One Good Movie - Off the Grid

Hi friend,In 2020 I spent seven months camping in national parks, forests, and BLM lands across twenty-seven states.

On that trip, I saw a multitude of Americas: expensive glass-coated cities, comfortable vinyl-sided suburbia, and rusted-out small towns. On the periphery always a trailer park overstuffed and contracted on a sliver of land. Chain link fences surround the parks, keeping residents in more than anyone out.

Beyond these communities, I encountered people living off the grid. Some were stationary. Many were vagabonds. Traveling from place to place with no permanent home.

This week's movie is about a father and daughter who live without a home.

Leave No Trace

Ben Foster is an Iraq vet with PTSD. Thomasin McKenzie is his thirteen-year-old daughter. They live in a forest near Portland, Oregon. It's based on a true story.

Director Debra Granik is an exciting filmmaker; she focuses on the other half of America. 166 million in the United States live paycheck to paycheck. 40 million are in poverty. She's made three features about people not represented in the MCU.

Granik shows empathy and understanding, without reaching for melodrama.

Foster is an all-in actor. Sometimes that commitment is wasted on bad material or rings of self-importance. Here it's a perfect fit.

Let me know what you think.

-Guy

Epilogue

If you do go into the woods, make sure to bring this.