Movie Review: A Radiant Teenage Trip in ‘Gasoline Rainbow’

In brother directors Bill and Turner Ross’ latest film, “Gasoline Rainbow,” five Oregon teenagers fresh out of high school travel nearly 500 miles to reach the coast for what was billed as an “End of the World” party.

They’re like countless young protagonists before them: on the road to find out. But while they share many of the same longings and anxieties as American road travelers, from “On the Road” to “Easy Rider,” the circumstances of their coming of age are uniquely theirs — and so is what’s on the radio dial. “Man, I want to hear some Shakira, bro,” one of them says from the backseat of the van.

Being the Ross brothers – the creators of the Texas-Mexico border portrait “Western” and “Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets”, in which they took 22 people to a Las Vegas bar and asked them to act as if it was closing the next day – We are in a hybrid cinematic world, part documentary, part fiction. Our characters – Micah, Nathaly, Nichole, Tony, Makai – are non-professional actors and their journey is a loosely constructed series of encounters that unfolds naturally.

It’s a cinematic approach that can, in its weakest moments, result in the worst of both worlds: the incoherent narrative of documentary and the manufactured quality of fiction. But overall, the Ross brothers’ immersive, observational cinema comes close to something exhilaratingly real.

In the case of “Gasoline Rainbow”, which opens in theaters on Friday, much is expressed by the land that the teenagers cross. Whether by car or on foot, their journeys take them over highway overpasses, through sprawling train yards and past long rows of wind turbines. Global warming is mentioned only once, but it looms over your uncertain future. They traverse dry, barren lands and industrial pests. The name of this party is no coincidence.

Dark as it is, “Gasoline Rainbow” — which would fit comfortably alongside films like Alma Har’el’s “Bombay Beach” and Andrea Arnold’s “American Honey” — is more concerned with the question of: What now? For these young people, who don’t know what to do with their lives, hitting the road offers many answers. The world left to them by older generations can be damaged. “Do you know the difference between children and adults?” an elder tells them. “Adults are not supervised.” But there is beauty to be found, like sparkling pools of gasoline, if you’re willing to hit the road and make new friends.

The answer lies primarily in community – in daring to leave home, meet strangers, and find like-minded souls. Perhaps more than anything, the Ross brothers – with a keen eye for American eccentrics – are interested in bringing together all the most interesting people they can find. And the resulting spirit of camaraderie is as warming as the campfires gathered in “Gasoline Rainbow.”

“Gasoline Rainbow,” a Mubi release, is not rated by the Motion Picture Association. Running time: 110 minutes. Three stars out of four.

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