A film about broken friendships and the joy of the outdoors

Old Joy finally opens today in the Twin Cities. I was actually worried it wouldn't open here at all. It's a small, true independent movie (not a Little Miss Sunshine - a mainstream comedy with an indie patina to it) that could have easily bypassed us and headed straight to DVD.

The quiet (really quiet) film follows two buddies on a camping trip in the Oregon wilderness. They don't get attacked by any Sasquatch or crazed locals, instead they face something far scarier: a dying friendship that neither one seems able to discuss. Mark (Daniel London) will soon be a father. He's not exactly high-powered, but he's employed, committed to a woman and manages to make the rent. Kurt (Will Oldham aka singer Bonnie "Prince" Billy,) on the other hand, wanders a bit more. He owns a van (with a broken window) stuffed with his possessions and that's about it. No family. No lover. No job. He drifts from place to place looking for a good time or a beautiful view or a decent meal.

You can see how the two were once close. They both have the vestiges of pot-smoking, hacky-sacking undergraduate life clinging to them even though they are in the their mid-thirties. It's painful to watch but one of the most moving films I have seen in a long time. Well worth the morbid reflection about the state of friendships, romances and life goals that settles in after the screen goes black.

You can see it for the next week at the Oak Street Cinema. I think there's a hockey game at the U arena tonight, so get to the theater early to find a parking spot.