Old Joy

A film set in Oregon. Mark and Kurt are old friends. They have not seen each other for years. Kurt calls and suggests a hot spring in the mountains; a trip of two days. Mark is married and his wife is pregnant. Nobody objects to his going, but there is tension around it. They set off. The car, a petrol station, a forest road, getting lost, and a place to stop for the night. From there the film tells almost nothing. The two talk; the weather, old times, a dream, politics, and long silences in between. The difference between them becomes visible slowly. Mark has built a life; Kurt has not, and describes not having built one as a choice, though there is nothing for him to hold on to. They reach the spring. A moment happens there that makes all the distance between them visible; what it is will not be written here. What the narrative is interested in is not friendship but parting: the film shows a friendship ending without anyone saying so. A radio is on in the background throughout; political talk programmes, and the America of that moment comes in through sound. It is very short, under ninety minutes. Will Oldham, known as a musician, plays Kurt. Daniel London plays Mark. The music is by Yo La Tengo. Kelly Reichardt wrote and directed. Who it is for: anyone who likes slow, uneventful American independent cinema. Who it is not for: anyone waiting for incident; nothing really happens, and that is deliberate.