Paranoid Park

Gus Van Sant is one of those rare directors who doesn’t like to repeat himself. In his latest film too, film making seems to have been rediscovered a little. The film is set in the world of young skaters. Skating is not a sport, but way of life. A life on the fringes and also a life focusing on sensation.
In order to provide a convincing picture of the skate world, Van Sant here worked with very young amateur actors. He found them through appeals on MySpace, a social network on Internet popular among young people. In order to communicate the dizzying experience of racing around a skate park – be it sober or intoxicated – the master cameraman Chris Doyle also shot Super8 as well as 35mm and in a wide variety of styles.
The protagonist is Alex (Gabe Nevins). He is 16 years old and only recently found his way to the legendary skate park Paranoid Park. One night, he allows himself to be taken along to the shunting yard. During a confusing moment, an accident happens and the story, based on a teenage book by Blake Nelson, acquires a thriller-like element. But Paranoid Park is certainly not a genre film. It is rather one of the most experimental and most psychological narratives ever made by Van Sant. A film with an occasionally stifling atmosphere, in which Van Sant’s familiar Portland acquires a very new form. (GjZ)

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