Gus Van Sant's Other 2008 Movie

Hopefully everyone reading this has already seen the wonderful Milk. That was Van Sant's big release in 2008. But,he also had another, yet lesser known, great film released in 2008. Its called Paranoid Park.



The story centers on Alex, a Portland high school skateboarder who, by the cruelest of circumstances, has the darkest of secrets. The secret infiltrates all areas of his life. The film is beautifully shot sliding between space and time. It often hangs in mid air which allows the beautiful music, and sometimes even silence, to accompany the haunting images created by weaving grainy footage with more conventional filming. Van Sant uses this atmosphere to create a sense of shared guilt between Alex and the audience. You can't help but feel the knots tying in your stomach.

Paranoid Park is a haunting film that is worth your time.