Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Stunning, emotional film, 28 Mar 2006
I didn't know anything about this film, until I put it on the rental list at random.The opening scene has the two (only two) guys driving on a highway, in which the camera faithfully follows the car, speeding up to it, slowing down, watching the landscape go by, with some outstanding minimalist music by Arvo Part in the background, and this lasts for about 5-7 minutes. Suffice it to say that if you don't like this scene, don't bother watching it. I did carry on watching, and am so happy I did. Watching these guys situation go from mildly diverting, to "Okay, what now?", and then to hopeless despair, the film totally hypnotises you.
The parts of the film that most people thought were tedious, were some of the most compelling to watch. The scene where they're walking at a snail's pace, with the sun slowly rising, and the brilliant, haunting piano music behind it, made me shiver, it was so eerie and beautiful at the same time. (Although some will no doubt be in conversation with the Sandman by now. Their loss.) After watching this film, I was totally drained, and I will not forget it for a long time.
Note: If you enjoyed Gus van Sant's 'Elephant', you will probably like this too. Hope this helps.xx
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Give this film as much time as it gives you, 4 Jun 2004
A remarkable film, not least for the fact it marks a radical change in direction for Gus Van Sant - better known for "Good Will Hunting" and "Drugstore Cowboy". "Gerry" bears the unmistakeable influence of hungarian director Bela Tarr (who is thanked in the credits) with the incredibly long shots attempting to transcend, among other things, the conventions of montage editing. This long established film language has become so familiar to audiences, any departure from them seems to cause anxiety and annoyance. At first, the rhythm and pace of the film is self-defeating in that it draws attention to itself, but if you watch the film on its own terms (something that probably should be applied to all films) and relax into its flow, it begins revealing itself and you can get past its antisocial exterior to what really matters. After all, the style in which a film is made can only ever be a means to an end and not an end in itself. More attention might be paid to why both men are named Gerry, why they are walking in the desert together, why they barely interact, why they get so un-necessarily lost, why they travel through a geographically impossible series of landscapes etc. This film gives you the time to think about these things and never tells you what to think, it only ever suggests or asks - something very refreshing and rare especially in American cinema. This film, combined with Van Sant's subsequent palm d'or winning "Elephant", heralds an important episode in modern independent cinema.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Taking minimalism to extremes, 14 Nov 2005
If anyone has ever wondered what it would be like if someone filmed Book 1 of Samuel Beckett's trilogy Molloy then look no further because perhaps it would end up looking something like Gerry. To say this film is minimal is an understatement. Frequent long takes, minimal dialogue, in fact Van Sant has done in cinematic terms what Beckett did in literature; reduce the form to its bare bones until it reaches nothingness. Gerry achieves this, the long shots reduce the characters to walking matchsticks, barely discernable against a panorama of the Nevada desert. While Beckett is the literary influence, the cinematic influence is Bela Tarr who made the classic film Werckmeister Harmonies. Van Sant pays homage by replicating a long tracking shot where both Gerrys are walking side by side in silence. However it just isn't enough to be in awe of such a great film, and where Gerry falls down is its lack of content. An excercise in minimalism becomes quite frankly a crashing bore and the film becomes a cliche of the "Man being overwhelmed and defeated by nature if he is not in control of his environnement" variety. However to his credit, Van Sant is at least trying something different, and I would rather watch this than most of the films which come out of America but I can't help feeling that he was being avant garde for the sake of it. There was a better film in here, and that better film is Werckmeister Harmonies which succeeds in combining minimalism with a compelling storyline and whose achievement is far more satisfying than the self indulgence which is on offer here. Still, worthwhile watching once but for a better "desert" film Nicholas Roeg's Walkabout is the one.
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