International Film Festival Rotterdam
Official Selection
Welcome to Fandor. Watch thousands of award-winning films online.
×
New Jerusalem2011
Sean, an Irish immigrant to America, returning from military service in Afghanistan, finds his heart and mind in disarray. He befriends Ike, (Will Oldham, in his first leading role since OLD JOY) a strong willed Evangelical Christian, who endeavors to ensure the fragile Seanʼs salvation. A meditation on mutual need and frailty, NEW JERUSALEM explores the allure and limitations of modern utopian belief.
What makes this film worth watching?
"While NEW JERUSALEM's rigid formalism will surely be off-putting to some, there's beauty to be found in the film's sheen of placid grime." - Sherilyn Connelly, Village Voice
3 members like this review
Lonlieness and alienation are hallmarks of modern urban life that are seldom addressed in films. This movie tackles these themes head-on and yet refuses to offer simplistic solutions ( or any solution at all for that matter ) .
The lead characters cope as best they can and that is the lot of so many of us.
This movie is slow-paced and inconclusive but it deserves praise for taking on such a largely ignored theme and presenting it in a credible and well acted manner.
top reviewer
Cast & Crew
Genres
Festivals & Awards
Related Articles
Starring
- Chris Dovi - Ike's Friend 2
- Roxanne Ferris - Store Clerk
- Ricky Goran - Ike's Friend 4
- Colm O'Leary - Sean Murphy
- Ryan J. O'Neill - Ike's Friend 1
- Will Oldham - Ike Evans
- Eddie Prendergast - Ike's Friend 3
- Walter Scott - Walt
Directed By
Executive Produced By
Produced By
Cinematography
Poster & Images
Member Reviews (3)
top reviewer
Lonlieness and alienation are hallmarks of modern urban life that are seldom addressed in films. This movie tackles these themes head-on and yet refuses to offer simplistic solutions ( or any solution at all for that matter ) .
The lead characters cope as best they can and that is the lot of so many of us.
This movie is slow-paced and inconclusive but it deserves praise for taking on such a largely ignored theme and presenting it in a credible and well acted manner.
3 members like this review
top reviewer
Basically a rehash of the same theme--- the world of a depressed individual--- that was explored in THE BUILDER , a film Alverson produced a year earlier. Only this time everything is transferred to a used tire shop with the added subplot involving a bromance with an evangelical co-worker. Again, mostly day to day minutiae, images which offer little of any substance with which the viewer can begin to understand what is transpiring in the protagonist's mind or what, if any, message the film is intended to convey.
top reviewer
Alverson's film offers a study of two very different men trying to form a friendship for two very different reasons. The film is intimate, intense and disturbing. Alverson takes a number of risks here and they almost all pay-off.