains their friendship and becomes an exploration that is clearly about more than just finding the car. After several commercial projects, GERRY is in some ways a return to roots for director Gus Van Sant. The motifs of moving clouds and the desert imagery may recall his early works--MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO and EVEN COWGIRLS GET THE BLUES--but GERRY is even more ambitious than those revered projects. Highly influenced by Hungarian filmmaker Bela Tarr (WERCKMEISTER HARMONIES), the film uses minimal dialogue and long, languishing shots to achieve a meditative mood. [More]
Starring: Casey Affleck, Matt Damon
Starring: Casey Affleck, Matt Damon
Director: Gus Van Sant
Director: Gus Van Sant
Screenwriter: Casey Affleck, Gus Van Sant
Producer: Dany Wolf
Composer: Arvo Pärt
Studio: ThinkFilm
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Release:
Nov 11, 2003
Reviews for Gerry
The results are part biblical allegory, part existential crucible, and remind one that anytime the meaning of life is questioned, it's positive -- because it presumes the possibility of meaning.
Even if the scenes of Damon and Affleck walking (and walking and walking) will send most viewers to sleep, the film's deadpan minimalism and Harris Savides' cinematography make Gerry worth the effort.
Patience is a virtue in the context of this risky, experimental work.
... as abstract an American film as you'll ever see starring a Hollywood golden boy, less a story than a striking and compelling experiment in filmmaking.
You have to stay with Gerry, which starts out as a willful stunt, turns into a sadistic endurance test and ends up as something surprisingly affable and engaging.
A shaggy-dog story of slackers in the hands of an angry (or at least indifferent) god.
Though the pace devolves into tedium at points, the overall tone is contemplative and compelling.
An inexplicably compelling, far-outside-the-box excursion from director Gus Van Sant...and a welcome return to his roots as one of American cinema's more daring filmmakers.
An open-ended and minimalist drama about identity, fate and the harsh reality of wilderness experiences for only the most adventuresome filmgoer.
Gerry is an open-ended and minimalist drama about identity, fate and the harsh realities of wilderness experiences recommended only for the adventuresome filmgoer with large reserves of patience.
...a marathon meditation on the puniness of man, humbled by the unblinking harshness of his surroundings. You get lost in the landscapes and can't find your way out.
The best way to approach Gerry -- perhaps the only way -- is to treat it as a sanctuary, a film to be visited the way you would a Buddhist temple or a piece of ambient music.
Can hit or miss, depending on whether or not you are engaged by its hypnotic visuals, and whether or not the feelings it evokes from you are interesting, memorable, or intense.
In a hideously arty style Affleck, Damon and Van Sant actually tell us a few things about the man-vs-man and man-vs-nature debate. But you have to look pretty hard to get it.
One of those films that are better in hindsight — you won't forget the scenery and the torture of enduring it. See it if you're a masochist, don't bother if you're not.
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