Diary entries forRiver of Grass
River of Grass
Clearly influenced by BADLANDS, but instead of wistful teenage love, it’s the quiet bored desperation of a life you found yourself stuck in. The handmade nature of it charms while also at times feeling like you’re watching an actual slice of life. Fessenden shines.
River of Grass
“If we weren’t killers, we weren’t anything.” River of Grassreally surprised with showing how muchKelly Reichardt has grown as a director and a storyteller. I’m only really familiar with her 2016 filmCertain Woman,one of my favorite films, but it is quite obvious she loves making films all about real people making real connections. In regards to River of Grass, I truly appreciate just how much resonance she gives the world outside the lens. Being a Floridian myself, I always feel so strange when a film I watch begins to name many places I drive by or visit. Yeah, Florida’s a shithole, but it’s my shithole. The film itself does feel quite jumbled throughout, even though it’s not difficult to follow — it’s mostly how the events unfold and howKelly Reichardtdecides to move the narrative along. I wanted to say it feels amateurish, but it is her debut film, so I can’t really fault it for that. The film captures this feeling of existentialism on that I find quite relatable — a yearningto be more with the life you are given or a feeling to free yourself from that very life. It’d be nice to drop everything and simply leave behind the stress and worries. This film also captures how normal Floridians go on about dealing with Palmetto Bugs. I hate them so damn much, God why do they exist?
