Lost in the Sun

source: Lost in the Sun

"A scorned woman will tear your heart out, put it between two buns and eat it, just as your life slips away before you. Don't ever forget that." This is a movie you look back to in retrospect and say : what a beautiful story about two loners, with some magisterial played interactions and lastly, magnificently shot. Such a pity there isn't really anything exciting happening in it. The pace is painfully slow. You can only conclude that this muggy road movie is terribly boring. The story itself is simple and also filmed that way. Unpretentious without unnecessary side plots. It's all about this teenager Louis (Josh Wiggins) who just left the funeral of his mother and is taken by the local priest to a bus station, with his meager possessions and an envelope full of money. Just when he wants to get on the bus, that'll take him to his grandparents who are prepared to take care of him, he's approached by a stranger called John (Josh Duhamel). Apparently he knows his grandparents and he's willing to give him a ride all the way to the boy's grandparents. Louis doesn't know that John is a selfish, ex-convict who uses people. He'll experience that soon. You could compare this film a bit with "Mud". A film that has an almost similar format. In "Mud" there's also a criminal who becomes friends with some young boys and uses them to outrun the authorities. It's also a slow, sluggish film about developing relationships between some individuals and without some exciting, action-packed scenes. Although at the end of "Mud", there is a momentary flare-up, in terms of action. In "Lost in the sun" the occasional robberies can provide some momentary excitement. But you still get the feeling this all happened by accident and looks as if it's just part of the trip. Similarly, the interlude with Mary (Lynn Collins) and her daughter Rose (Emma Fuhrmann). An accidental encounter just to point out that John uses others in an unscrupulous way and dumps them afterwards in an indifferent manner. It's also the introduction for a bit of functionally nudity. Only the performances remain. No bad remarks in that section. Josh Duhamel demonstrates he clearly has some acting talent. He's way better than in "Fire with Fire". But I guess that was because of a crappy script. He won't win an Oscar for his performance here. But it was extremely interesting to see how this unscrupulous layabout gradually shows he actually has some human feelings. The one who really impressed me was Wiggins. This slender, young lad, who sometimes looked like a very young Matt Damon, ends up in a very bizarre situation and his feelings balances between hatred and affection. Although I actually wondered why he stayed with John. So it's all about character development and the bond created between two individuals. How those two are related to each other, is quite obvious at a certain moment. "Lost in the sun" is a road movie with a dash of drama. And what do you do when you're "on the road" just to pass some time? Indeed, you admire the scenery. And that's something you should do, while watching this smooth, calmly proceeding film, because the scenery is pleasing to the eye and skillfully portrayed. The cinematography is absolutely beautiful. But finally, it's not only appearance that matters. More reviews here : http://bit.ly/1KIdQMT

Small-time crook John (an excellent and convincing portrayal by Josh Duhamel) makes an unlikely and initially reluctant accomplice out of newly orphaned teen Louis (a fine performance by Josh Wiggins). The pair embark on a cross country crime spree. However, John starts having second thoughts about his outlaw lifestyle and getting Louis involved in said lifestyle. Writer/director Trey Nelson relates the engrossing story at a measured pace, makes lovely use of breathtaking rural landscapes, astutely captures the sadness and humanity of the compelling main characters, offers a colorful evocation of marginal people and places in America, and maintains a low-key thoughtful tone throughout. Moreover, the bond that develops between John and Louis along with strong central themes concerning guilt, trust, and the need for some kind of redemption gives this film a substantial amount of extra depth and poignancy. The satisfying ending manages to be both tragic and happy in equal measure without going overboard on the goopy sentiment. Daniel Hart's harmonic score and Robert Barocci's beautiful widescreen cinematography further enhance the overall sterling quality of this sweet little sleeper.

07/27/2018 It was hard to tell where this movie was going but immersion into the storyline just sort of happened. The last minutes of it's ending defined it's decency which was present all along, just not so easy to see as the movie played out. Not much excitement, just a solid foundation and even better acting. I definitely liked it and would encourage any potential intelligent viewer to give it a try. I'm certain that you won't be sorry especially as it ends. Bon Appetit

I, like most reviewers here, stumbled across this movie and didn't expect to get pulled in like I did. I've watched it 4 times now, and I've noticed some new detail that makes me like it even better each time through. The acting was so good that I forgot it was a movie, and as other reviewers have said here, both male leads show lots of potential for future success. Everyone else seems to have predicted the ending; guess I'm naive or slow, as the final scene when the boy is looking at the photos on the wall in his mother's childhood bedroom is when it all fell into place for me. No one else has mentioned the excellent acting by the grandmother, maybe because she has such a small role, but she was really perfect. Just the kind of grandma this kid needed at the end of a hard and dusty road. I hope to see more from these two "Joshes", as both were so well-cast in their roles that one must attribute such a good fit in part to talented acting. Even though we never really see the boy's deceased mother alive in the film, she plays a strong role, too, and her presence in photos, lying in her little casket in the church, and in the newspaper obituary "John" is holding near the film's beginning, add the right amount of believability, and made me care even more about her boy and his eventual safe passage to his grandparents' home.

I was somehow expecting a mediocre film when deciding to watch this. I always knew by the poster and the casting of Josh Duhamel and Josh Wiggins I would at least enjoy it, but was definitely not expecting such a great film! At this very moment I'm not even sure what's stopping me giving this a deserving 9 star rating here.. I may do in time. This film is so very underrated going by the lack of talk about it and just going by its page here on Letterboxd alone and the small number of reviews and ridiculously low overall rating score, which may I say right here and now is plain wrong! This film is fantastic. With an average enough hour and a half runtime, it feels like a lot happens here and plenty of ground is covered throughout. This is a great road trip film and also a great youth and adult "bonding" type film with a brilliant score, cinematography and performances. I was immersed throughout as admittedly I love movies just like this but there's no denying it to be very well made, either way. Josh Duhamel's character in particular was so interesting to me, he played the role very well of somebody who has a lot going on in his head that you wonder who he truely is. I struggle to find faults in this film and just really enjoyed the experience watching it. I hope it gets some deserved praise someday.

People who dont get this movie shouldn't give it a review because they'll miss the point. It's an excellent movie with excellent performances by an excellent cast. It's not heavy on action but heavy on heart and keeps the story moving so you're never bored. Trust me watch this especially if you're a parent or a kid who lost a parent 1 way or another!!

Lost in the Sun is about family, and the discovery that families differ from person to person. Not every family turns out to have strong bonds, and from time to time, we can downright despise them at times. Lost in the sun centers on a young boy who has lost those bonds and a trip that brings his life into focus. It's a fairly dramatic story. A young boy loses his mother, and has to travel across the country to live with his grandparents, whom he's never met before. Along comes drifter and lowlife John (Josh Duhmal), who offers to take this young man to his destination. Against his better judgment he hops into the car with this stranger, and begins a journey of self-discovery. I didn't think it was a copied story. There was a lot of interesting and heartfelt moments. The plot line delivers a lot of teary moments, and as you travel through the country with them, their bond becomes stronger, as does yours with the characters. It was an interesting story too, as each reveal brings you closer and closer to their destination, and it's inevitable end. The thing I did notice is how similar the story was to the movie "Road to Perdition." If you've seen that film, you'll know it's not EXACTLY the same story, but remarkably close in many points. The lost boy, the father figure, the journey they take together across the country. Many of the same elements and emotional moments were in both films. Overall, it's a decent movie. Better than I thought it would be and I found myself pretty drawn in to the story. It's sad, but in a good way. 5/10

It was awesome. Liked the twist. How movies like this can score so low and crap like Hereditary scores so high is beyond me. Even if you don't care for the story, the cinematography and scenery is bar none.

OK so here goes, I'm normally not a big fan of these kind of movies but there was something about this film that made me keep on watching. The start is a bit slow but keep on watching it to get sucked in to this great little film. Yes I agree it is a bit predictable with the story line but if you can see past that you are onto a winner. Both Josh Duhamel and Josh Wiggins had a strong character play in this film and I'm looking forward of seeing more of these actors. so as a summary: slow to start and slightly predictable but once you get sucked in its a great film to watch on a quiet evening. 8/10