The early 1990s Sundance/indie boom helped boost queer filmmakers like Todd Haynes, Tom Kalin, Gregg Araki, Rose Troche, Guinevere Turner and Cheryl Dunye. But the leading light in what came to be called “New Queer Cinema” was Gus Van Sant, who made his name with gritty indies like Mala Noche and Drugstore Cowboy but really took flight with the expansive and poetic My Own Private Idaho in 1991.
Mike and Scott (River Phoenix and Keanus Reeves) are young gay hustlers living on the streets of Portland. Scott is acting out his rebellion against a middle class upbringing. The dreamy, narcoleptic Mike on the other hand is obsessed with reuniting with long-gone mom — which inspires several journeys, long and short. Van Sant is at free-est and least inhibited here, at some points drawing on Shakespearean language (and Welles’ Chimes at Midnight), and avant-garde aesthetics to transport us into Mike’s world. Sadly River Phoenix (Joaquin’s brother) died from a drug overdose in 1993, but this movie stands as a fitting tribute to his luminous talent.
An exquisite cinematic poem… about the eternal need to belong somewhere, and the lonely landscape of the soul.
Desson Howe, The Washington Post
A simultaneously heartbreaking and exhilarating road movie.
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
Media Partner
Gus Van Sant
River Phoenix, Keanu Reeves, James Russo, William Richert, Rodney Harvey, Udo Kier
USA
1991
English
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Credits
Producer
Laurie Parker
Screenwriter
Gus Van Sant
Cinematography
Eric Alan Edwards, John Campbell
Editor
Curtiss Clayton
Production Design
David Brisbin
Art Director
Ken Hardy
90s, Baby!
Ten years. 11 weeks. 90 films from the 1990s. This summer, 90’s Baby! takes a deep dive into a defining decade of cinema.
Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould
A bona fide classic and arguably the greatest Canadian film of the 90s, Girard's dazzling deconstruction of the biopic gives us the mercurial pianist Glenn Gould as Picasso might have rendered him, a cubist portrait combining multimedia vignettes.
Dazed and Confused
The last day of high school in May, 1976: seniors debate party politics while next term's freshmen run the gauntlet of brutal initiation rites, barely comforted by the knowledge that they'll wield the stick one day.
Short Cuts
Altman's adaptation of Raymond Carver short stories, Short Cuts weaves between 8 or 9 overlapping storylines and 22 characters. it's a teeming, caustic and compassionate human comedy; a singularly astringent, often cynical view of America and Americana.
Three Colours: Blue
The first of Kieslowski's acclaimed Three Colours Trilogy, inspired by the French Revolutionary ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity and the French flag, the Tricolour. Blue stars Juliette Binoche as a young woman grieving her husband and child.
Schindler's List
One of the most acclaimed films of the 90s, Steven Spielberg's adaptation of Thomas Keneally's Schindler's Ark is the story of a German industrialist whose conscience is stirred to save his Jewish workers from the camps.
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Three Colours: Red
Irène Jacob plays Valentine, a runway model living in Geneva, who crosses paths with a retired judge (Jean-Louis Trintignant) who's a bit of an eavesdropper. Initially repelled, she becomes intrigued by this man, as do we... Kieslowski's sublime adieu.
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Four Weddings begins with an onslaught of fucks. It's the first signal that this rom-com will break from tradition, despite the ritualized structural conceit described in the title. The witty screenplay is by Richard Curtis — it's still his best.
The Lion King
With its beautifully drawn East African setting, its humour, pathos, and engaging characters, as well as its stirring songs, The Lion King stands as the pinnacle of traditional Disney family entertainment.
Image: © Disney, 1994
To Die For
Buck Henry (The Graduate) wrote this acidic black comedy about a ruthless weather girl on the make (Nicole Kidman in her breakout role). A young Joaquin Phoenix is the dim teen she seduces on her way to achieving stardom.
Casino
Revisiting the wise guy milieu for the third (but not the final) time, Scorsese tells the story of Ace Rothstein and Nicky Santoro (Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci), two New York hoodlums who become major players in the history of Las Vegas.
Andrea Superstein Sings Burt Bacharach + Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery Film Screening
Local hero and Anglophile Mike Myers scored a massive comedy hit with this spot-on spoof of James Bond and his many imitators. Before the yucks, Andrea Superstein treats us to a set of timeless Burt Bacharach tunes.