“Auteurs were interested in ‘stuff the films are made of,’ just as they were exploring their own political and philosophical views. Matthew Mishory should be credited with reconnecting us with that great tradition and making a cinematic statement as an American drawing from the European auteur tradition.”

— Vera Mijojlic,

“Dreamy!”

— Steve Rose,

“A visually stunning, meditative film steeped in the classics.”

“Mesmerizing and sexy.”

— David Wiegand,

“A poetic dreamscape…when a film is this beautiful, it's hard to ignore. Out of all of the film fest films currently on the circuit, JOSHUA TREE, 1951 was the one that stayed with me most—long after the film ended.”

— Kevin Taft,

“A stylized, intriguing film about James Dean before he becomes a major movie star.”

— Patrick Range McDonald, LA Weekly

“...a nuanced portrayal of an entire era, as well as a somewhat damning appraisal of the Hollywood system that endures to this day...Joshua Tree gives us an account of the process by which Hollywood molds an individual into its systemic image of a star. That it accomplishes this through a formal subversion of Hollywood' stylistic code -- with its deliberately slow rhythm and acute attention paid to photography, nearly every image resembling a still -- makes the message all the more subtle.”

— Travis Jeppesen,

“A look at the pre-fame years and bisexual proclivities of James Dean. This is the most gorgeously stylized, luminously shot film at Outfest.”

— Gary M. Kramer,

“The film is exquisite. It's like new, new, New Queer Cinema. Watching it, I recall the same feelings I had as a youth watching early Todd Haynes.”

Jonathan Caouette, director of Tarnation

“A breathtaking look at a little-known period in the actor [James Dean]’s life.”

— Jeremy Kinser,