Alex (Gabe Nevins) is a 16-year-old introvert and passionate skateboarder whose life is thrown off balance when his parents separate. Disoriented and seeking distraction, he follows his friend Jared (Jake Miller) to Paranoid Park, a legendary but illegally constructed skate park in Portland. He is fascinated by the atmosphere there – a mixture of freedom, rebellion and unwritten rules. Driven by youthful recklessness and a desire for adventure, he engages in a risky dare with an older skater. On the tracks of a nearby marshalling yard, he jumps onto a moving freight train – a decision with fatal consequences. A security guard is killed, and Alex is a silent witness to an accident that deeply disturbs him. Overwhelmed by guilt, he withdraws further and further and tries to suppress his growing panic as the noose slowly tightens around him. PARANOID PARK premiered at the 2007 Cannes International Film Festival, where it won the 60th Anniversary Award. Director Gus Van Sant, known for his poetic and introspective portraits of youth, uses a fragmentary narrative style to communicate the inner chaos of his protagonist. Christopher Doyle's hypnotic camerawork and the beguiling soundscape support the feeling of alienation and guilt that runs through the entire film.
Gus Van Sant's atmospheric study of teenage skater Jake, who tries to come to terms with a traumatic death.
Alex (Gabe Nevins) is a 16-year-old introvert and passionate skateboarder whose life is thrown off balance when his parents separate. Disoriented and seeking distraction, he follows his friend Jared (Jake Miller) to Paranoid Park, a legendary but illegally constructed skate park in Portland. He is fascinated by the atmosphere there – a mixture of freedom, rebellion and unwritten rules.
Driven by youthful recklessness and a desire for adventure, he engages in a risky dare with an older skater. On the tracks of a nearby marshalling yard, he jumps onto a moving freight train – a decision with fatal consequences. A security guard is killed, and Alex is a silent witness to an accident that deeply disturbs him. Overwhelmed by guilt, he withdraws further and further and tries to suppress his growing panic as the noose slowly tightens around him.
PARANOID PARK premiered at the 2007 Cannes International Film Festival, where it won the 60th Anniversary Award. Director Gus Van Sant, known for his poetic and introspective portraits of youth, uses a fragmentary narrative style to communicate the inner chaos of his protagonist. Christopher Doyle's hypnotic camerawork and the beguiling soundscape support the feeling of alienation and guilt that runs through the entire film.