Gerry

Rating:
Summary: Take a second look at this one
Review: I think the fact that so many people gave this movie poor reviews because it moves too slow are really, really missing the point.

The movie was about two guys that have spent their life "barrelling down the highway". They don't ever stop moving or look to see the desert that is passing by their car. Once they leave their car and begin the hike, they cannot stop, even after they are lost and moving aimlessly. At a campfire, their only topic of a conversation is a video game that simulates reality. It takes being lost in the desert, becoming severely dehydrated and exhausted to finally force them to stop and experience the world around them for the first time.

At the same time, the movie takes the viewer through this awakening. We actually experience scenes in which nothing occurs except life - a guy looking around him at the rocks, two figures shuffling through the early-dawn desert. Instead of a movie being a vehicle for a constant stream of entertainment, as virtually every movie made today is, it's something rare in that it celebrates the absence of action, the destination instead of the trip. It's pretty neat that this movie consists of maybe two sheets of dialogue and two guys lost in the desert, and you can discuss or ponder its meaning for days afterward.

So, if you want to see a standard hollywood movie that entertains in the traditional format, then this isn't it. If you are in the mood for something different and rare, then I think this movie is very rewarding if you give it the attention it deserves. I hope this didn't come off as sounding like I want to be a high-brow critic - I don't mean this at all as I'm definitely not. I just really thought that this movie was something special that deserves a second look.

Rating:
Summary: An interesting film, not for the MTV generation
Review: It is astonishing how many viewers of this film dismiss it as crap because it is spare, subtle, it requires them to think, to pay attention to something not comprised of 4 second edits cut to the tempo of rock music, to endure the hardship of not being "entertained" every second of screen time. This film may not be everything for everyone. But I see it as an interesting experiment. It is a poem. It works on so many different levels. The best part is that it takes a big risk in not hiding behind T&A and explosions. Just two men, lost in a bleak desert environment with failing energy, no water and only themselves and a couple of obscure pop culture references to keep them company. The contents of this film are an antithesis to our technology driven, noise-filled, minivan-driving, supersized eating world. Van Sant, Affleck and Damon manage to produce a compelling film despite the fact they are working with so little. This is a brave gesture in a "sure thing" industry. This film is worth a look and this DVD will be added to my library.

Rating:
Summary: If you like bad movies you will love gerry!
Review: This is without a doubt the worst movie I have ever had the disprivlidge to see. This movie was so dull and boring I literally fell asleep. The dialogue was incoherent and obscure. The only part that even made me laugh was when Casey Afleck jumped off a rock, although I doubt that was meant as comical. Its funny to think how many people it takes to make a movie (writers,actors,directors,producers,sound etc..)The blame for this horrific film cannot be solely placed on Afleck, or Gus Van Sand. Everyone must take the fall for this crap in cinema form. Everyone from the key grip to the academy award winning actor Matt Dameon. Anyone who had anything to do with the making of Gerry keep youre heads down with shame. You are responsible for the worst movie ever made.

Rating:
Summary: odd, disturbing film
Review: Gus Van Sant's "Gerry" is a bit like "The Blair Witch Project" minus the sensationalistic, supernatural elements. In this two-character film, Matt Damon and Casey Affleck (both of whom co-wrote the film with Van Sant) are buddies who decide to go hiking in the desert. When Damon offhandedly suggests leaving the trail, the decision turns out to be a fateful one for the both of them. The young men are both named Gerry, an appellation which turns out to have allegorical significance, since "gerry," we are informed, is slang for "mistake." And these guys sure come up with a beaut.

Like "Blair Witch," "Gerry" taps into the almost primordial fear humans have of being lost in unfamiliar, hostile territory bereft of even the most rudimentary supplies necessary for survival. It also shows how even the most seemingly insignificant decision a person makes can wind up having fatal ramifications in the end. Despite the fact that the film runs a little over 100 minutes, the three screenwriters have opted to have the characters speak as little as possible, both before and after the fateful decision. Although this does prevent us from really getting to know the men in any great depth, the purpose of the filmmakers seems to be not so much to craft a narrative-driven drama but to create a kind of lyrical tone-poem about fate and the ways in which people face the inevitability of impending death. As director, Van Sant lingers long on both his images and his scenes, probably too long for many in the audience, who may well become restless and impatient long before the closing shot has faded from the screen. Personally, I found the rhythm and the pacing of the film to be both hypnotic and entrancing. There's an immense sadness that hangs over the film, enhanced by the starkness and bleakness of the setting and the grimness of the subject matter. Damon and Affleck turn in subtle, taciturn performances, relying on body language and facial expressions rather than words to convey their thoughts and fears. Arvo Parte has also provided a brooding, melancholic score that enhances the atmosphere of the film.

"Gerry," is occasionally self-conscious, frequently padded and often maddeningly superficial in the way it fails to develop its two characters. Nevertheless, the film has an amazing ability to draw you into its world and to haunt you long after you've seen it.

Rating:
Summary: Which Gerry would you be in the desert?
Review: ...There is talk of little plot, but it seemed to me that the movie was about man vs. nature on different levels. There's Damon and Affleck's battle against the elements of desert; then there's their battle against human nature. I read a Gus Van Sant interview where he mentioned that the movie could be in part about the masculine/feminine battle within each person, with Damon representing the more aggressive (male) half and Affleck representing the more sensitive (female) half. That makes some sense considering both characters go by the name gerry (a word used in many ways in the film). Battling for survival in the desert, which part of human nature wins?

When I saw the movie there were eight people in the theater, and two walked out 20 minutes into it (they were definitely on a date, so one can only imagine the conversation in the car afterward... "uh thanks. How about I give you a call instead next time..."). The movie was indeed hard to get through, but it had just enough movement to keep me involved. I think it was because we have been programmed by today's movie to have everything hit us over the head, either with music, dialogue or action. My two favorite scenes are: the beautiful opening sequence with the piano and cello and the camera on the hood of the car just showing them driving to the trail, both lost in their thoughts; and when they're walking for like 6-7 minutes and you just see their heads bob and hear their feet crunch... sometimes in unison and sometimes breaking apart. It came at, I think, a crucial time when the survival instinct of each person was starting to take over and Damon began distancing himself from Affleck.

The only reason this movie doesn't get five stars for me, is that you're supposed to believe right away that Damon and Affleck are good friends, yet I could never feel that between them. It made me wonder, why the heck are these two guys even hanging out, let along going for a walk in the desert? Perhaps that was intentional. In a movie like this, everything is left up for debate.

What else can be said? You've got to see this movie to believe it. Unfortunately, a big TV screen won't do the film's cinematography justice. Seeing the huge, wide-open shots in the theater definitely played a part in hypnotizing you. it's one of the more daring movies you'll ever see. If you're tired of action flicks that blitz your senses with techno music and CGI fight scene after fight scene, or are sick of cliche dialogue and storylines, consider Gerry. It was made to slow down your world and try to find meaning where there is hardly any noise or words. It's incredible this movie was financed by someone, but I'm glad it was. It's a movie that starts to make sense days after you've seen it and can process the experience.

Rating:
Summary: Oh please...IT SUCKS
Review: Forget all this junk you're reading from reviewers who say it's the problem of an ADD generation who can't appreciate the subtle beauty of this film -- if anything, that's what's so obnoxious about this pompous filth -- that it's trying soooooooooo hard to be deep and minimalist but there just isn't any poetry or beauty to the film -- and so what if some of it "looks good" -- you know, if I go out into the desert with my 35mm camera and some filters, it looks pretty good too! WORSE THAN the PSYCHO remake. And that's saying a lot.

Rating:
Summary: Respect the effort, but...
Review: The only reason I wanted to see this film is because I was informed that Bela Tarr's name is being credited in it. Being an admirer of the Hungarian filmmaker's "Werckmeister Harmonies", I did expect to find certain qualities of Tarr's to appear in "Gerry"(namely those of long takes, slow-moving, time-consuming and thus contemplative in those regards). Adds to that would be the curiosity on how Gus Van Sant would deliver such influence to a movie, as I also do found his previous works enjoyable in their own right. "Gerry", however, didn't give me the impact the way "Werckmeister.." (or other stylistically and/or conceptually similar films by, say, Tarkovsky, Haneke's "Time of the Wolf", etc.) did. It is a very existential film, and I generally love existential films, but I guess I just find it rather bland in the end. Perhaps this blandness IS the very point of this feature, and for that I gave an extra star for it. I do appreciate Damon, Affleck and Van Sant's effort on making this film though: it is a commendable project.
In addition, putting Arvo Part's compositions was one of the most successful attributes in this film.

Rating:
Summary: interesting concept, tests your patience, but a once-view
Review: Two guys. One desert. Little plot or dialog.
With that said, one knows some people will love it and some hate it, whether it be for their hipster pretentious flair or lack of attention span, either is debatable, which i shall not waste my time doing.
Listen-- if you want Gus Van Sant to get you into the mindset of a person who beleives they will die in the desert, this film accomplishes that with its sheer monotony and relentlessly slow pace. The long shots, in my opinion, serve this effect, and this definatly isn't for one who enjoys and defends conventional film making.
This also isn't a revolutionary idea, as I've seen student films go something like this (of course, at a lower quality, since they don't have the funds of Gus Van Sant), and it is rather pretentious to hail this as revolutionary or profound, since it has been explored in other films as well as other forms of media.
When it comes down to it, if you are turned off by the lack of events listed in all the reviews you'll see on this page, don't buy the DVD. Maybe shell out 4 bucks and rent the darn thing. And don't complain if you don't like it: you know by now what you're getting into.
That's just my opinion. I could be wrong.

Rating:
Summary: Pass this one by
Review: Other then the time lapse photography of the sky and desert.

This film is a big bore.

Rating:
Summary: Movies are not novels
Review: A film is different art form than a book. Most movies don't know that. They are just a visual story, that a book could tell by words. In other words, all you need to know about most movies is their script.
Gerry, just like Elephant, is a great example of how you can pass this visceral cinematic feeling that you can only get by a meaningfull image. What's the story in Gerry? Where are the plot ponts? So few... But even so, both movies have the feelings of living those situations more than any dumb film we go watch every month. Life is not like a movie, crazy things don't happen every 10 minutes, and Gus Van Saint knows that.