Paranoid Park (2007)

While Gus Van Sant's PARANOID PARK is in keeping with the atmospheric work of the films in his previous "death trilogy" (GERRY, ELEPHANT, LAST DAYS), this time around he's working from a more conventional narrative to capture the awkwardness and pressures of adolescence. The result is a work of breathtakingly personal cinema--intimate, beautiful, and moving. Based on the novel by Blake Nelson, PARANOID PARK tells the troubled story of Alex (Gabe Nevins), a Portland high school student who loves to skateboard. But after accidentally causing the death of a security guard, Alex must come to terms with the guilty fee...
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lings that are threatening to overwhelm him. Unable to tell anyone what has happened, including his best friend, Jared (Jake Miller) and his nagging girlfriend, Jennifer (Tayler Momsen), he keeps it all inside at the risk of imploding with guilt.

Van Sant is an impressionistic and deeply sensitive director. His decision to work with acclaimed cinematographer Christopher Doyle (FALLEN ANGELS, IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE) pays off immeasurably, as Doyle combines naturalistic full-frame 35mm with grainy super-8 to create a lush, moody atmosphere. As usual, Van Sant's sonic tastes are impeccable. He once again employs the music of Elliott Smith to great effect, contrasting Smith's heartbreaking songs with slow-motion imagery, further establishing a sense of confusion and loss. The cast, all recruited from the social networking website MySpace, are more than serviceable, yet it is Nevins who steals the show. His Alex is a likeable figure to whom the audience can relate, further personalizing an already intimate tale. PARANOID PARK is a gorgeous, unforgettable tone poem that captures the myriad complexities of teenage life.
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A teenage skateboarder has a run-in with a security guard that results in the man's death. Confused, fearful, and evasive, the teen wanders the streets of Portland as his life takes a turn for the worse in director Gus Van Sant's screen adaptation of author Blake Nelson's grim coming-of-age tome. Alex (Gabe Nevins) is a withdrawn 16-year-old boy who has recently discovered Paranoid Park -- a massive skate park in Portland, OR. The Portland skate punks built Paranoid Park so they could have a place to cruise the concrete without being hassled by the cops. One day, after befriending a local skater and anarchist at ...
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the park, Alex decides that a little adventure might be just the thing to help him forget about his problems back home. When Alex and his new friend attempt to hop a train and a security guard gives chase, tragedy strikes so quickly that the two teens are barely able to comprehend what has just happened. In the aftermath of the fatal accident, one man is robbed of life and two teens are left to ponder the consequences of their youthful recklessness. Alex doesn't think that anyone will believe him if he explains how events really unfolded that night, but why would anyone have cause to think he wasn't telling the truth in the first place? As the police launch an investigation into the death and Alex begins to express himself in a deeply personal diary, the audience is able to experience the pain and confusion of adolescence from the perspective of a young boy who was only seeking to escape from reality when suddenly confronted by the concept of mortality.
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De 16-jarige skater Alex wordt door detective Richard Lu ondervraagd over de dood van een beveiligingsbeambte van de spoorwegen. Met de scheiding van zijn ouders en de seksuele druk van zijn vriendin Jennifer heeft hij al genoeg aan zijn hoofd. Hij besluit zijn gedachten en de gebeurtenissen van de afgelopen tijd op papier te zetten.

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