Films like George Washington transcend cinema. In their staggering natural authenticity they come to bleed heart and soul. They engage; they endear; they inspire; they hurt. Narratively concise, philosophically provocative (its portrait of a poverty-stricken Southern landscape and the racial interaction that occurs there ain't pretty), visually magnificent and spendidly acted, David Gordon Green's masterpiece deserves discovery and preservation. It's a vital film.

Very moving portrait of a forgotten Southern town and the people who inhabit it. It is geogeously photographed, so sharp in its realistic images that they often appear urrealistic, and this hallucinatory beauty helps us transcend the bleak nature of the story.

This film is not decided whether it wants to be an indie social-realist slice-of-life ordeal in the Killer of Sheep vein, or a glossy, harmless little melodrama. And this indecision is unfortunately the case with many nineties-aughties "independent" films meant for worldwide distribution. You tell yourself you're watching a low-key art movie, but it just plays it so safe, it has so much cheap psychology, so many labored, cheesy heart-to-heart convos and so little authenticity and insight.

A beautiful and mesmerising film. Green's camera work is just gorgeous & his use of song & sound stunning. Yet despite its sad & even depressing core, this movie still manages on occasions to be uplifting, sometimes darkly comic & once or twice harrowing in its nature. There are some great performances too, particuarly from a talented group of child actors. Faults?.. Not many! But it does romanticise poverty & the eloquent script sometimes seems forced out of the mouths of children. Very good.

Quite a remarkable little film. A character study and a coming of age movie and also a portrait of a community, a poetic rendition of a certain time and place that are specific but also universal. It's told in an episodic manner that puts both seemingly minor character interactions and large dramatic events on the same level. Every moment has equal weight, tied together by the understated but very expressive cinematography and musical score. The cast is uniformly excellent.

"It's at once brilliant and inept" wrote Village Voice. I agree. The movie isn't about plot, and in terms of both setting and behavior the movie is completely succesful at giving you a strong sense of authenticity. Still, it should have amounted to something more. I loved the narration and the cinematography, providing transcendent moments, and the acting was very strong; the boy playing Vernon was particularly impressive. A superior debut.

It took me a little bit to get over what I considered to be Malick mimicry, but soon enough I realized what a personal and idiosyncratic achievement this is. There is a sense of nostalgia and tragedy here unlike anything else you'll find in most coming-of-age stories.

As thematically rich and brilliantly offbeat as any movie you're likely to see. A combination of Terrence Malick and Charles Burnett's Killer of Sheep, infused with a unique and refracted perspective on America and Americana. There's no plot to speak of, existing instead as a series of character moments and incidents which combine to paint a portrait of small-town destitution, coming-of-age, family and friendship, and probably a million other things.

It's not terrible, but it wasn't compelling to me. It's a southern version of Kids/Gummo, but with some elegance that just didn't sweep me on the first viewing.

really very good

Neorealism Americana. Great dialogue and stellar acting provides authenticity to this slowly-paced, beautiful shot almost dreamlike slice-of-life-story.

Unlike so many other films that merely attempt to capture childhood, Green's great early effort is truly spot on. Never flinching from showcasing the problems and harsh realities faced by his characters, the film itself is a satisfying and challenging look at how the fantasies of childhood never really last.

George Washington is a work of humbling, breathtaking beauty.

beautifully shot, horribly written.

"George Washington is the closest thing we have to William Faulkner on screen" - Ed Gonzalez

The independent version of "Fresh". Great acting. Low budget. Isn't held back by that.

Maybe I had unfairly high expectations, but I was actually quite disappointed. The film's writing feels very labored and dialog often sounds flat-out ridiculous... it just felt very try-hard and inauthentic. I also have an aversion to characters donning overly goofy outfits and becoming some ever-present visual gag. Still, Green (and Orr) does show some real talent in the way the film is shot and soundtracked, and on the strength of that and some brilliant scenes it manages to work. Sort of.

This is one of those "important" movies that wields some serious emotional blackmail, i.e., "if you don't like this movie you're dumb/insensitive/racist/a philistine/etc." Actually it's dull and depressing

Gorgeously lensed. It looks positively ethereal.

Look at my tongue!

One of the best movies I've ever seen.

Token IFC film.

This is the best performance by an ensemble ever. In film history. And I include the ensembles from Streetcar and Network and every other film ever made. Ever. These kids blow them out of the water.