A couple of weeks ago a letter arrived at our office asking if any of us would like to be a judge for the Independent Spirit Awards. Since it included a free three months subscription to Netflicks I thought “Sure, why not?” Most of my time lately has been spent pouring over the submissions sent in to RIIFF and, sad to say, I don’t get to the theaters very often. Being a judge seemed like a good way to catch up on the indies that I may have missed. So far it’s been a mixed bag. One of my favorites is “Old Joy” by Kelly Reichardt. The lackadaisical pacing of the story captures the spirit of Portland. I remember that, at times, living in the city reminded me of a muddy river: endless and slow. Things did change and time ticked forward, but it seemed that the spirit of living there could never really keep pace with the city’s transformation. I felt a connection to the main characters Kurt and Mark, and I didn’t really mind that nothing significant happens in the movie. Because the story unfolds in such an quiet manner, the small frissures developing between the two characters become more poignant.