Around the time that she was putting the finishing touches on her 2009 drama Fish Tank, English writer-director Andrea Arnold stumbled upon a 2007 New York Times piece about the desperate lives of mag crews. It was a frank look at the young runaways traveling in groups across America, hawking magazine subscriptions when they werent sleeping on floors in motel rooms. a rich, complex performance. It was like a huge family. I don't really know what's going to happen. ARNOLD: Yeah. All rights reserved. Its hard to be out 10, 12, 18 hours a day, trying to get people to buy things. The crew ends up living temporarily in a rundown house, and Jake and Star renew their relationship. the country. The crew is dropped off at the new neighborhood to make a sell. WebIn this installment of Films Explained, I explore the elusive narrative and symbolism in Andrea Arnold's American Honey (2016). Theyre free to be to do nothing in the world, really, but exist. She's trying things on. She's got a boat load of stuff. "Ride" by Ciara is an energetic hip-hop track that underscores the excitement of the road trip. And there are quite a few kind of people going around looking for girls to be in porn films. Star does, and makes the sale. She wrote and directed the new film "American Honey." Kiss Paul Stanley Has 'Thoughts' About Parents Who Support Kids Gender Identities Star climbs in the back of their truck and tries to sell to them, but one of the oil workers tells her he'll pay her five hundred dollars to go on a date with him. See production, box office & company info. When they return to the hotel for the evening, Jake tells her not to mention their relationship, and he gives the money Star earned to Krystal. I'm trying to get my life back together. But if I explain it, I feel like then we take the mystery of film away. Even though it's tough, but I'm desperate to leave it. It felt like a real dysfunctional road trip with some interesting characters. Soon afterward shes picked up by three middle-aged Texas cowboys who agree to buy a large amount of her magazines if shes willing to swallow a worm from the bottom of a glass of Mezcal (a strong Mexican alcoholic beverage). That's your call. The film looks like a revved-up documentary, with swirling handheld camera that gets in the characters faces and trails them on their breathless odyssey to nowhere. 3.5. ARNOLD: You didn't wash your hands because Jake has, like, fake tan on - you know, orange hands. grilling meat by a pool, oil fields blazing at night, a trucker listening to
And she did., Trending She like buys clothes all the time because she's not happy with herself, so she's constantly kind of buying clothes and trying, you know, make up for the things she doesn't feel good about. Variety is a part of Penske Media Corporation. American Honey is a 2016 road drama film written and directed by Andrea Arnold. But the movie also has an incredible groove. And what I read is that there was no one going to miss them, and they were not leaving very much behind. How did the image come to you of getting Shia LaBeouf on his knees, massaging - lotioning the legs of the crew leader? Its the virus of freedom without a dream. Arnold's latest film, which won the Jury Prize at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, tells the story of a group of abandoned teenagers who travel together selling magazine subscriptions door-to-door. So to try and sit here and explain it, for me, would sort of unravel some of the mystery of it. Oh, she's like putting fake tan on and just thought, oh, Crystal's been to the shop. WebWhats happening in this Honey movie clip? Yet you also cant help but notice that this dance explosion in the chain store has a frayed recklessness about it. The trio bring her to their home and offer to buy several subscriptions if she eats the worm at the bottom of a bottle of mezcal. Although it's all about teens and young people, it's packed with extremely mature, adult-oriented content, Why is this movie in 1.37:1 (4:3)? At the pickup that day, Jake is in the van, and Star is confused as to whether to be happy to see him or not. GROSS: Wait. Theres an energy to the hazy days
In a parking lot, Star catches the eye of Jake (Shia LaBeouf), a bearded glamour-puss whos like a cocky, rat-tailed James Dean, and moments later, when she follows him into a Wal-Mart, and Jake and the other kids break into dance moves near the checkout counter to the synth-throb of Rihanna and Calvin Harris We Found Love (its blaring over the stores speaker system), and Jake jumps up on the counter, which is enough to get a cashier to call security, the scene looks like a pop-renegade epiphany to place alongside every moviefrom Jailhouse Rock to 8 Mile.. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future.
Film review: Sasha Lane and Shia LaBeouf in American Honey The server responded with {{status_text}} (code {{status_code}}). And ARNOLD: Yeah. keeps us with our characters instead of visually wandering the landscape. And she was standing at a gas station and a mag crew kind of rolled in to get some gas. Here we go. Star eventually admits what happened, causing Jake to get angry, smashing the belongings in the house before running off. Andrea Arnold also directed "Fish Tank" and "Wuthering Heights" as well as several episodes of the series "Transparent.". "[58] On review aggregator Metacritic, it holds an 80 out of 100 rating, based on reviews from 41 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews."[59]. "American Honey" explores themes of youth, freedom, and the search for identity, and is a visually stunning and emotionally charged film. We show the casting call. Star has a dream too, of sorts: She fantasizes that she can be with Jake, that theyll move to a shack somewhere and have lots of kids. And I didn't know how I was going to, like, you know, live my life, what I was going to do. So can you describe those shows for us? The Boss, an extravagant teenage girls birthday partybut its beating heart is
{{#message}}{{{message}}}{{/message}}{{^message}}Your submission failed. [5][6] The film also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival on 8 September 2016,[47][48] Fantastic Fest,[49] and the BFI London Film Festival on 7 October 2016. Once you get this one step down, you're the chief of the tribe. want to do and what were ready for, as phrased in the song that gives Andrea
"American Honey" is a coming-of-age drama film directed by Andrea Arnold and written by Arnold, from a story by photographer and writer Larry Clark. The film stars newcomer Sasha Lane as Star, a young woman who joins a traveling magazine sales crew, and follows her journey as she navigates the challenges of life on the road. The crew leave the new house as Star introduces herself to the new girl, Drema. C'mon, there's no such thing as a stupid question. And I wasn't able to get a grant because I hadn't done ballet and stuff. They dont sell their bodies, but in a way they do: Most of them are striking-looking in a trashed-runaway vagabond skate-punk way, and they use their pierced-and-tattooed street charisma to evoke pity and awe.
American Honey I just don't know why I'm like obsessed with this particular image or the story. GROSS: That's all right. [52][53], American Honey received mostly positive reviews upon its premiere at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. Shortly after, a bloodied Jake asks her if she was hurt by the man and later asks if she slept with him. The characters in American Honey have cut themselves loose from their parents (the implication is that they probably had good reason to i.e., they came from abusive households), and because they make cash with their magazine semi-scam, the result is that theyre free. Or, as one of their favorite lyrics puts it: I make my own money, so I spend it how I like,/Im just living life,/And let my mama tell it, nigga,/I aint living right. Theyre free to fight, and smoke dope, and laugh like demons, and jump around naked in front of the campfire, and give each other the hugs they never got. Rated R Yet it's constantly, engrossingly active, spinning and sparking and exploding in cycles like a Fourth of July Catherine wheel. played in their entirety. The following day, annoyed by Jake, Star vows to outsell him. The director unfortunately has more mixed feelings about her subjects, and others might just find that a tad bit troubling. He's a skeleton. [29][30][31] In late May 2015, production was reported in Mission Hills, Kansas and areas of Kansas City, Missouri,[32][33] as well as Missouri Valley, Iowa. It's about a group of teenagers who are abandoned, are homeless and have become something of a family traveling together by van from town to town, state to state selling magazine subscriptions door to door, making up different explanations depending on who opens the door. Isn't that dated. Star also distracts Jake by flirting with and eventually kissing him.
In a later shot it's white again - the same color as the rest of the car. ARNOLD: Yeah, it wasn't kind of - I've always loved dancing all my life. happy, they danceArnolds film is filled with pop songs, many of which are
So most of my kind of dancing, in those early days, was kind of things where you didn't have to have any kind of ballet training. It had a lot of resonance for me just the world and what it involved, and all these kids coming from quite difficult places where they dont have too much family. And she wants to look brown all the time (laughter). I'm Terry Gross. All rights reserved. [1] The film had its world premiere at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival on 15 May 2016, where it was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or. We get some of those deckchairs and sit outside Wal-Mart.
Sugar 101 An essential element of youth is movement. No trailer songs have been added yet. He offers her a job if she comes with him and his group to Kansas. It was pretty much that way. So I never officially did it, but I was always dancing. Even though the movie has ended it is made clear that the events going on in the Get Access Of Mice And Men Suspense The filmed opened up with a flashback of a girl in a red dress. The soundtrack of "American Honey" is an eclectic mix of popular songs, indie rock, and hip-hop, reflecting the eclectic tastes of the film's young characters. And, oh, you know, my dad, he died in Iraq. ARNOLD: You know (laughter), and - which is where we did most of our auditioning. For decades, teen rebellion has been the cutting edgeof sexual revolution (how to dress, dance, hook up),and who wants to take a stand against that? [18], Arnold "street cast" by searching beaches, streets, and approaching drunk teenagers. Pagan: You know what Darth Vader looks like beneath that mask? Ive gone on road trips and grew up on your films, you know? GROSS: Looking for somebody to cast in your film. makes her feature debut confidently, never feeling like shes performing as
Jake does his magazine spiel, which involves reeling off a dozen lies with the speed of an unflappable executive. Copyright 2016 NPR. A teenage girl with nothing to lose joins a traveling magazine sales crew, and gets caught up in a whirlwind of hard partying, law bending and young love as she criss-crosses the Midwest wit A teenage girl with nothing to lose joins a traveling magazine sales crew, and gets caught up in a whirlwind of hard partying, law bending and young love as she criss-crosses the Midwest with a band of misfits. GROSS: Me? Is it really enough though?
What American Honey Says About the Kids: No, Theyre And I thought it might be a way of - I'd been kind of done a lot of acting at school. And in "Fish Tank," what she thinks is going to be her way out is dancing. The crew sings a happy birthday to Pagan. Pretty raw at times. The crew arrive at a suburban neighborhood. [12] The film was optioned from The Times and Ian Urbina in 2008. Both are guilty of armed robbery (I wonder why the police werent looking for both of them after the cowboy caper) and Jake is certainly guilty of assaulting the oil worker. Were any of them people who had been in a mag crew, selling magazines door to door? All the Time (feat. They were - they were not thinking really about the magazines. After dumping off the kids back with their trailer trash mom, Star returns to where the groups van is parked and falls asleep until Jake finds her there in the morning, delighted that she has agreed to travel to Kansas and become part of the team selling magazine subscriptions. That was my sense from talking to a lot of these kids. So you don't want talk about your life? So she (unintelligible) in there, and you can't do your fake tan yourself very easily. American Honey was also placed on several publications's "Best of the 2016 Cannes Film Festival" and "Best of the 2016 Toronto Film Festival" lists. This is FRESH AIR. I'm interested in your approach to casting especially the casting of the teenagers who were not professional actors. So they make this surrogate family. And so, you know, I wouldn't want to talk about those things. She told me that actually towards the end - which I think this happens because a lot of the managers in the mag crews have been people who have been in the mag crew for a long time and then they become managers, they're people who are good at it and then become managers - she said that she hit someone at one point because they hadn't sold very much. But its also what Ive experienced by just driving around and what Ive read. After Jake steals the white Cadillac and hits the road, the right side mirror housing is blue.
WebJake gives her the turtle as a gift representing freedom. widescreen vistas of the heart of the country, but its effective because it
Andrea Arnolds American Honey features numerous mise-en-scnes in which the American flag is billowing in the wind.
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