I finally saw it.  I loved it.  Perhaps more to come later on this film.  Until then, here’s a related article by A.O. Scott in yesterday’s NY Times Magazine titled Neo-Neo Realism. The article focuses on a handful of American directors, including Kelly Reichardt, making films in the neo-realist tradition. I was really excited to see this article because I love many of these films. I was also reminded that I really want to see Treeless Mountain. Wendy and Lucy, and now this article, have gotten me thinking and inspired to start on the project that has been germinating in my brain for awhile now. I must start writing.

Here’s interview that Spoutblog did with director/teacher Kelly Reichardt (Old Joy, Wendy and Lucy).

It’s really interesting to me on one level because her career is a very close model of something I would love to have. She still gets to live where she wants and she teaches at a college that she really likes and gets to make personal, well made, low-budget feature and short films with friends and the people she wants to and they often get seen by people. She is able to make a living making films and teaching and is able to have full creative control of her films and doesn’t think of one film as a stepping stone to get to a bigger, better career but thinks of it as another fun art project and life experience, and as a way to continue to work on and improve her filmmaking skills.

I can’t wait to see this. Will this and Rachel Getting Married please come to Omaha? I’m definitely a fan of Kelly Reichardt and her work and I’ve been eager for this to come out. Michelle Williams is in a bunch of what look to be good movies coming out: Synechdoche, New York, Incendiary, Scorsese’s Shutter Island and Mammoth from Lukas Moodyson, another one of my favorite current working directors.

I haven’t seen a narrative film that has really blown me away in awhile. I’m ready for inspiration.

More Wendy and Lucy: