Leave No Trace (2018)

[Hoke Moseley]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_07k...ature=youtu.be

A father and his thirteen year-old daughter are living in an ideal existence in a vast urban park in Portland, Oregon, when a small mistake derails their lives forever.

Looks great to me.

[jacobsever]

Saw a trailer for this the other week, in theaters. I cried in the 2 minute run time of the trailer. This movie is gonna kill me. I can't wait.

[Hoke Moseley]

Originally Posted by jacobsever

Saw a trailer for this the other week, in theaters. I cried in the 2 minute run time of the trailer. This movie is gonna kill me. I can't wait.

What was it in front of? I've just been seeing the same trailers over and over...

[jacobsever]

I believe American Animals.

[A Sith Lord?]

I've decided I'm going to see this tonight. After Hell or High Water, Ben Foster won me over. (He was on my roll eyes list after he was the worst part of Pandorum for me, which is one of my favorite sci-fi movies ever).

It's listed on MoviePass, but I was gonna pay out of pocket anyways, so hope it's good.

[Britnasty]

Opening here this weekend and have been waiting for it since I saw the trailer before On Chesil Beach 3 weeks ago.

[alexroubaix]

This movie is amazing. Beautiful and true, heartbreaking and optimistic

[A Sith Lord?]

Amazing movie from beginning to end.

Very similar vibes as The Road, except it's obviously not a post-apocalyptic world. But the lessons of life and emotions are similar.

[PBateman87]

Gahhh, really wanna see this movie and it hasn't played anywhere near me (and surely won't). Really wanna know that BD release date, this looks terrific.

[jackinbox]

Originally Posted by PBateman87

Gahhh, really wanna see this movie and it hasn't played anywhere near me (and surely won't). Really wanna know that BD release date, this looks terrific.

How far are you from Rehoboth Beach?

Leave No Trace Release Schedule

[Hoke Moseley]

Originally Posted by jackinbox

Leave No Trace Release Schedule

Thanks for posting... glad to see it'll be out near me this Friday.

[willtopower]

Originally Posted by A Sith Lord?

Amazing movie from beginning to end.

Very similar vibes as The Road, except it's obviously not a post-apocalyptic world. But the lessons of life and emotions are similar.

Interesting comparison. I can see it now. The Road is a much more nihilistic film, I think. That's probably why it resonated a whole lot more with me. The contrast of colour between The Road and Leave No Trace kinda says it all.

This is a very good movie though. I appreciate the small scope and numerous subtleties. It provided a very intimate experience.

[PBateman87]

Originally Posted by jackinbox

How far are you from Rehoboth Beach?

Leave No Trace Release Schedule

I'm at the northern end of the state, unfortunately, so that's a little far for me. But thanks for posting that release schedule - the Plymouth Meeting, PA theater is closer for me so I might check it out there.

[A Sith Lord?]

Originally Posted by willtopower

Interesting comparison. I can see it now. The Road is a much more nihilistic film, I think. That's probably why it resonated a whole lot more with me. The contrast of colour between The Road and Leave No Trace kinda says it all.

This is a very good movie though. I appreciate the small scope and numerous subtleties. It provided a very intimate experience.

Sure.

The Road is more nihilistic because it's a post-apocalyptic world. There's barely any glimmer of hope in that world other than his son's optimistic outlook.

But there's definitely some similarities. Both dads have trust issues and sort of PTSD. They are constantly teaching their kids self sustainability and survival. There's several conflicts in the movie where the child has to stand up and tell the dad no. The dad's are all about getting away from everyone and maintaining isolation.

[Show spoiler] I know Ben Foster's character was severely traumatized with PTSD, but I still can't believe he wouldn't stay with his daughter that he's been raising for years in the trailer park campground and would just go off instead alone. I know depression/suicidal thoughts will make you do crazy things, but even then the will of his daughter which was the only thing that kept him going should have been enough for him to keep trying.

[Shingster]

Yeah there's mild similarities at most really. The Road is a nihilistic post-apocalyptic survival film, this is really just an examination/celebration of the people who fall between the cracks of society and a man who simply can't exist within the system any more and a child who's reaching an age where she needs to explore the greater world around her.

Originally Posted by A Sith Lord?

[Show spoiler] I know Ben Foster's character was severely traumatized with PTSD, but I still can't believe he wouldn't stay with his daughter that he's been raising for years in the trailer park campground and would just go off instead alone. I know depression/suicidal thoughts will make you do crazy things, but even then the will of his daughter which was the only thing that kept him going should have been enough for him to keep trying.

[Show spoiler]Well he realises that he can't drag her into his survivalist/isolationist lifestyle anymore, she's growing up and she doesn't have any mental health issues and needs to integrate into society to thrive, so he makes the ultimate sacrifice as a parent. Don't forget he almost got them both killed by relocating to a significantly colder/harsher environment and then lived within that community for weeks by the end of the film so it's not like he's just abandoning her to the unknown, he knows they can take care of her and he can drop in on her in the future without compromising his own lifestyle (although I suspect from th eending that their future interactions may be her leaving food tied to a tree for him to collect like that other guy). That community is ultimately a tether that both can trust, however minute that tether may be.

[javi92]

Looks like it’s going wide(r) on the 13th.

[The Great Owl]

Four and a half stars

Will, a father played by Ben Foster (Hell or High Water), and Tom, his 13 year-old daughter, played by Thomasin McKenzie, live off of the grid in the expansive wilderness of a national park near Portland, Oregon. Their daily routine consists of foraging for food, building campfires, repairing leaks in their tent, reading, playing chess, and enjoying a existence of idyllic isolation. Ever so often, they venture into the city, where Will visits a Veterans Affairs hospital for post-traumatic stress disorder medications and then sells those medications to fellow vets in a nearby tent city in exchange for cash to buy meager supplies for their otherwise self-sufficient life under the trees.

Life changes quickly for this father and daughter when they are discovered by local authorities and ushered into a world of well-intended, but overwhelming bureaucracy, complete with social workers, a juvenile detention center, computerized psychological tests, endless forms about school admission and work programs, and constant inquiries about their unusual life choices. They are reunited shortly after and sent to live on a farm where Will is given probationary employment, but the experience causes a rift in their relationship. The adolescent Tom, who has never lived outside of the forest until now, is eager to make her place among others in the world around her, while Will visibly struggles to reconcile his desire for invisibility with his new life under a roof.

I have always been fascinated with movies about people living unconventional lives in the margins of society or outside the realms of comfort enjoyed by the masses. Leave No Trace, the latest work from director Debra Granik, who also explored existence between the cracks of America with her critically-acclaimed 2010 film, Winter's Bone, is a masterful family drama that avoids the pitfalls of overt emotional manipulation or didactic social criticisms in favor of a leisurely-paced low-key tale that allows us to feel our way around its parameters of our own accord, just as McKenzie's Tom adapts to her new surroundings with calmly genuine interest. We are only given occasional hints at a backstory or at the complexities of character interactions, but no additional information is needed as the camera quietly follows our two leads, both of whom convey all that we need to know by way of their eyes and their mannerisms.

You will not see any explosions, spaceships, or superheroes in Leave No Trace, but I'll venture to guess that most viewers will be all the more enthralled with its beautiful minimalism.

[PBateman87]

Good stuff, Great Owl! Makes me even more enthusiastic about making a bit of a trip to go the nearest theater that's playing this.

[Leonidas King]

I really wanted to love it but nevertheless it's still a great film.

4/5

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by Leonidas_King

I really wanted to love it but nevertheless it's still a great film.

4/5

Same, didn’t quite get swept up in it, but it’s really well crafted and the performances are top notch.