My memories of Paranoid Park, the latest high school head trip from Gus Van Sant (Last Days) are fuzzy at best. But rather than skip a review because I saw the movie months ago at the New York Film Festival, why not acknowledge that Van Sant's recent forays into art cinema sometimes feel fuzzy even as you're watching them. So discuss it I shall. Pardon the haze.Gus Van Sant began his career making fringe films like Mala Noche (1985) and quickly began attracting name stars and wide acclaim for films like Drugstore Cowboy (1989) and My Own Private Idaho (1991) --both are must sees if you haven't had the pleasure. After the mainstream Oscar breakthrough that was Good Will Hunting (1997) it became harder to spot the auteur in him. Hunting, for its charms, could have been made by a number of people. And try drawing a line between Hunting and Psycho (1998) through Finding Forrester (2000). When you end up in the desert in Gerry (2003), you will feel completely lost. But maybe Van Sant had to lose himself this way to find the auteur within again...
Full Review @ Zoom-In
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