"MAINE" // TRIBECA 2018 REVIEW
One of the beautiful things about seeing films at film festivals is that you are able to see smaller, strangers’ films that may not end up at your local cinema. Or films that may not get released for years, or at all. There are a lot of great examples of this and then there are films like MAINE, a film that finds the journey much more interesting than the story. It’s the second film of the fest featuring Laia Costa (the other being the superior Duck Butter). She’s hiking along the Appalachian trail, at least a portion of it, with a man by the name of Lake (Thomas Mann). Her name is just as curious, it being Bluebird. Both of them enjoy each other’s company just about as much as they enjoy silence. It’s about 10 minutes into the film before a word is spoken, and for the rest of the film, the dialogue is definitely kept to a minimum. Which wouldn’t necessarily be a problem if the film didn’t feel like it was drifting along with the wind in various ways, keeping the audience just as far away as Bluebird keeps people away from herself.
As they run into other travelers, people assume that they are a couple, a notion that Bluebird quickly points out isn’t true. But it’s clear that Lake is smitten with her, but unclear how she feels, especially after we learn that she is indeed married, and the husband is nowhere to be found. Laia Costa is very intriguing to watch, but the character of Bluebird is mostly infuriating. She, and the film, are strictly rooted in sadness and only give way to that near the very end, when it feels far from earned. The cinematography is arrestingly beautiful, but you’ll find this unfocused film far more aggravating to keep up with.
