Last Days (2005)

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Movie
German title Last days
Original title Last days
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 2005
length 97 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Gus Van Sant
script Gus Van Sant
production Dany Wolf
music Rodrigo Lopresti
camera Harris Savides
cut Gus Van Sant
occupation

Last Days is an American film drama from the year 2005 , the fictional story of the last days of Kurt Cobain inspired. Directed by Gus Van Sant , who also wrote the script and worked as a film editor.

action

The film shows the final days of the life of the celebrated rock star Blake, who has withdrawn from his turbulent life. He lives with four friends and bandmates in a remote, rundown hunting lodge. It is not clear how much time passes. Blake wanders enraptured through the woods, through the house and across the property. He shows an alienated and partly psychotic behavior, the actions shown appear incoherent and trance-like. He mumbles to himself and communicates very little with other people. He withdraws, flees and hides again and again from others, from his ex-wife who calls and also from his friends who live on his money. It is shown that he is wanted by acquaintances, his manager and a private detective. As the film progresses, it becomes clear that Blake recently fled a rehab , his confused behavior is related to drug use . He is digging up a cigar box in the garden, the contents of which are not shown and which presumably contains heroin . He also plays with a rifle that he finds in the house. He writes a diary and plays guitar, drums and sings. Time passes again and again in which he is in a twilight state. Ultimately, he dies in the property's garden shed for an unknown reason and is discovered by the gardener the next day. Whether it was suicide or an (unintentional) drug overdose remains open (no blood can be seen, the body is intact). Shortly before and after his death , a mysterious red-clad person can be seen in the garden shed. At the end of the film, his roommates flee the hustle and bustle of Blake's death and fear of accusations. His body is removed by the police.

Reviews

Roger Ebert wrote in the Chicago Sun-Times on August 12, 2005 that the film was dedicated to Kurt Cobain , but Blake was not Kurt Cobain. As in Gerry and Elephant , the death of the main character carries no message.

Jonathan Trout wrote on August 29, 2005 for the BBC that the film was "melancholy" and "undeniably beautiful" . The camera work and the editing would show the "disorientation of Cobain / Blake" . However, the film does not focus on the inner being of the main character, which it deprives of their “charisma and tension” .

Cinema magazine wrote that the images were "captured by a nervous hand-held camera" . The film is "difficult to enjoy due to the endlessly long takes and the lack of any plot" .

The film critic Stefan Grissemann voted the film in Profil magazine as the best film of the first ten years of the 21st century.

Awards

The film took part in the Cannes International Film Festival in 2005 as a competition entry, whereby Gus Van Sant was nominated for the Palme d' Or. Leslie Shatz received the festival's Technical Grand Prize for the clay . Cinematographer Harris Savides was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award in 2006.

backgrounds

  • The film was in Garrison ( New York ) and Portland ( Oregon turned).
  • The average length of the only 132 takes (a normal film counts around 500) of the film is approx. 43 seconds. The longest shot is 8:17 minutes.
  • Its world premiere took place on May 13, 2005 at the Cannes International Film Festival , which was followed by several other film festivals.
  • On July 22, 2005, it came to selected cinemas in the USA, where it grossed around 455 thousand US dollars . The German premiere followed on January 11, 2007.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Film review by Roger Ebert , accessed October 9, 2008
  2. ↑ Jonathan Trout's film review , accessed October 9, 2008
  3. ^ Cinema , accessed October 9, 2008
  4. ^ Filming locations for Last Days , accessed October 9, 2008
  5. ↑ Release dates for Last Days , accessed October 9, 2008
  6. ↑ Box office / business for Last Days , accessed October 9, 2008