unrated

Trying to reconnect with old friends is sometimes a practice in futility, as time and distance can drive a wedge between people who were once kindred spirits. “Old Joy,” which played at The Music Hall in Portsmouth March 19-21, illustrates the point with two friends who reunite to go camping in the Cascade Mountains. Mark (Daniel London) and Kurt (Will Oldham) are in their mid to late 30s. Mark is soon to be a father and the weight of his dissolving youth seems to hang heavy on his shoulders. Kurt is without the constraints and stability of a life lived in one place. He wanders up and down the West Coast, constantly searching for the next transformational experience. Mark agrees to take a short trip with Kurt, partly out of obligation to an old friend, but also to find relief from the impending responsibility of being a father.

The film was based on a short story written by Jonathan Raymond. Like most short stories that use brief instances of everyday life to expose broad themes of human truth, “Old Joy” uses a weekend in the mountains to explore the issues of male friendship and the difficulty of recovering the past. The men want desperately to regain some sort of connection, but they have both traveled too far on their divergent life paths.

Their sense of frustration is painfully apparent during their first night in the woods. They had been trying to reach a hot spring, but after Kurt botched the directions they ended up in a litter-strewn turn-off, sitting on a discarded couch and drinking 12-ounce cans of Hamm’s Beer. It’s not the picture of serenity they had been seeking out pristine wilderness. They obviously have little to say to each other, but they try anyway.

Kurt tells Mark that he has been taking physics classes at night, which leads him into an explanation of his theory about the interconnectedness of everything. Mark listens, but he does so skeptically and only to humor his friend. After a series of uncomfortable silences Kurt becomes exasperated and tells Mark that he wants them to be friends, but he feels distance between them. Mark tries to assure him by saying, “What are you talking about Kurt? We’re fine. We’re fine.” “Do you really believe that? replies Kurt, but he soon sees the futility of trying to explain why they are not fine. He gives up and brushes off his awkward comment.

Both characters solicit pity from the audience. Neither has an enviable situation, nor do they seem able to see an alternative to their chosen lives. As their youthful idealism crashes against reality, the men try to remain true to themselves, but in doing so they drift farther apart. When Kurt explains that “sorrow is nothing but worn out joy,” he not only explains the film’s title, but he also exposes the underlying mood of the entire movie.

Director Kelly Reichardt uses clean and simple cinematography to illustrate the starkness of Mark and Kurt’s faded friendship. A teacher by day, Reichardt does not rely on art to pay the bills, which enables her to create films the way she wants. The New York-based Kino International spent roughly $77,500 producing and distributing the film. Despite its modest funding, “Old Joy” was a huge success at Sundance and several other film festivals.  The soundtrack features original work by the band Yo La Tengo, and their lilting instrumental score provides a calming backdrop to the otherwise tension-filled drama.

Most movies present a conflict and then resolve it through the course of the film. “Old Joy” hints at several conflicts, but the characters never confront their underlying issues. Instead, they avoid facing the obvious chasm that has grown between them. Since no conflict is ever really presented to the viewer, there can be no resolution for the men or for the audience. Mark returns to his domestic fate and Kurt is last seen floating along the streets of Portland like a leaf in the wind.