David Gordon Green's George Washington is probably the best-looking film unseen by the bulk of American moviegoers in recent memory.  It's been fighting an uphill battle since the picture's last frame was shot, being rejected from Sundance and New York City's prestigious New Directors/New Films Series before slowly gaining momentum through a portfolio of impressive reviews from other festivals like Berlin and Toronto in 2000.

In Toronto, Washington took home the Discovery Award for Best First Feature (it beat Chopper!), which was merely the tip of the iceberg as the film racked up awards from numerous groups and festivals, including the same New York film critics who were deprived of seeing the film at that special forum for emerging filmmakers.  Yet despite the glowing reviews, a shelf full of accolades and modest box office numbers in the few markets the film actually appeared in, the tiny independent company that distributed Washington was unable to convert the critical praise into strong word of mouth.

What a shame.  Washington is a shockingly powerful film and, better yet, manages to do so in under 90 minutes, which, in the face of two-hour-plus films without a shred of originality like The Majestic and Kate & Leopold, seems even more incredible.  The film is about a group of children ranging in age from about 9 to 14 who fritter away the early part of their summer vacation in rural North Carolina as the town gears up for Fourth of July festivities.  Oddly enough, the titular George (Donald Holden) isn't the film's main character and his last name isn't even Washington.  He is, in comparison to the other kids, an introvert who must constantly wear a football helmet to keep his head dry (George's skull never properly fused together, and water could severely harm him).

The film is narrated by Nasia (Candace Evanofski), who, as the film opens, is dumping current boyfriend Buddy (Curtis Cotton III) because, for reasons she can't fully explain, she's become attracted to the withdrawn George. Other characters include a nine-year-old car thief (Rachael Handy), a gentle giant (Damian Jewan Lee) and George's legal guardian, Uncle Damascus (Eddie Rouse), who is saddled with both a bad temper and an unusual fear of animals. Like In the Bedroom, something tragic occurs about 40 minutes into Washington, and the characters spend the rest of the film dealing with the consequences.

Washington reminded me of a number of films:  Kids, Stand By Me, even Breaking Away, but perhaps none more than Gummo and Rushmore.  The former duplicated the boredom of adolescence in a rotten, rural, rusted-out Southern town (and, by the way, was just as brilliantly photographed as Tim Orr's work here), while the latter pegged that magical time of youth on the brink of adulthood.  Though Washington's subject matter is a lot grittier than Wes Anderson's film, its teen and pre-teen characters share similar traits, like being more observant and in touch with their feelings than any of the adults (though, unlike Rushmore, these kids don't do much cursing).

Nasia's narration is poetic enough to conjure images of the equally beautiful Days of Heaven, and while kids from rural North Carolina probably don't talk quite this lyrically, Green's dialogue isn't grating like, say, that of those kids on Dawson's Creek during the first couple of seasons.  Green, who was just 24 when Washington was released, uses an acting crew with zero experience and the majority of his dialogue is improvised.  Thankfully, he was blessed with a great group of kids who were able to pull off what must have been a very difficult challenge.

Washington's few detractors whine that the film's pace is way too leisurely and that it lacks both structure and a true center.  Yeah, there isn't really a singular focus, and I think that's part of Green's point in his portrayal of aimless, bored youth.  Though my surroundings were a little nicer, I remember being bored out of my skull during summer vacation, and Washington represents this very well.  My only major complaints?  The ending was a little unsatisfying for my tastes, and the explanation of Damascus' fears was kind of ridiculous (and ends up, if you can believe this, playing more than a little like The Pillow Book).

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