Sightlines · reception
How Gerry was received
2002 · Gus Van Sant · Gerry on Sightlines
The arc
Booed and walked out on at Sundance 2002 — plenty of first-wave reviews called it an endurance test — but it's since been reclaimed as the audacious start of Van Sant's 'Death Trilogy,' the reset that led straight to Elephant's Palme d'Or.
What’s debated
The eternal Gerry fight: is it hypnotic slow cinema or two movie stars walking in a desert for 100 minutes — and fans still can't agree whether the boredom is the point.
Its footprint
It's a slow-cinema shibboleth — the 'dirt mattress' bit and the two-heads-bobbing tracking shot get referenced endlessly, and 'to gerry' something (i.e., screw it up) is a beloved piece of in-film slang fans still quote.
Where it stands
A cult object and cinephile litmus test — the deep-cut Van Sant you name-drop on Letterboxd to signal you're serious about long takes.
Did you know? The screenplay is credited jointly to Van Sant, Matt Damon, and Casey Affleck — the three developed it together largely through improvisation — and the desert was actually three: shot in Argentina, Utah's salt flats, and Death Valley.
Named by the director
- Béla Tarr — Van Sant repeatedly cited Tarr as the key influence on Gerry's long-take style, and screened his films with Damon and Affleck before shooting.
- Sátántangó (1994) — Van Sant named Tarr's seven-hour epic specifically, and Gerry's extended walking shots are an open homage to it.