ARCO-ÍRIS DE GASOLINA

This is cinema today, with few means but an urgent and necessary narrative verve, an unrepeatable moment to capture and make dance in the eyes of the spectator. This is a very naïve road movie that goes nowhere, but that's exactly the point. The directionless escape, that botched excitement that exudes sublime and releases the energy of adolescence, of the future without a destination, of the necessary escape. The Ross brothers are attached to their characters, which are an offshoot of themselves, almost, in a maniacal and adorable way, they apply their documentary experience and their authorial sensitivity to a sensitive and delicate subject such as adolescence, always and forever. Always. The truth is in the moment, the escape action is an instinct, the direction is optional, the important thing is the journey and the sensations it gives you, or will give you in the future and the Ross brothers know how to shape this chaos of videos and photos of cell phones, lo-fi digital footage and budding adolescence with thrilling artistry and poetry, letting you dive into the lives of these kids with a rare vitality. A precious and emotional film to reconcile with the present.

20 minutes into "Gasoline Rainbow" and I was pretty bored. This movie is why I don't want to hang out with 18 year olds. The kids in this can barely form a coherent, intelligent thought. Their vocabulary is limited to variations of the "f" word. They all seemed interchangeable. I barely knew their names. If they had interests, hobbies, aspects of their personalities that set them apart from each other, you don't learn about them.

But, while I'm not sure I ever completely got over my restlessness while watching this movie, this movie does work a kind of modest spell. By the time it was over, I realized that I had gotten to know these kids and had started to feel a little protective of them, and my wife and I had quite a bit to ruminate about after the movie was over. It made me appreciate living in a place like Chicago, with access to so much, and where I can expose my kids to the world. A lot of Americans who've never known anything other than big cities and the suburban areas immediately around them have no concept of the vast spaces out there, and how deadening and hopeless it can feel to grow up in them.

"Gasoline Rainbow" feels like a bunch of young people without any resources to actually make a movie decided to just go ahead and make one anyway. For that reason, it feels often like you have to do a lot of the work yourself. That can be wonderful, and many times is actually what I prefer in my movies. But it can sometimes also come across as lazy and half-baked. It's like paying for a meal in a restaurant and having to make half of it yourself. It feels like the directors gathered some friends together and just started winging it, hoping something substantial would emerge. It sort of does, but not enough to be really satisfying. If you're not going to have a strong screenplay and give your actors structure and direction, then you need to make sure they're really good at improvisation. Stoned, drunk people are actually really boring to hang out with.

So while I overall am glad I saw this, I can see why others would be bored to sobs by it. I don't blame them, and I'm not sure I could unequivocally recommend it to anyone else.

Grade: B.

The movie captures the essence of being young exceptionally well. The uncertainty, the problems, the not knowing what the future holds. Sure, it might lack in some aspects, it doesn't have the life changing quotes or crafted dialogues. But it reminds you of being young. As someone who grew up on the other side of the world, did mischievous stuff with friends and felt confused growing up, i recognised the universal feel of real friendships and love between ordinary people seen in the film. Also, people who rate it as 1 are either too old to remember being young or never had real friends. Brilliant. And remember, life works in mysterious ways.

Man, i really hate to leave a negative review for a cast of kids and an indie flick on a budget, so i'm sorry everybody, but this movie was like watching some random persons iphone's camera roll and just as uneventful as you could imagine that to be.

I have a hard time believing there was any kind of script or game plan to this "movie". No real thought provoking dialogue between cast members throughout their journey. No real meaningful conversations. Nothing interesting emotionally or visually ... just two hours of totally random 'happenings' and word vomit as these kids went from the east side of oregon to the west.

Along the way they encounter a bunch of other (trashy) people while someone sits back and records all these interactions. It's really that basic and about as boring as you would think.

There was absolutely no need to drag this out for two hours. An hour and fifteen minutes would've been more than enough for this movie/doc.

Also of note, it made oregon, one of the most beautiful places in America, seem super crappy and trashy, which it's just not.

Very disappointing to say the least.

If you have something else you were considering, i'm 99% sure that will be better than this.

I suppose you can watch a movie like this and feel nothing at all if you really want to.

That wasn't the case for me. Loved the thing, felt really connected to the group even though I more than double their age and I'm South American. Made me realize how similar the life experiences of people can be across time and space. How universal our feelings are.

And the closing track almost made me cry, so much beauty and feeling.

Sorry, not very great with the English language, but wanted to offer a counterpoint to the chorus of jaded reviews. I watched, I loved, left an impression on me. Hope you can be open to it as well.