Gasoline Rainbow

MOVIE #1,914 • 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿 • 08.20.24 I saw this on the evening of Saturday, June 15th, 2024 at the Civic Theater of Allentown. There were only two other people in attendance — a couple of middle-aged ladies who sat oddly close to the front row (another older man wandered in carrying a motorcycle helmet but left about fifteen minutes later). It was a bit depressing seeing such a sorry turnout but I hope that theater keeps on keeping on, playing (mostly) second-run, sort of deep-cut indies to paltry crowds. I went into this without knowing a thing about the Ross Brothers. I basically committed to seeing whatever happened to be playing on that particular trip as part of my movie pilgrimage weekend to the Mahoning Drive-In in western PA.

I’m not sure I would have enjoyed this any more if I had seen it in chronological order, but — after running through their first seven films in fast succession — I definitely appreciate it better, especially how it functions as a companion to Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets in a sense. That film featured flawed, old non-actors and was fiction presented as a documentary. This film features flawed, young non-actors and feels like a documentary but is presented as a fiction film. The disconnect (and why this is the weakest movie in their oeuvre) occurs in the fact that while this has the essence of the doc, it never truly feels like one — meaning: if I had gone into this thinking it was real, I don’t think the final product would have fooled me (again: see Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets). This looks and feels like non-actors ‘acting’, which isn’t a bad thing in and of itself. I think you can get away with inserting ‘non-actors’ into roles and have it work wonderfully (see many of the Safdie Brothers’ films), but flushing out the entire cast with them leaves you exposed.

Still, this isn’t a bad movie. It looks amazing and has its moments here and there. Perhaps it speaks more to where I’m at in my life that I related to the old folks in Bloody Nose more than these Gen-Z (?) youngsters. I try not to be that guy, but Father Time catches up with us all. Overall, I really enjoyed these guys’ films and look forward to whatever they cook up next.

---

CHRONOLOGICALLY
⫷ MOVIE #1,913 - (YOU ARE HERE) - MOVIE #1,915 ⫸

---

Gasoline Rainbow is a 2023 American drama film written, directed, shot, and edited by the Ross brothers. It stars Tony Abuerto, Micah Bunch, Nichole Dukes, Nathaly Garcia and Makai Garza. Gasoline Rainbow had its world premiere at the 80th Venice International Film Festival. It was released on September 7, 2023.