Park

Kurt Voelker writes feature-film scenarios for Hollywood studios including Sony, Disney, Paramount and Fox. Parkis his directing debut and, while the film is situated in Los Angeles, he is not interested in the clichés that are usually linked to this metropolis, despite the fact that the film is set in and around ten cars.
The sober and limited arena for this nimble comedy is a simple little park where little reminds us of Beverly Hills apart from the Californian view. In this park, Voelker allows twentysomethings of all kinds to cross paths. Park is an ensemble film made up of the slowly unfolding comic vignettes in which searching, frustrated, shy, bold and funny characters play out their expectations in brief encounters that can somehow be of crucial importance for the rest of their lives. Adultery, suicide attempts, sushi lunches with unexpected profundity and nudity are elements that dominate the sweltering desires of the characters.
The harsh transitions from situation to situation do not match the underlying mildness regarding the characters who, accompanied by an effective and hilarious choice of music, are surrendered helplessly to themselves and to each other. Voelker’s park visitors have emerged partly from reality. He tends to write his screenplays in the LA public parks, where reality transcends any possible fiction. (EH)