Why So Paranoid?

Though now 55 years old, Gus Van Sant continues to tell stories about the passing of youth. From his first feature, Mala Noche, to network television's favorite rerun, Good Will Hunting, to the disturbing Columbine fictionalization Elephant, Van Sant consistently sets his films inside the moment when children are forced...

By P. Scott Cunningham

June 12, 2008

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Though now 55 years old, Gus Van Sant continues to tell stories about the passing of youth. From his first feature, Mala Noche, to network television's favorite rerun, Good Will Hunting, to the disturbing Columbine fictionalization Elephant, Van Sant consistently sets his films inside the moment when children are forced to grow up. His new film, premiering Friday night in HD at the Miami Beach Cinematheque, is no different, although it might be his most mature work yet.

Paranoid Park is the story of Alex (Gabe Nevins), a 16-year-old Portland, Oregon skateboarder who while train-hopping might or might not have murdered a security guard. Shot in a square-framed 8mm format by Christopher Doyle (who shot Wong Kar Wai's bad-ass cop flick Chung King Express), it looks like a skate film dipped in a Crayola box and feels just as authentic as a skate film, owing to Van Sant's true-to-life style and the partly amateur cast. After the film, Van Sant himself with give a live Q&A session via webcast, which pretty much makes this event a must for any serious film fan. The screening begins at 7:30 p.m.
Fri., June 13, 7:30 p.m., 2008

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