Mark has settled down – with a wife and a real job and a kid on the way, he’s got more responsibilities and less time to mess around. When his old friend Kurt reemerges from his ragtag past with the offer of a weekend trip to the Bagby Hot Springs in the Cascade Mountains, he welcomes the respite. But an ineffable sadness grows between Mark and Kurt as they travel east, a painful awareness of how their paths have diverged. Old Joy, luminously directed by Kelly Reichardt, tells the story of a friendship and, eventually, the healing potential of the American landscape.

 

Directed by Kelly ReichardtShown in the 2016 Festival as part of our Kelly Reichardt Retrospective.

Old Joy

2006 US 76 min
Festival Year: 2016
Types: Narrative
Topic: Parks and Protected Areas