Gerry Gus Van Sant Analysis

Gus Van Sant created his 9th film, Gerry, in 2002. It was caused audiences to split, from those striking the film down, claiming it was tedious and boring, while others called it an art piece. I can see both sides. I was tempted to skip past the lengthy scenes while watching, however, the further I got into the film, the more I realized its significance. Gerry is very long, but there’s reasons for it. Gus Van Sant used the landscape as more than the setting; it signified the character’s inner turmoil as well as cast the audience into the situation. (fix to use real thesis)
Gus Vant Sant clearly favored long shots in this film. It was not restricted to just capturing the beautiful landscapes. He shoots most of scenes with the characters in a similar fashion. He rejects the typical technique used by majority American cinema for dialogue. In most dialogue sequences, the scene cuts to where the first speaker stood. There are many cuts in a scene, to get a feeling of the entire setting, because a camera usually can show no more than 180 degrees in a shot. This takes the camera out of the situation and blurs the line between audience and spectator (Silverman, 200).Vant Sant’s lack of shot/counter shot merely prevents the audience from delving into the characters’ point of …show more content…
Around the 2nd or 3rd day of being lost, a storm rolls into the area the men are in. The scene is a fixed point, watching the clouds become darker and angrier, adding human traits to a force of nature. It was after the storm that the men became more short with each other. I realized the storm was a sign for the impending friction that was to occur between the friends. As the wind grew sharp, they tried to find shelter. If they had joined forces and cuddled behind a rock, they would have been saved by the fierce winds. The scene does not show that, however. Instead they run about, hunched