My Own Private Idaho (1992)

Editor's Note A narcoleptic, psychologically-scarred young man who peddles his body, and his best friend, who also works the streets though he's from a wealthy political family, wander together and apart, from Seattle to as far away as Italy. A loose reworking of Shakespeare's "Henry IV," with Reeves as the prodigal son who slums in the Pacific Northwest's junkie lowlife milieu.

	Flea
	James Russo
	Keanu Reeves
	River Phoenix
	William Richert
	William S. Burroughs
	Curtiss Clayton - Editor
	Gus Van Sant - Screenplay
	Gus Van Sant - Director
	Laurie Parker - Producer

Semi-documentary footage of Seattle street hustling mixes with highly theatrical Shakespearean speech in this very loose adaptation of "Henry IV." In Seattle, Mike, a male prostitute and narcoleptic, meets Scott, who is rebelling against his wealthy family by working the streets. The two decide to embark on a search for Mike's long-lost mother, and their journey leads them first to Mike's home in Idaho and then to Italy. Rolling Stone
"...The film tantalizes us with imagery....It delivers an exhilarating and challenging ride..." 10/17/1991 p.100

Sight and Sound
"...A giddy medley of innumerable private dreams, memories and fantasies..." 04/01/1992 p.55-6

Film Comment
"...Brilliantly impudent....Van Sant boldly floats us off on a sea of visions with no visible anchor....It's a fable about the leaps in perception by which a world grows up..." 11/01/1991 p.42-4

Los Angeles Times
"...IDAHO is something completely different, a film that manages to confound all expectations, even the ones it sets up itself..." 10/18/1991 p.F1

Uncut
"Creatively ambitious and handsomely shot....[Van Sant's] most successful mix so far between straight storytelling and experimental technique." 09/01/2005 p.148