My Own Private Idaho

Gus Van Sant has always been an interesting filmmaker. He cares about character and story and through the process, his artistic integrity is able to shine through his work and that is why he's considered a prominent director in independent cinema. My Own Private Idaho is more of is more well known independent features and is often viewed as a triumph of independent cinema from the 1990s.

The film follows Mark Waters (River Phoenix) an aimless, misguided young man who hustles on the streets and is yearning to find his way in life. His best friend is Scott Favor (Keanu Reeves), who is also a young man and and a hustler, but who instead is running away from his life in the hope of finding something better. Scott comes from a lot of wealth but chooses not to live that lifestyle because when he's this young and wild, he just doesn't believe that its right for him.

However the film is centered around Mark, who is played with such brutal honestly by the late River Phoenix. River is completely dedicated to the character and brings a wonderful vulnerability to a lost soul and it makes him relatable. We watch him go from scene to scene, leaving us as unaware of his future as he is. We watch him make many mistakes and we want him to better himself but such a task is not easy. Because that's the way life is.

Mark hustles because its just who he is. We don't know how he got here, but we know that he has fallen into this lifestyle and it has consumed him. He needs the money. All of his friends are hustlers, too. He has dreams but its tough to say if he ever truly wants to leave the lifestyle. It seems that getting clients and often falling asleep during it (due to him being narcoleptic) doesn't seem to take as much of a toll on him as does his thoughts about his mother, or his feelings for his best friend.

Gus Van Sant crafts a very fine film here that focuses on such a lifestyle that we're not exposed to in our every day lives and turns it into something we can all relate to. It all comes back to that road, the road that we're all on. Does it really end? Probably not. Much like in the way that Mark is shown standing on that road, staring out into the nothingness. Its really about our lives. We live and we're happy, and we're sad, and we're lonely, and we're lost, and we've found ourselves, all of these things happen on the very same road that never ends.

I watched this film on TV 5 years ago, when I was only eleven years old, and I remember that I was especially impressed by River Phoenix's magnificent performance. I had already watched "Stand By Me" (one of my favorites), and it was very interesting to watch him older in such a daring film. I think he was the best actor of his generation but, unfortunately, he died too young. His film legacy and his magnificent aura, however, live on forever.

"My Own Private Idaho" is a poetic and bittersweet road movie, and Van Sant's masterpiece. Here in Brazil it received a bad title, "Garotos de Programa" (literally, "Rent Boys"). Yes, the main characters are rent boys, but this is not what defines them. "My Own Private Idaho" (what a beautiful title!) mostly deals with loneliness, virile sexuality and friendship, and paternity. It's much more than "a film about rent boys". Besides, by watching it my contemporaries will realize that Keanu Reeves isn't Neo from "The Matrix", but a versatile actor; and, perhaps, they'd discover that friendship - and romantic love - between two men can be truly sincere. 10/10.

This is the movie that I sincerely hope River Phoenix will long be remembered for. His performance as the narcoleptic and confused street-hustler Mike is so perfect and touching and realistic that it makes me cry every time. Gus Van Sant's films often have a strange aura about them (see Drugstore Cowboy, To Die For) and never has it been more evident than in this oddly affecting road movie/drama. The camera shots of long horizon-spanning roads and skylines, fast-motion clouds, surreal and symbolic shots of houses and rushing rivers provide the film with a strange almost other-worldly charm. Interspersed with the gritty realism of life on the streets of Portland Oregon in the early 90's, and (stranger still) Shakespeare. Some of the plot (Bob and Scott mainly) is based on the Shakespeare play Henry IV (with Keanu Reeves playing the Prince Hal character of Scott, and William Richert playing the Falstaff-like role of "King-Of-The-Streets" Bob.) It's a fascinating, touching and very successful blend of styles overall. The big themes (the search for love and belonging) are conveyed in a very interesting and genuinely moving manner. I particularly enjoyed the symbolism and pathos the film flittingly suggests. The performances are uniformly excellent, and this movie remains one of my all-time favourites. One of the greatest (and most unique) indie movies of the 1990's.

Gus Van Sant, truly one of the best directors in this century, has a visionary eye that enables audiences to see life in a different/new way. In this case he takes Henry IV- usually overshadowed by Henry V, and turns it in to a heart wrenching tale that modern audiences can appreciate. The visual pictures that get layered on and on and on our eyeballs are like dance steps carefully plotted. The use of lesser known actors is refreshing, and the chemistry between River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves is overwhelming. This is a must see for any lover of independent films, for any person tired of predictable plots, or for anyone who wants to open their heart to vulnerable characters and love them. This movie gets you involved.

This movie isn't about being, or even about being a hustler. "My Own Private Idaho" is about finding a home. In his finest performance, River Phoenix plays Mike, a narcoleptic street hustler with false memories of a terrific childhood. Mike wants to find his mother and family, but how or why he left them is never discussed. This is a movie that shows life at the lowest rung, and is very similar to Kerouac's "On the Road" and especially John Rechy's "City of Night." (In fact the line about becoming a fairy is straight from "City of Night"). Mike and Scott (Keanu Reeves) are both male prostitutes in Oregon. Why either of them have drifted into this profession is anyone's guess. Scott is clearly not gay, but Mike might be and their relationship is what holds the movie together. The film works on many levels, but does have its flaws. It's faux-Shakespearen scenes make the film drag in the middle. Van Sant directed the movie like a dream, which is what Mike's life basically is.

This is a haunting and very sad tale about friendship and finding a home. The performances, especially Phoenix and Udo Kier and Van Sant's dream-like direction are what you remember. "My Own Private Idaho" may be a flawed film, but in my opinion, it is one of the very best of the '90's.