half nelson

in another decision in defiance of all the footage logging we have to do, rob and i watched "half nelson" on thursday night.

this indie film was released only last year and the short synopsis says:
Dan Dunne (Ryan Gosling) is a young inner-city junior high school teacher whose ideals wither and die in the face of reality. Day after day in his shabby Brooklyn classroom, he somehow finds the energy to inspire his 13 and 14-year-olds to examine everything from civil rights to the Civil War with a new enthusiasm.

i remember avoiding this film last year because the story didn't interest me. but rob had the movie in the dvd player on thursday and starting playing it.

the first image i saw grabbed me right away. the cinematography was just amazing, human, humble, and emotive. the acting was natural and believable. i consumed scene after scene and didn't want it to stop. it will now go on my top 10.

the last time i felt this way about a film was The Return (not the horror movie but the russian drama from 2003).

this was a first feature film by the directors/editors/writers Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. i've been reading up on them and the movie was indie but they still did the 'ole shoot a short and shop the script around to find funding scenario.

rob and i discussed this whole funding scenario and then yesterday rob came across a podcast by joe swanberg who said having a super small crew (like 2 people) gives you the freedom to shoot what you want in a short period of time. i need to listen to this podcast but it's really revitalized rob in a huge way.

anyways, back to Half Nelson. watch it.
www.halfnelsonthefilm.com