''Old Joy'' is a 2006 American

road movie A road movie is a film genre, genre of film in which the main characters leave home on a road trip, typically altering the perspective from their everyday lives. Road movies often depict travel in the hinterlands, with the films exploring the the ...

written and directed by

Kelly Reichardt Kelly Reichardt (; born March 3, 1964) is an American film director and screenwriter. She is known for her minimalism, minimalist films closely associated with slow cinema, many of which deal with working class, working-class characters in small ...

and based on a short story by

Jonathan Raymond Jonathan Raymond (born June 26, 1971), usually credited Jon Raymond, is an American writer living in Portland, Oregon. He is best known for writing the novels ''The Half-Life'' and ''Rain Dragon'', and for writing the short stories and novels ada ...

. The original soundtrack for the film is by

Yo La Tengo Yo La Tengo (Spanish language, Spanish for "I've got it"; also abbreviated as YLT) is an American indie rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted of Ira Kaplan (guitars, piano, vocals), Georgia Hubley ...

and included on the compilation soundtrack album '' They Shoot, We Score''. The film received critical acclaim according to Metacritic and was a box-office success.

Plot

Mark is a former hippie who has settled down in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

and is expecting a child with his wife Tania. His old friend Kurt, who has not seen Mark in some years, calls Mark to invite him on an overnight camping trip to Bagby Hot Springs in the Cascades. Unlike Mark, Kurt still lives a hand-to-mouth hippie lifestyle, crashing on couches and spending much of his time at meditation retreats. When Mark accepts Kurt’s invitation, Tania reacts passive-aggressively. Mark invites Tania, but she declines. Mark and his dog

Lucy Lucy is an English language, English feminine given name derived from the Latin masculine given name Lucius with the meaning ''as of light'' (''born at dawn or daylight'', maybe also ''shiny'', or ''of light complexion''). Alternative spellings ar ...

arrive where Kurt is staying and wait for him for some time before he arrives. Kurt has just returned from a “transformative” retreat in Ashland. Mark agrees to drive them to Bagby, and they depart along with Lucy. The two lament the closing of their favorite record store, which they describe as the “end of an era.” They get lost and pitch a tent at a campsite strewn with abandoned furniture. Kurt explains his theory of a teardrop-shaped universe to an indifferent Mark, then breaks down, lamenting that something has “come between” the two friends and that he wants them to be real friends again. Mark disagrees with this assessment but remains apprehensive. After some time drinking beer and shooting the cans with a pellet gun, the two men sleep together in the tent. In the morning, the two stop at a diner and receive directions to Bagby from a waitress. They arrive, and Kurt describes a mystical experience he had from which he came to conclude that “sorrow is nothing but worn-out joy.” Despite Mark’s earlier assertion to Tania that the two would return to Portland around noon, the two do not get into town until well after dark. The two men say a quick goodbye and part on the same street where they met up. Mark turns on Air America, his only remaining link to his former idealism, and sits in the car in contemplation. The final shots show Kurt wandering the streets of Portland, apparently with nowhere to go.

Reception

The film was a commercial success, earning nearly $400,000 on a $30,000 budget. It later gained an additional $63,920 in profit from Domestic Home Video sales.

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

reported that 85% of 94 critics gave the film positive reviews, with an average rating of 7.3/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "A serene, melancholy beauty permeates this meditative film."

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

reported the film had an average score of 84 out of 100, based on 24 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' called it "one of the finest American films of the year". The film appeared on several critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2006. *2nd - Ella Taylor, ''LA Weekly'' *4th - Marc Mohan, ''The Oregonian'' *4th - Scott Tobias, ''The A.V. Club'' *4th - Ty Burr, ''The Boston Globe'' *8th - Lisa Schwarzbaum, ''Entertainment Weekly'' *10th - Wesley Morris, ''The Boston Globe'' The film also won awards from the

Los Angeles Film Critics Association The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) is an American film critic organization founded in 1975. Background Its membership comprises film critics from Los Angeles–based print and electronic media. In December of each year, the organi ...

, the

Rotterdam International Film Festival International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) is an annual film festival held at the end of January in various locations in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, focused on independent and experimental films. The inaugural festival took place in June 1972, ...

, and the

Sarasota Film Festival The Sarasota Film Festival is a film festival located in Sarasota, Florida and held in April. Its mission is "to celebrate the art of filmmaking and the contribution of filmmakers by hosting an international film festival and developing year-long ...

Neil Kopp Neil Kopp is an American film producer. His films include ''Old Joy'' (2006), ''Paranoid Park (film), Paranoid Park'' (2007), ''Green Room (film), Green Room'' (2015), ''I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore'' (2017), and ''Showing Up (film), ...

won the Producer's Award at the

Independent Spirit Awards The Independent Spirit Awards, originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards, and later as the Film Independent Spirit Awards, are awards presented annually in Santa Monica, California, to independent filmmakers. Founded in ...

for his work on ''Old Joy'' and '' Paranoid Park''.

Soundtrack

An EP of

's soundtrack, featuring session guitarist

Smokey Hormel Smokey Hormel (born circa 1959)Cohen (2017) quotes Hormel as saying he was "4 or 5 ears old when "I Want to Hold Your Hand" by The Beatles was "a big hit on the radio"; the song was released in America in December 1963. is an American guitarist ...

, was released by

Mississippi Records Mississippi Records is a record store and label. It was founded by Eric Isaacson in 2003 in Portland, Oregon. It also houses a café, equipment repair shop, and the Portland Museum of Modern Art. Brick and mortar store The name Mississippi ...

in 2025. It expands on, and is slightly different, than what is included on the original compilation '' They Shoot, They Score''.

References

External links

* *
''The New York Times'' review
by Dennis Lim
''Old Joy: Northwest Passages''
by

Ed Halter Ed Halter is a film programmer, writer, and founder of Light Industry, a microcinema in Brooklyn, New York. He currently teaches at Bard College, where he is Critic in Residence. Criticism His writing has been featured in '' Artforum'', '' Th ...

at The Criterion Collection
2006 Reichardt interview
at ''Reverse Shot'' {{Kelly Reichardt 2006 films 2000s road movies American road movies American buddy drama films Films about sexual repression Films based on American short stories Films directed by Kelly Reichardt Films set in Oregon Films shot in Oregon Films shot in Portland, Oregon Films shot in 16 mm film 2006 independent films 2000s buddy drama films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films English-language independent films English-language buddy drama films