I just saw Leave No Trace. It's directed by Debra Granik, who also did Winter's Bone. While the film got great reviews, it hasn't had the same kind of impact as its earlier counterpart in terms of box office, awards, etc. Understandable, because it feels a little more elusive, but still a shame.
It's about a man named Will and his teenage daughter, Tom. Will's a veteran. Given the contemporary time frame I guess Afghanistan. Will and Tom live in a public park in Portland, Oregon. When they absolutely have to they head into the city for supplies. They live low to the ground, evading notice, since it's illegal to live on public land. But you can only keep this up for so long, and eventually they're discovered and taken in.
What follows is a series of encounters with government employees who truly mean well, a stint where they live and Will works on a Christmas tree farm, and a further escape. What exactly Will wants, where he thinks he's going, isn't clear, perhaps even to him. Every hint of society presents itself to him as a cage, and he's driven by a need to escape. Tom loves him more than anything, but is this, the life of a homeless fugitive, really what she wants? The whole story revolves around her choice.
It's not often you see a movie that can present a strong drama while hardly raising its voice above a whisper. This one does. And the beautiful camera work brings out the beauty in simple places you're sure you've seen up close, but maybe never on screen.
It's about a man named Will and his teenage daughter, Tom. Will's a veteran. Given the contemporary time frame I guess Afghanistan. Will and Tom live in a public park in Portland, Oregon. When they absolutely have to they head into the city for supplies. They live low to the ground, evading notice, since it's illegal to live on public land. But you can only keep this up for so long, and eventually they're discovered and taken in.
What follows is a series of encounters with government employees who truly mean well, a stint where they live and Will works on a Christmas tree farm, and a further escape. What exactly Will wants, where he thinks he's going, isn't clear, perhaps even to him. Every hint of society presents itself to him as a cage, and he's driven by a need to escape. Tom loves him more than anything, but is this, the life of a homeless fugitive, really what she wants? The whole story revolves around her choice.
It's not often you see a movie that can present a strong drama while hardly raising its voice above a whisper. This one does. And the beautiful camera work brings out the beauty in simple places you're sure you've seen up close, but maybe never on screen.
2 comments:
Although we've seen the excellent Winter's Bone a couple of times I hadn't been aware the director had made this film until I read your review. The interesting thing is that it's based on an event that happened in Portland in the early 2000s when a man and his adolescent daughter were found to be living in Forest Park - the very large mountainous urban park (part of which was above OHSU). When the two of them were found they told the authorities they'd lived there for four years in a remote shelter they'd built. They were clean and healthy and the girl had been home schooled by her father using textbooks he'd found. From what I remember they were relocated, but we never learned what happened to them after that. Truth to tell, I often wondered; it's interesting to know that others have been intrigued by the mystery.
Oddly enough, although people aren't allowed to live in the city parks here, they are able to sleep overnight in them if the shelters are full. We've noticed a few little tucked away encampments in the wilder parts of Beacon Hill (not in the formal gardens) but what seems to happen is that if the transients get so comfortable they start building the police make them leave.
I don't know how widely this movie opened. It was very well reviewed and not particularly well publicized. Don't know why. Ben Foster, who plays the father, is pretty well known. Anyway, I hadn't known about the real life incident myself. The immediate source was a novel by a guy who teaches at Reed College. The hilly areas around Portland do seem like a place you could evade notice if you wanted to, or for that matter get lost by accident if you weren't careful.
That's...I can see where the police are coming from, in truth. The park is the park. Still, the shelters being full is a problem in itself.
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