TAKEN LITERALLY, Field Guide to November Days could be read as a how-to guide for Portland’s young and aimless. Beer, coffee, bikes, house shows, and awkward sex appear prominently on the film’s landscape of rental houses stuffed with kitschy knickknacks. At times it honestly feels like a parody of all the stereotypes, a Look at This Fucking Hipster: The Movie in shades of mumblecore.
Laudably, Portland filmmaker Nick Peterson made Field entirely by bicycle, including all hauling and cast commuting, save for one drive to film on the Oregon Coast. The camera often settles on the characters as they deal with the familiar rattles and ungainly hassles of hauling your bike in and out of a mudroom, and how having to go back up the stairs to shut the door kind of takes the wind out of a dramatic exit.
The film is a collection of long pauses and few words, with a sad tinkling piano filling up the bulk of the quiet. It centers on the relationship drama between on-again, off-again Matt (Joe Haege) and Natalie (Briana Ledford) as they waver in and out of togetherness, failing to correct their own insecurities and wiping out with each other again. Even with minimal dialogue to work with, Haege stands out: A well-known figure in the local music scene (31Knots, Tu Fawning), the multi-talented performer melts invisibly into the much-less-confident Matt’s withdrawn body posture, not to mention managing to convincingly handle both crying and kissing scenes of both homo and hetero varieties.
Field is Peterson’s second feature film after Yellow, and its execution is demonstrably sensitive and artful. The dramatically somber tone could use a cut of humor or further darkness to texturize the rather one-note mood, but the skills and attention brought to the screen are an exciting indication of what Peterson can bring to the table.
I’m depressed and a hipster, I can relate, oh wait, I’m Asian.
Why aren’t those cyclists wearing helmets? This director is a fucking asshole.
As someone whose had to live here for the past two years i can only say that the words ‘Portland’ and ‘hipster’ used together are a non-sequitur. There is nothing ‘hip’ about Portland . All you wanna-be hipsters need to get a grip on what ‘hip’ is…THEN you can be depressed.
hint: ‘hip’ is not being drunk, arrogant, tattooed, or artsy.
The characters on the bikes seem to translate portland bicycle culture pretty well I think.By the way Graham, look around at those biking in this town, its about half annd half on the old helmet wearing thing.
I dont even know if hipster is even an appropriate word in this city anymore. Look in the mirror; look at your friends; look at the people on the street. If you live close in PDX you probably fit some hipster stereotype even if its unintentional. Some day we’re all gonna look back at this time and laugh at how stupid it was that everybody was so defensive/offensive about what being a hipster is.
Me from Paris. Paris is better than Portland by a grande margin. Your fashion is just o.k. compared to Paris.
YO PARIS:
YOU’RE A TICKETY-TACK, TRANNY, HOT MESS WHO’S NOT APOLOGIZING FOR IT!!!GO WEAR A BERET WITH YOUR FINGER OUT WHILE YOU DRINK CAFé AU LAIT/ OH AND PORTLAND’S GOT GREEN SHIT UP THE YING YANG
Touche (french).
@ queen jean: Current etymology holds that the word “hipster” no longer has any connection to the word “hip” or the colloquially accepted concept behind it, whether it’s used in the complimentary, the derogative, or the simple adjective/descriptor form. A similar example would be the word “asshole” which very, very rarely has anything to do with an actual anus.
I have been here for almost 2 years. I see so many different types of people with a lot of creativity, but not a particular “uniform” for a “hipster.” I heard this word so much when I moved here, and It took me a while to understand what people were talking about. Of course, you see many tattoos and piercings, but that is almost everybody anymore. I hate labels. As soon as you label something it becomes a caricature of itself. Look at what happened to “Gothic.” Now you have more confusion with things like “Steam punk?” I am still trying to figure out what EMO was. I guess I am getting old. ha ha.
Bummer about not biking to the coast. Why bother with filming “most” of your movie by bike?
“hint: ‘hip’ is not being drunk, arrogant, tattooed, or artsy.” – queen jean
guess again, baby. it totally is.