HL2: Wendy and Lucy (2008) / Old Joy (2006)

Come celebrate our second birthday with two films by Kelly Reichardt, WENDY AND LUCY (2008) and OLD JOY (2006)! Schedule: • Doors: 6:30pm • Wendy & Lucy - 7pm • Intermission / doors for Old Joy - 8:30pm • Old Joy - 8:45pm • Ends around 10:15pm --- The leaves are falling, the days are getting shorter, but in spite of the impending seasonal dread, we’re having a ball because it is Hard Light’s second birthday 🎂 To celebrate, hop in the van with us as we head up to the gloomy Pacific Northwest with two of Kelly Reichardt’s most celebrated early films, 2008’s Wendy and Lucy and 2006’s Old Joy. These movies are like siblings: both feature Reichardt’s dog Lucy and Will Oldham (aka singer-songwriter legend Bonnie “Prince” Billy); take place in/around Portland, Oregon; and focus on finding glimmers of joy amidst life’s hardships. We’re big fans of Ms. Reichardt here at Team Hard Light, and with these serene features (and especially Old Joy‘s iconic soundtrack by Yo La Tengo), we’re going to celebrating the season in style 🍂 Come join us in celebrating our birthday at our last S23 screening of the year! See y’all there 🫶 — Jay Wilson, Hard Light Cinema Wendy and Lucy (2008) Wendy Carroll (Michelle Williams) is driving to Ketchikan, Alaska, in hopes of a summer of lucrative work at the Northwestern Fish cannery, and the start of a new life with her dog, Lucy. When her car breaks down in Oregon, however, the thin fabric of her financial situation comes apart, and she confronts a series of increasingly dire economic decisions, with far-ranging repercussions for herself and Lucy. Wendy and Lucy addresses issues of sympathy and generosity at the edges of American life, revealing the limits and depths of people’s duty to each other in tough times. Old Joy (2006) Two old friends reunite for a quietly revelatory overnight camping trip in this breakout feature from Kelly Reichardt, a microbudget study of character and masculinity that introduced many viewers to one of contemporary American cinema’s most independent artists. As expectant father Mark (Daniel London) and nomadic Kurt (Will Oldham) travel by car and foot into the woods in search of some secluded hot springs, their fumbling attempts to reconnect keep butting up against the limits of their friendship and the reality of how much their paths have diverged since their shared youth. Adapted from a short story by Jon Raymond and accompanied by an atmospheric Yo La Tengo score, Old Joy is a contemplative, wryly observed triumph whose modest scale belies the richness of its insight.