The Motorcycle Diaries

Original Title:  Diarios de motocicleta
Director:  Walter Salles
Released:  2004
Length: 126 min.

The Motorcycle Diaries depicts the journey Ernesto "Che" Guevara and his best friend Alberto Granada took by motorcycle from Argentina to Venezuela in 1952 and is based on books written by both Che and Granada.

Gael Garcia Bernal as Che and Rodrigo de la Serna as Alberto perfectly capture the innocence, enthusiasm, brashness and idealism of youth.  The fact that the moto is old and that they lack money forces them to stop frequently, and their encounters with people from many different backgrounds introduces them to prejudice and injustice in many forms.  It was this journey that determined the future paths of Ernesto and Alberto;  Alberto to improve medicinal treatment in poor areas, and Ernesto to instigate social and political change throughout South America.

Walter Salle perfectly captures the natural beauty and cultural diversity of South America.  Gustavo Santaoallalo's guitar solos in the score complement the film well, as a guitar often provides nice accompaniment on a long journey.

The Motorcycle Diaries is part travelogue, part adventure, and part documentary.  It portrays the humor between two close friends exploring together, and the escapades they encounter on a road trip.

The Straight Story

Director:  David Lynch
Length: 112 min.
Released:  1999

No two David Lynch films can be compared directly, and The Straight Story is no exception.  Based on a real story, The Straight Story follows a Midwestern farmer from Iowa to visit his ill brother in Wisconsin on his only available means of transportation: a John Deere tractor.  Lynch brings

Lynch shows more than tells, letting the events unfold without obvious manipulation by a film director.  Richard Farnsworth plays Alvin Straight, and Sissy Spacek his daughter Rose.  It's still amazing that Farnsworth only began acting in his later years, after spending most of his career as a film stuntman.  This was Farnworth's last film, a poignant reminder of the film's message.

The film's slow pace perfectly accompanies a tractor's pace, capturing the scenery and pride of the rural Midwest, driving past farms and through small towns.  The soundtrack's slow waltzes and fiddle solos provide a beautiful accompaniment, reminiscent of distant trains, both melancholic and joyful.  This is not a road trip to blast the speakers and broadcast the freedom of the open road; it's a contemplative journey to sort out your thoughts and ponder what's most important in life.

Paper Moon

Director: Peter Bogdanovich
Released: 1973
Length:

There's something about films in black and white that seems to make them ageless.  Paper Moon was made nearly forty years ago, yet if you saw it today for the first time you'd never guess it.  

Director Peter Bogdanovich perfectly captures the relationship between both main characters, and their verbal exchanges sound impromptu.  Parentage is frequently suggested, but the issue is always skirted.  In the end it doesn't really matter; to the outside world he's her father, and she's ok with it.

Ryan O'Neal and his daughter Tatum portray the same issues of conflict they later struggled with in real life.  

Tatum played her character with such poise and sophistication that she won an Oscar (Best Supporting Actress), even though it was her first film.  She sets the record for youngest person to win an Oscar (she was ten).  

Little Miss Sunshine

Director: Jonathan Dayton
Length:
Released: 2006

When first introduced, the mix of characters in Little Miss Sunshine barely function as a family.  A surprise win in a beauty contest throws everyone off guard, suddenly requiring them to drop everything, cancel all plans, and transport their little girl to the pageant (the source of the film's title).  Everyone has an opinion on her participation, but despite contrasting philosophies, ideals and morals, the family develops a crazed commitment to arrive in time for the pageant.

As in any good road trip, it's the adventures along the way that make the story worth telling.  Anyone with a VW bus knows its limitations, and the journey from New Mexico to southern California becomes an odyssey with its moments of comedy and tragedy.  The yellow bus almost seems to smile as it avenges the constant need for speed in the modern world, lamenting the bygone era of travel at a slower pace.

The rich selection of actors in atypical roles demonstrate additional dimensions of their abilities.  Young Paul Dano's reticent teenager, committed to a vow of silence, speaks only through words on his t-shirts and a notepad until halfway through the film, when he releases all his bottled-up emotions.  Abigail Breslin plays his sister, the young heroine determined to follow her dreams, unaware of how they may look to the rest of the world.  Toni Collette and  Greg Kinnear play their parents, trying to hold the family together, which includes Steve Carrell (proving he's more than a comedian) as an uncle recently released on parole, and Alan Arkin (who won an Oscar) as the grandfather, the most supportive of his granddaughter's interest in the pageant).  

The unanticipated road trip throws everyone's personalities, fears and quirks in a confined space.  The family learns to accept and appreciate what each person contributes, and ironically it is their most naïve member who proves wisest, pursuing her own path rather than be led by others (as they all initially assume).

Little Miss Sunshine makes you laugh, cheer, and even cry.  Even the most dysfunctional families have a bond, and this film lets its characters explore their differences before bringing them back together.
Their collective values are manifested in their little girl's dance at the beauty pageant.  The absurdity of their presence is overruled by pride for her individuality, and their shared adventures draw them together as a family once again.

The way this small film became a sensational hit is the type of Cinderella story that keeps indie filmmakers pursuing their dreams.  Little Miss Sunshine won hearts, awards, and success at the box office.  Michael Arndt won an Oscar for his original screenplay, initially written in three days.  Alan Arkin won an Oscar, and Abigail Breslin was nominated.

Official website

Smoke Signals

Director:  Chris Eyre
Length:  89 min.
Released:  1998

Not very many films portray life as a Native American from an Indian perspective, and few take place in modern day.  Smoke Signals is a rare gem, because it is not a film about Indians but about life, about trying to figure out who you are and whether to be proud of or humiliated by your past.

The story centers on the relationship between Victor and Thomas, best friends on the reservation where they live in Eastern Washington.  Thomas is a natural-born storyteller, and Evan Adam's narrative style and voice fluctuations are captivating.  Adam Beach is a familiar face, and he does an excellent job conveying Victor's angst.  

Thomas is an orphan raised by his grandmother who views Victor's father as a hero.  Victor only sees the alcoholism, abuse and eventual abandonment when his father left.  Thomas convinces Victor to travel south to Arizona and find him again, and the two embark on a road trip adventure to salvage the relationship before it's too late.

Victor and Thomas perceive themselves differently, a thread which carries throughout the film.
Victor instructs Thomas how to conform to expectations of what it means to be "Indian".  Smiling Thomas with glasses is not the stoic Indian Victor thinks one must be.  Other potential sources of conflict are met with humor, and told from a perspective of a generation far removed from the emotional and physical attachment once felt.  This direct confrontation of stereotypes points out their inaccuracies, relieves tension and moves the characters beyond the token status minorities usually receive.

As road trip films often do, it's more about the journey than the destination, and along the way Victor finds peace with himself and his father.  Thomas also discovers his place in the world.  Smoke Signals is funny, poignant, and informative.  It won many awards at independent film festivals.

The woman on the poster is a minor character, and I find it unfortunate that a film about two young men feels the necessity to show a female just to garner sex appeal.  I wish we could see Evan Adam's "frybread power" t-shirt more clearly.

Director Chris Eyre (himself a member of the Cheyenne/Arapaho nation) collaborated with Sherman Alexie (a highly regarded poet, essayist, and public speaker who grew up on an Indian reservation in Eastern Washington state) to turn one of Alexie's short stories into a film.  (Alexie's following project was his directorial debut, The Business of Fancydancing, based on a collection of his poetry, also about modern Indians in Washington.)

Everything is Illuminated

Director: Liev Schreiber
Length: 106 min.
Released: 2005

Everything is Illuminated takes place in Ukraine, one of the former Eastern Bloc countries now poor, but independent.  When the Soviet Union fell apart, Ukrainians threw off the heavy cloak of communism in order to embrace capitalism, and many of its citizens try to make money however possible.  One such way is to guide Americans making nostalgic trips back to the mother country to see how previous generations lived.

The film was adapted from the novel by Jonathan Safran Foer.  Foer studied philosphy and traveled to Ukraine to learn more about his grandfather, a Holocaust survivor.  The subject for his college thesis later became his first novel, Everything is Illuminated.  The actor Liev Schreiber wrote the screen adaptation and directed the film.  (Although Schreiber is American, he is of mixed Central-European heritage, and his maternal grandfather was from Ukraine, just like Foer.)    

Foer is played by Elijah Wood, who goes to Ukraine to unveil a mystery about his grandfather.  His collecting habits and quirks provide interesting encounters with the people he meets along his journey.
One of the most memorable characters is Alex (played by Eugene Hutz, frontman of the gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello), Foer's driver on his odyssey across the Ukrainian countryside.  Alex is part of the new generation embracing Western culture.  

Everything is Illuminated does not demand pity or anger for what has happened in the past. It is the story of one man's connection to his own family history.  The film becomes more and more surrealistic, as past events appear in dream-like sequences mix with present-day.

The score by Paul Cantelon is an excellent introduction to Eastern European music, and holds its own beyond the film.  It is especially interesting the way the theme is played many ways: with different instrumentation and different feels.  Independent films don't always produce a soundtrack, but I was pleasantly surprised to find it at my local library.  (To hear samples of the soundtrack, click here.)

An interesting sidenote about this film: PBS aired a documentary a few years ago about a young Iraqi man who received an internship from Liev Schreiber to work on Everything is Illuminated.  The documentary takes its own path, but gives an interesting perspective of the themes from Schreiber's film in a different context.  The documentary is called Operation Filmmaker and is done by Nina Davenport (who also made Parallel Lines).   

Parallel Lines

Director: Nina Davenport

Length: 98 minutes 
Released: 2004

Nina Davenport, a New Yorker displaced to California for work, finds herself homesick and deeply saddened on September 11, 2001.  Several months later, when it is time to return to New York, she decides not to fly, but instead to drive.  As she’s a filmmaker, she decides to document the journey with her videocamera strapped to various parts of her rental car. 

Her adventure takes her across the southern United States during the three-week window she has before she must be in New York.  Her inquisitive nature makes her stop anyone she comes across to ask questions and opinions.  Her lack of enthusiasm to get home encourages her to follow small roads and intriguing signs, which leads to an 8000-mile journey.  The initial premise is to document reactions to the terrorist attacks, but she discovers that New York is a distant place from small town America, and everyone has a story of hardship and sacrifice.      

Davenport uses post-production voice-over to tell her story and narrate her emotions and concerns.  Her camera becomes her fellow passenger, strapped onto the seat beside her, on the dashboard and even on the roof of her car (which causes a problem in Washington, D.C., in the new, post-9/11 world of heightened security).    

One of Davenport’s major concerns throughout the film is the new view from her apartment window in New York, now void of the twin towers.  Through listening to other people’s stories, she begins the process towards acceptance.  When she does arrive back home, she carries with her an invisible support group.  

Not everyone has Davenport’s persistence, but we are all rewarded because of her efforts.  The film is thoroughly captivating: you feel part of the journey.  You know neither you nor Davenport will ever likely see the people she met again, which makes the encounters all the more bittersweet and profound.  The people presented in the film may not have an emotional attachment to New York, but they represent what it means to be American, which is what Davenport realized was the true story she wanted to tell and needed to hear herself.  

The film was shown at a range of festivals throughout the world.
(Click here for the complete list.)

Elizabethtown

Director: Cameron Crowe

Length: 123 min.
Released: 2005

It doesn't get much better than Cameron Crowe.  With his latest creation, Elizabethtown, everything's there: comedy, drama, a road trip, family values and feuds, satire, and music.  Unfortunately, the box office didn't reflect this total package, but when has that ever happened to Crowe?  The public, it appears, has yet to appreciate his prowess.  His love of music means there's a perfect song for every moment of the film.  Luckily for us (few) fans, he decided to produce a truly memorable two volume soundtrack, despite the film's lackluster success.  Tom Petty has a prominent place, as he always does in Crowe films, as well as Crowe's wife, Nancy Wilson, who provides several of the themes.
  

 Soundtrack, Vol. 1 

Soundtrack, Vol. II                                                                     

Orlando Bloom does an excellent job with an American accent, and Kirsten Dunst is adorable in her role.  Both characters could be shallow, but Crowe gives them depth and lets the actors breathe life into them.  It's nice to dig beneath the surface and learn about these characters who would be lost on the outskirts in real life or in another movie.  Strong supporting actors inhabit Crowe's Elizabethtown (including Susan Sarandon),  and they each provide humor, drama and wit.  There's true character development; even the minor ones stay with you.  By the end, you've laughed, cried, and grown with everyone in the film.  You almost forget you're being told a story:  you're just part of the crowd, someone else at the party. 

Elizabethtown is another Cameron Crowe masterpiece that perfectly captures small-town America and the difficulties of family.  A must-see for anyone.