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My Own Private Idaho (English version)
Location
Main projection room
Date
January 27th, 2025
Duration
104 min
Cycle
Love

An essential and timeless theme if ever there was one, love naturally holds a special place in cinema. Romantic, sensual, obsessive, ambiguous, forbidden, lighthearted or profound, love on screen is as diverse as the individuals who live its stories. Drawing form different eras, tones, and cinematic styles, this program brings together a selection of remarkable films that will warm your heart from the start of the winter season to Valentine’s Day.

Winner of the International Critics' Award, 1991 TIFF

My Own Private Idaho
Directed by
Gus Van Sant
Language
English
Actors
River Phoenix, Keanu Reeves, James Russo
Origins
USA
Year
1991
Duration
104 min
Genre
Drama
Format
35 mm
Synopsis

Scott and Mike are prostitutes and lovers. But if Scott, whose father is very rich and whom he hates, has a future all mapped out, Mike remains stalked by his memories and sinks into narcolepsy crises.

My Own Private Idaho
Awards
Gus Van Sant is not a staunch advocate of the unity of place. And while his film, a kind of pictorial splendor, travels extensively, it is as much about a motorcycle road trip as it is a cerebral journey (and what if the entire film was just a wild dream?). It oscillates between humor and despair.
Philippe Vecchi
1992

Gus Van Sant

Gus Van Sant is an American director, screenwriter, producer, editor, photographer, and musician. He spent much of his life in Portland, Oregon, a city that serves as the backdrop for many of his films. After starting out as an independent filmmaker, notably with My Own Private Idaho (1991), he moved closer to Hollywood with commissioned films like To Die For (1995) and the Academy Award winner Good Will Hunting (1997). He then returned to a cinema far from financial pressures and artistically independent, including Elephant (2003), loosely inspired by the Columbine massacre (Palme d'Or at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival), and Last Days (2005), which depicts his vision of Kurt Cobain's final days. His career took another turn in 2008 with Milk (2008), a very personal yet popular film. It won several Academy Awards and was a great commercial success.

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Cast
About Gus Van Sant
Filmography
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