Rio Perdido

Ryan Gosling wrote and directed a fine first film, a tale about ordinary people surrounded by myth and decay, in an almost abandoned town in Michigan. However, the movie was submitted to the wrong film festival: you know, Cannes means tough competition and the French can be haughty. With the tone of an apocalyptic fable, «Lost River» would have been more appreciated in specialized events, as the fantasy film festivals celebrated in Porto, Neuchâtel, Brussels, Málaga, Roma, Amsterdam, Gérardmer, Puchon, Austin or Buenos Aires. «Lost River» strongly belongs in those festivals and it could have been awarded with several prizes: first work by a new director, for its cinematography, screenplay, or for a couple of good performances. Handled by Warner Brothers, the company did not know what to do with this motion picture, so it considered "selling the distribution rights to another company" and finally decided to limit its exposure to on- demand exhibitions. Or simply put: it just decided to kill it.

«Lost River» belongs to a special lineage of American films that portrait people and places of the United States that are often ignored or mistreated in mainstream cinema by filmmakers without any compassion or understanding of their situation: see how Alan Parker portrayed poverty in Mississippi, with a "chic touch" in the deplorable «Angel Heart». I refer to a lineage as old as King Vidor's «Street Scene», to Robert Altman's «Thieves Like Us», David Lynch's «Blue Velvet», Michael Moore's «Roger & Me», and many other independent films that came to my mind, as Harmony Korine's «Gummo», Jeff Nichols' «Mud», Daniel Patrick Carbone's «Hide Your Smiling Faces» and Kat Candler's «Hellion».

As an individual of these times, Gosling was audio-visually formed from watching television and films since childhood, so he wrote a fragmented script, but it does have a linear Aristotelian plot with well-defined three acts, precise plot points, a satisfying resolution and well-structured (and a few fascinating) characters. In the story a single mother (Christina Hendricks) tries to save her childhood home and keep her little family united (she and her two sons) in the dying town of Lost River. To do so she takes a job offer from a bank manager (Ben Mendelsohn) in a night club from hell, where the main attraction (Eva Mendes) dances to "Moliendo café" as sung by Lucho Gatica, to be suddenly beaten and killed by a hoodlum and spread her blood on the audience (all as part of the show). In this way the mother enters a sordid and morbid sector of society (imagine that all clients are Dennis Hoppers from «Blue Velvet» times 50, plus the naked and masked bourgeoisie of «Eyes Wide Shut»).

Simultaneously her adolescent son (Iain de Caestecker) tries to help her by extracting and selling pieces of copper found in derelict buildings, which are claimed by a psychopath (Matt Smith) who controls what is left of the town. As he runs from the guy, the boy incidentally discovers a submerged town in a lake, and his girlfriend neighbor (Saoirse Ronan) tells him that her grandmother (Barbara Steele) --who decided to remain silent when her husband died-- predicted that the day someone brings a fragment of the lost town to the surface, Lost River will be freed from a curse.

Although what is being told is very violent in spirit (and overtly so in some scenes), Gosling moved his story with a smooth and gentle pace, unfolding the tale in a calm manner, rarely unaltered, which brings me to my only objection, a factor that did alter this tone of serenity: the music score by Johnny Jewel. Not because it is bad music, but for being unnecessary in most of the cases. This is not only a problem in Gosling's film, but in almost all movies, especially in American productions. Filmmakers seem to mistrust the power of the images they create and allow composers, editors and sound crew to overemphasize what is obvious. Besides Jewel's cues are too short and have a spasmodic effect: they accentuate a phrase, an expression, an action, and then fade until the next reaction. But fortunately the film transcends this limitation.

As you watch «Lost River», it is true that you may remember one or two works from Lynch or Nicolas Winding Refn, but I do not see the point of making a fuss about this, when all filmmakers, from Woody Allen to Brian De Palma, show their influences and no one complains. They are even exalted because of copying Ingmar Bergman or Alfred Hitchcock. This said, as a whole «Lost River» is a satisfying motion picture, with good performances by all: even in a silento role Barbara Steele is remarkable. Forget what some say about «Lost River» and watch it. You will like it.

Most famous actors rely heavily on the production team during their directorial debuts and aren't very involved in the directing process. Last year, Angelina Jolie truly proved this with her movie Unbroken (actually her second film as a director though). A high budget WW2 film that Jolie clearly didn't put much effort into. It feels like the whole idea was just given to her when she called her agent and stated that she would like to direct a new movie. It is also not uncommon to see actors casting themselves in their directorial debuts, such as Zach Braff in Garden State. Lost River, is the weirdest directorial debut you'll ever see from an actor.

I've always liked Ryan Gosling. He picks his movies carefully and works great with "different" directors like Nicolas Winding Refn and Derek Cianfrance. Lost River is probably the strangest film in recent years. It is hard to explain what it is about so I'm not going to talk about that in this review.

The movie is very similar to most David Lynch films, especially Mulholland Drive. Therefore, one of the best things about Lost River is actually the cinematography, it helps to create the mysterious experience. I'm a very big fan of thrillers which don't explain everything to the viewer, but I know most people aren't. And that's why many will dislike this movie for what it is. With that being said, if you hate to re-watch films and want simple story lines, Lost River is not what you should be watching.

I really appreciate all the effort Ryan Gosling has put into this movie. It is risky to make a film like Lost River these days, and I'm glad Gosling was willing to take that risk to show his trademark. It is notable that he actually made the movie himself and didn't rely on the producers. Fans of David Lynch, Nicolas Winding Refn and David Cronenberg will surely have a good time with Lost River. I'm looking forward to Gosling's next feature, and can't wait to re-watch this film.

Ryan Gosling's first rodeo at the Writer/Director's chair was something. The dramatic mystery-fantasy ride that Gosling is taking us on is enchanting but also disturbing.

Lost River first looks like a documentary or an old film but it gets weird real fast. The documentary aspect of it comes from the debt crisis theme the movie has, people choking with debts leaving their homes, deserted neighborhoods and ghost towns but the film goes from a very grounded theme into a phantasmagorical world filled with disturbing dark metaphors with violent and/or dodgy characters.

The music is hypnotic and fits the surrealism atmosphere of the film but it gets annoying real fast. Although it mostly fits the movie, there's almost too much of it, the music is not really helping in the cinematic experience of Lost River.

No matter how you may feel about the movie you can't deny that it's beautifully acted. Ryan Gosling knows how to pick his cast but the one I was most surprised about, was Iain De Caestecker, whose presence and performance was electric. Iain is impressive, from the second he appears on screen everything you need to know about his character is there, you can read it on his face, his attitude and hear it in his voice. He held his own next to Hendricks and Ronan, as it turns out he is incredibly talented.

I know Lost River must be - is - a metaphor but god I need help to figure it out. I may not be doing enough drugs to understand that film or I haven't experience enough of life but it was difficult for me to decipher. A short version of the film would have been fine, great even, but a full feature film, wow that's something.

Lost River is an experience, like any ride in an amusement park it will leave its mark but it doesn't mean that you'll enjoy it. @wornoutspines

Beware, this movie is quite dark and disturbing. It has a certain Terry Gilliam feel about it, although it goes deeper and touches the dark bottom of your soul. It is beautifully shot, has a constant subtle tension and very good music. Although the story is rather predictable it reminded me of the greatest epic tales of mankind.

Very rich and creative debut. Good actors and superb camera work, settings and effects.

The movie feels like a true nightmare sometimes, don't be fooled, though - it is not a classical horror movie or thriller. It is more like a dark dream put onto celluloid. You see lots of blood and some violence, still it will not work for typical fans of guts and gore movies.

Real cinema.

Id hate to compare Gosling to Refn, because in reality their styles in film making are completely different. This being said, I found Lost River very pleasing for that reason. Gosling's debut is worth watching. If you have immersed yourself in categories of film such as Lost River, you'll love it. However, if you haven't seen many movies like this one, I recommend finding a title related to this one with a higher rating and (maybe) higher commercialization. Afterwards, come back and appreciate what Gosling has to offer because every frame is shot with care. He is an actor/director who cares and there isn't a whole lot of that these days.