Vulcanizadora Trailer: Joel Potrykus and Joshua Burge Shock the Senses

While the idea of independent cinema has shifted to increase bigger budgets and scopes, a filmmaker who has stayed true to his punk roots is certainly Joel Potrykus. The Buzzard and Relaxer director returned to the festival circuit last fall with Vulcanizadora, reuniting with frequent collaborator Joshua Burge for an uncategorizable film about a fracturing friendship. Now set to kick off the summer movie season with a bang, the first trailer has arrived ahead of Oscilloscope’s May 2 release beginning at NYC’s IFC Center.

Here’s the brief synopsis: “Two friends trudge through a Michigan forest with the intention of following through on a disturbing pact. Once their plan goes shockingly awry, the haunting consequences of their failure can’t stay hidden for long.”

John Fink said in his review, “Like the punk-rock cousin of Kelly Reichardt’s Old Joy, Joel Potrykus’ Vulcanizadora also concerns a voyage in the woods that pinpoints the exact moment an old friendship abruptly dies. The film also represents a maturing-of-sorts for the Michigan-based provocateur, revisiting characters first introduced in his 2014 film Buzzard and a few themes explored in his lesser-known 2016 feature The Alchemist Cookbook. Like many artists shifting from early to mid-career, Potrykus explores themes of having a family––or, in this case, abandoning it––while still retaining the edge present in his nascent works. It suggests a conundrum of sorts, but while other indie filmmakers start small and work towards scaling-up, this filmmaker refreshingly hasn’t. (His 2018 masterpiece Relaxer took place in the corner of an apartment, rather than expanding his slacker universe).”

See the trailer and poster below and read our interview with Potrykus here.

The post Vulcanizadora Trailer: Joel Potrykus and Joshua Burge Shock the Senses first appeared on The Film Stage.