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State of Mind 

“We may not always be as happy as you always dreamed we’d be, but for once, let’s just allow ourselves to be whatever it is we are.”

Having only seen Garden State a couple of days ago it, I think I might reconsider giving it another half-star (so ) simply for the fact that I’m still thinking about it. I saw Taxi () tonight and have completely (and happily) forgotten everything I’d just seen. But because Garden State struck some familiar cords, that shit lingers with you and any film that does that is usually destined to become a cult classic. It’s already on my DVD wish list for next year and even though the US DVD is out just after Christmas, I want to wait a while before I see it multiple times again. I’m not sure how Australian audiences will react to it, but David and Margaret both enjoyed it. Just please, don’t go into theatres expecting too much because you’ll be ultimately disappointed. Those who connected with Lost in Translation will probably enjoy it (a film which obviously inspired director, writer and star Zach Braff)

Maybe then I should probably mention the circumstances I saw the film in as well since I was in one of those moods personified throughout the film where you kinda feel shitty and lost at the same time. The shitty feeling was attributed to the fact that the Arts screening of my documentary completely fucked up. The audio wouldn’t work and they had to cancel my film being shown. When you work hard on something and you’re reasonably happy with the end product, you want to show it to your peers but well that didn’t eventuate due to technical issues. Yeah - I got pretty pissed off, especially when I got a call from my lecturer that morning saying it was one of the best docos of the production year, if not the best (she was obviously on hard drugs to make such a statement). Then I got angry with the organisers because they should have tested all the documentaries in the auditorium beforehand, but they claimed to have only tested them on a laptop, not a set top DVD player. I knew what the problem was but unfortunately they couldn’t solve it there and then so yeah I went home feeling like shit.

So yeah, there was that and then there was some other shit going on that left me feeling hanging and a little lost. So basically I saw Garden State in the state of mind to get the most out of it. I think the film will connect with some of you and turn others towards the exits. It left me feeling better that’s for sure. Actually, maybe you should just see it for yourselves and tell me whether or not it’s worth a post at all.

Related Links:

- Zach Braff’s blog. Gets a couple more comments on his site than I do.
- A good review to read for the twenty-something generation.
- 88% fresh at Rotten Tomatoes. Plenty of reviews to read there too.
- Great interview about Garden State with Braff here (Beware of spoilers).