SubUrbia

Youth. A time of rebellion, unrestrained fun, searching for oneself and better prospects. And sitting at the gas station with friends, sipping cheap alcohol, gossiping about old acquaintances, pondering the fate of the world and one’s own future. It is a time when one night can change an entire life.

In this 1996 film, Richard Linklater (Where’d You Go, Bernadette?, 10th AFF; his latest film Blue Moon is also screened in this year’s Tauron AFF edition), one clearly feels the spirit of Peter Bogdanovich’s Last Picture Show (1971), showing that though times change, the struggles of young people remain the same. The director, basing the film on actor Eric Bogosian’s play, observes reality with a practiced eye, without judging his characters. He simply lets them be, which results in a film where we can see ourselves as in a mirror, while simultaneously perceiving the underlying tensions and struggles that have shaped the history of America for years. A beautiful vivisection of youth, its insecurities and accompanying tensions.