Gus Van Sant's Constant Thematic and Cinematic Elements
The differences in these films could not be more blatant, and yet Gus Van Sant has found a way to portray the same messages and use the same techniques in each.

Karla arrives in Tijuana, Mexico to stay at her estranged aunt’s house a year after her father’s death. In this moment of solitude and calm, she looks up, down, inward and outward via the transpositional alchemy of text and is reminded that speaking to oneself feels like a vital human practice.
The differences in these films could not be more blatant, and yet Gus Van Sant has found a way to portray the same messages and use the same techniques in each.
Typically in film, characters suffering from mental illness are used as plot devices or exaggerated for comedy. 'The House that Jack Built's representation exceeds in accuracy and realism of OCD.
What are we willing to walk through to see our dreams come to pass? Our minds might be so wholly alive with the passions we carry and the plans we make to see these things become all we wish them to be, yet life doesn’t always want to come alongside. Instead, obstacles arise, both physical and mental, which attempt to dissuade us or even prevent us from moving forward, stalling or stagnating the momentum to achieve what we desire. The age-old question remains….can we overcome? Or will we BE overcome?
Eternals is an interesting concept and unique visuals, but slow pacing and rushed character development suggests it should have been a mini-series.
Spirited inverts the tropes of the holiday musical genre to update an age-old tale for 2022. It's a paean to those who make grand spectacles possible.
At first glance, “The Good Liar” is a respectable piece of fiction, starring Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren. But underneath everything, the film expertly hones the unpredictability of deceit.