Search - El Camino on DVD

This road trip film fares decently, a solid start for this c

Steve Kuehl | Ben Lomond, CA | 07/26/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I love good travel/road films, whether you find out about the characters' pasts or not. Sometimes it is truly just about those moments you spend on the road and how the interactions mingle during those times. Once I let that set in for this film, I enjoyed it a bit more than just giving it a couple stars.

Three young 20-somethings travel cross country from their mutual friend's funeral to spread his ashes at a place in Mexico. We get some of the usual fare with a spirited woman, a reclusive video camera enthusiast and a rebellious son of a senator trying to be everything but responsible. On the trip they come across a mechanic (Wes Studi) who helps them in more ways than one. Admittedly, a short performance for him and it was not memorable, but I always like to see his variety.

The background/childhood friendships gets thrown into the mix through intermittent flashbacks, but the topic wasn't really hit enough to get a solid understanding of how everyone fits together. So that leaves how our trio learn from each other before reaching their destination. I did not care for how they wrote 2/3 of the outcomes, but that does not make it unrealistic.

The supplements include some average deleted scenes/outtakes, and the director's first film, a short called Gravity. Was not fond of the short's ending either, but I think we are seeing a theme of how this director likes his films to conclude. Do not expect story closure or a deep background on anyone here, you just get to watch a decent film on learning about life while traveling."