Kelly Reichardt (; born March 3, 1964) is an American film director and screenwriter. She is known for her
minimalist
In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Don ...
films closely associated with
slow cinema
Slow cinema is a genre of art cinema characterised by a style that is minimalist, observational, and with little or no narrative, and which typically emphasizes long takes.Steven RoseTwo Years At Sea: little happens, nothing is explained ''The Gua ...
, many of which deal with
working-class
The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...
characters in small, rural communities.
Reichardt made her feature film debut with ''
River of Grass
''River of Grass'' is a 1994 American drama film directed by Kelly Reichardt in her feature film directorial debut. Reichardt wrote the screenplay from a story by her and Jesse Hartman. It was selected for the Sundance Film Festival and the Be ...
'' (1994) and subsequently directed a series of films set and filmed in
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
: the dramas ''
Old Joy
''Old Joy'' is a 2006 American road movie written and directed by Kelly Reichardt and based on a short story by Jonathan Raymond. The original soundtrack for the film is by Yo La Tengo and included on the compilation soundtrack album '' They Shoo ...
'' (2006) and ''
Wendy and Lucy
''Wendy and Lucy'' is a 2008 American drama film directed by Kelly Reichardt. Reichardt and Jon Raymond adapted the screenplay from his short story ''Train Choir''. The film stars Michelle Williams as Wendy, a homeless woman who searches for he ...
'' (2008); the Western ''
Meek's Cutoff'' (2010); and the thriller ''
Night Moves'' (2013). In 2016, she wrote and directed the
Montana
Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...
-set drama ''
Certain Women'', and in 2019 she directed ''
First Cow
''First Cow'' is a 2019 American drama film directed by Kelly Reichardt, from a screenplay by Reichardt and Jonathan Raymond based on Raymond's 2004 novel ''The Half-Life''. It stars John Magaro, Orion Lee, Toby Jones, Ewen Bremner, Scott Shephe ...
'', set in Oregon.
Early life and education
Reichardt was born in 1964 and raised in
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
, Florida. She developed a passion for photography when she was young. Her parents were law enforcement officers who separated when she was young. She earned her MFA at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Reichardt has served as the S. William Senfeld Artist in Residence at
Bard College
Bard College is a private liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains, and is within the Hudson River Historic District—a National Historic Landmark.
Founded in 1860, ...
since 2006.
Film career
Reichardt's debut film ''
River of Grass
''River of Grass'' is a 1994 American drama film directed by Kelly Reichardt in her feature film directorial debut. Reichardt wrote the screenplay from a story by her and Jesse Hartman. It was selected for the Sundance Film Festival and the Be ...
'' was released in
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
. It was nominated for three
Independent Spirit Awards, and the Grand Jury Prize at the
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...
. It was named one of the best films of 1995 by the ''
Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'', ''
Film Comment
''Film Comment'' is the official publication of Film at Lincoln Center. It features reviews and analysis of mainstream, art-house, and avant-garde filmmaking from around the world. Founded in 1962 and originally released as a quarterly, ''Film Co ...
'', and ''
The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...
''. Reichardt then had trouble making another feature film, saying, "I had 10 years from the mid-1990s when I couldn’t get a movie made. It had a lot to do with being a woman. That’s definitely a factor in raising money. During that time, it was impossible to get anything going, so I just said, ‘Fuck you!’ and did Super 8 shorts instead."
In 1999, Reichardt completed her second feature, ''Ode'', based on
Herman Raucher
Herman Raucher (born April 13, 1928) is an American author and screenwriter. He is best known for writing the autobiographical screenplay and novel '' Summer of '42'', which became one of the highest-grossing films and one of the best selling nov ...
's novel ''
Ode to Billy Joe
"Ode to Billie Joe" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bobbie Gentry released by Capitol Records in July 1967, and later used as the title-track of her debut album. Five weeks after its release, the song topped ''Billboard's'' Pop singl ...
''. Next she made two short films, ''Then a Year'', in 2001, and ''Travis'', which deals with the
Iraq War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
, in 2004. In these two films, critics have noted that she subtly makes clear her displeasure with the Bush administration and its handling of the Iraq War.
Most of Reichardt's films are regarded by critics to be part of the minimalist movement in films,
though Reichardt sees a difference between her work and the movement as a whole.
After
Todd Haynes
Todd Haynes (; born January 2, 1961) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. His films span four decades with themes examining the personalities of well-known musicians, dysfunctional and dystopian societies, and blurred gender ...
, a close friend of Reichardt, made ''
Safe
A safe (also called a strongbox or coffer) is a secure lockable box used for securing valuable objects against theft or fire. A safe is usually a hollow cuboid or cylinder, with one face being removable or hinged to form a door. The body and ...
'', she drove Haynes to Portland from the Seattle Film Festival, where she met writer
Jon Raymond
Jonathan Raymond is an American writer living in Portland, Oregon. He is best known for writing the novels ''The Half-Life'' and ''Rain Dragon'', and for writing the short stories and novels adapted for the films '' Old Joy'', ''Wendy and Lucy'', ...
and
Neil Kopp, who respectively wrote and produced several of Reichardt's films.
In 2006, she completed ''
Old Joy
''Old Joy'' is a 2006 American road movie written and directed by Kelly Reichardt and based on a short story by Jonathan Raymond. The original soundtrack for the film is by Yo La Tengo and included on the compilation soundtrack album '' They Shoo ...
'', based on a short story in Raymond's collection ''Livability''.
Daniel London
Daniel London (born 1973) is an American actor, best known for his roles in ''Patch Adams'', ''Rent'' and '' Old Joy''.
Life and career
Born and raised in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, London began writing and acting in plays in high school. Whil ...
and singer-songwriter
Will Oldham
Joseph Will Oldham (born January 15, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded in collaboration with dozens of other musicians under variations of Palace (Palace, Palace Flophouse, Palace Br ...
portray two friends who reunite for a camping trip to the
Cascades and
Bagby Hot Springs, near Portland. The film won awards from the
Los Angeles Film Critics Association
The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) is an American film critic organization founded in 1975.
Background
Its membership comprises film critics from Los Angeles-based print and electronic media. In December of each year, the organiza ...
,
Rotterdam International Film Festival
The International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) is an annual film festival held at the end of January in various locations in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Since its foundation in 1972, it has maintained a focus on independent and experimental fi ...
, and
Sarasota Film Festival
The Sarasota Film Festival is a film festival located in Sarasota, Florida and is held in April. Its mission is "to celebrate the art of filmmaking and the contribution of filmmakers by hosting an international film festival and developing year-lo ...
. Notably, it was the first American film to win the Tiger Award at the Rotterdam Film Festival. Kopp won the Producer's Award at the
2007 Independent Spirit Awards for his work on ''Old Joy'' and ''
Paranoid Park''.
For her next film, ''
Wendy and Lucy
''Wendy and Lucy'' is a 2008 American drama film directed by Kelly Reichardt. Reichardt and Jon Raymond adapted the screenplay from his short story ''Train Choir''. The film stars Michelle Williams as Wendy, a homeless woman who searches for he ...
'', Reichardt and Raymond adapted another story from ''Livability''. The film explores loneliness and hopelessness through the story of a woman looking for her lost dog. It was released in December 2008 and earned
Oscar
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People
* Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms.
* Oscar (Irish mythology) ...
buzz for lead actress
Michelle Williams. It was nominated for Best Film and Best Female Lead at the
Independent Spirit Awards. Reichardt then directed ''
Meek's Cutoff'', a
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
also starring Williams. It competed for the
Golden Lion
The Golden Lion ( it, Leone d'oro) is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguishe ...
at the
67th Venice International Film Festival in 2010.
In 2013, Reichardt's film ''
Night Moves'' debuted in competition at the
70th Venice International Film Festival
The 70th annual Venice International Film Festival took place in Venice, Italy from 28 August to 7 September 2013. American film director William Friedkin was presented with a lifetime achievement award. Italian film director Bernardo Bertoluc ...
. A more intense thriller about a secret plot to blow up a dam, it was considered a shift in tone from her other slower, more melancholic films.
Reichardt's film ''
Certain Women'' is based on
Maile Meloy
Maile Meloy (born January 1, 1972) is an American fiction writer.
Early life and education
Born and raised in Helena, Montana, Meloy received a bachelor's degree from Harvard College in 1994 and an MFA from the University of California, Irvi ...
's 2009 short-story collection ''Both Ways is the Only Way I Want It'', and was shot in March–April 2015 in Montana.
Michelle Williams,
Laura Dern
Laura Elizabeth Dern (born February 10, 1967) is an American actress. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a BAFTA Award, and five Golden Globe Awards.
Born to actor Bruce Dern and ac ...
, and
Kristen Stewart
Kristen Jaymes Stewart (born April 9, 1990) is an American actress. The world's highest-paid actress in 2012, she has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award and a César Award, in addition to nominations for an Aca ...
star. Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions (SPWA) bought the rights to distribution. The film premiered on January 24, 2016, at the
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...
. Reichardt won the top award at the 2016
London Film Festival
The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival founded in 1957 and held in the United Kingdom, running for two weeks in October with co-operation from the British Film Institute. It screens more than 300 films, documentaries and sho ...
for ''Certain Women''.
In October 2016, Reichardt revealed that on her next film she would collaborate with author
Patrick DeWitt
Patrick deWitt (born 1975) is a Canadian novelist and screenwriter. Born on Vancouver Island, deWitt lives in Portland, Oregon and has acquired American citizenship. As of 2023, he has written five novels: ''Ablutions'' (2009), '' The Sisters Bro ...
on an adaptation of his novel ''
Undermajordomo Minor'', which might be shot outside of the U.S. In October 2018, it was announced that Reichardt had put ''Undermajordomo Minor'' on hold and would instead reunite with Raymond to direct ''
First Cow
''First Cow'' is a 2019 American drama film directed by Kelly Reichardt, from a screenplay by Reichardt and Jonathan Raymond based on Raymond's 2004 novel ''The Half-Life''. It stars John Magaro, Orion Lee, Toby Jones, Ewen Bremner, Scott Shephe ...
'', an adaptation of his novel ''The Half-Life''.
Reichardt's films have received positive reviews from critics, with all of them above 80% (certified fresh) on the film reviews aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, with the highest being ''River of Grass'' and ''First Cow'' (both 95%). Her films have not been big box-office successes, with ''Certain Women'' the most successful at $1.1 million.
Reichardt is an Artist-in-Residence in the Film and Electronic Arts program at
Bard College
Bard College is a private liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains, and is within the Hudson River Historic District—a National Historic Landmark.
Founded in 1860, ...
. She has received a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship. She edits her films herself.
Style and themes
Reichardt's films have often been called minimalist and realist, with film critic A. O. Scott describing ''Wendy and Lucy'' as part of a new American Independent cinema he termed "Neo-Neo Realism", primarily due to its thematic and aesthetic similarity to classic Italian neorealist films such as ''Rome Open City'' and ''Paisan''.
Reichardt has called her films "just glimpses of people passing through".
She also recognizes her style as minimalist, saying, "A movie is a series of reveals, essentially, and then you're supposed to sit in a room and tell someone what it all means. That goes against everything that I just worked for, so I have no interest in summing it all up. It's all out there". Her films' realist tendencies position them in line with Matthew Flanagan's idea of slow cinema. Their long takes, minimal dialogue and minimalist action are all characteristics of slow cinema that allow the audience time for contemplation.
This style may also be in response to more mainstream films; Reichardt has said, "when I go to the movies and I sit through the previews, I literally feel assaulted."
Reichardt's films often focus on characters on the margins of society, who are not usually represented on screen, or who are seeking a better quality of life and place in the world. She is interested in characters "who don’t have a net, who if you sneezed on them, their world would fall apart". Her films tackle aspects of the American experience the commercial film industry seldom explores. Eric Kohn of Indiewire has called her films "a mesmerizing statement on the solitude of everyday life for working-class people who want something better. They’re trapped between a mythology of greatness and the personal limitations that govern their drab realities. By attending to atmosphere and attitude as much as plot, Reichardt has quietly become one of the country’s best chroniclers of the American experience".
Reichardt's films often contain references to modern times and political events. Of ''Meek’s Cutoff'', she said, "Here was the story of this braggart leading a bunch of people into the desert without a plan and becoming completely reliant on the locals who are socially different from him and who he is suspicious of. All of which seemed relevant to the moment"
(in reference to the Iraq War and George W. Bush). Reichardt has confirmed that the character Meek was meant to resemble Bush. ''Wendy and Lucy'' also reflects the economic hardships that affected millions of Americans (particularly women, whom the film suggests are affected more than men) as a result of the high costs and collateral damage from the war.
Reichardt's 2013 film ''Night Moves'' has more overt political references. The three protagonists are radical environmentalists, and the film is set in Oregon, a state with many notable instances of environmental protest, particularly against its lumber industry and in defense of the
Northern Spotted Owl
The northern spotted owl (''Strix occidentalis caurina'') is one of three spotted owl subspecies. A western North American bird in the family Strigidae, genus '' Strix'', it is a medium-sized dark brown owl native to the Pacific Northwest. An ...
, an indicator species of the Pacific Northwest. Reichardt has said, "Jon Raymond wanted to write a script about a group of fundamentalists and instead of looking to the right, he wrote about these young lefty radicals—people with a more relatable and, to our eyes, a more justified agenda.
..I think what drew me to the Jon Raymond stories is his ability to write politically without writing politically. There’s no message in a Raymond story, no clear ideological path. It’s all murky territory, and murky is more of a challenge than a straight shot to something. Ultimately they are all character films."
Critics have noted that Reichardt's films often have ambiguous endings that leave the audience hanging and unsatisfied. Xan Brooks of ''The Guardian'' uses the examples of "wonky Kurt, left wandering city streets at the end of ''Old Joy'', hapless Wendy, still looking for Alaska, or ''Meek’s Cutoff''’s lost pioneers, forever strung between triumph and disaster. These films do not so much resolve as dissolve. They leave us dangling, forced to write their third acts in our heads”.
Reichardt has said, "Maybe I’m suspicious of absolutes. I mean, yes, there is something satisfying about watching an old film when the music rises up and the words come at you: The End. But it would seem absurd to do that at the end of one of my films. It would just make them feel lopsided, because they’re all so short, they cover so little time. We don’t know where these people were before. We spent a week with them and then on they went".
She has also said that she enjoys films that let the audience find their own way in and come to their own conclusions.
Reichardt's films contain feminist ideas in both style and content, rejecting mainstream commercial filmmaking methods and focusing on gender (most have female lead characters), but she rejects the label "feminist filmmaker". She rejects mainstream methods by using small budgets, filming on location (most of her films are shot in Oregon), and refusing to romanticize her characters and their struggles. Even her films that have male protagonists address gender issues. In ''Old Joy'', which stars two men and was spoken about at festivals as an LGBT film, the theme of male friendship is highlighted and addressed through feminized qualities of sensitivity and vulnerability rarely seen in mainstream Hollywood cinema. In ''Night Moves'', Dakota Fanning's character serves as a strong female counterpoint to Jesse Eisenberg's male protagonist, and the film's environmental storyline reflects eco-feminist values. Reichardt also diverges from the mainstream with her films' avant-garde content. ''River of Grass'' segments the narrative into numbered sections, and ''Certain Women'' is also divided into episodes. Reichardt's realism and camera angles reject the objectification of bodies and challenge audience expectations by lingering on seemingly insignificant images after characters have left a scene.
Reichardt has frequently collaborated with actress Michelle Williams, saying that she enjoys Williams's confidence and inquisitive nature, and that she can never guess what she's going to do.
Filmography
Film
Short film
Accolades
Bibliography
* James Lattimer, Eva Sangiorgi, ed., ''Textur #2: Kelly Reichardt.'' Viennale – Vienna International Film Festival 2020,
*
See also
*
Social realism
Social realism is the term used for work produced by painters, printmakers, photographers, writers and filmmakers that aims to draw attention to the real socio-political conditions of the working class as a means to critique the power structure ...
*
Minimalist film
Minimalist cinema is related to the art and philosophy of minimalism.
Notable filmmakers
This type of film includes the works of directors like:
*Robert Bresson
*Chloe Zhao
*Kelly Reichardt
* Yasujiro Ozu
*Gus van Sant
*Andy Warhol
*Morgan F ...
References
Sources
*
External links
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reichardt, Kelly
American women screenwriters
American women film directors
Bard College faculty
Living people
1964 births
Film directors from Florida
Writers from Miami
Screenwriters from Florida
20th-century American women writers
20th-century American writers
21st-century American women writers
21st-century American writers
American women academics