Dragonslayer (2011 film)

Synopsis

The film follows Josh "Skreech" Sandoval, a skateboarder living in California. It was shot in various California towns as well as Copenhagen, Denmark and Malmö, Sweden.

The film begins with Sandoval cleaning out a pool behind an abandoned house. He skates in the pool a short time before a neighbor threatens to call the police. Toward the end of the film, Sandoval and Josh "Peacock" Henderson are interviewed on The Daily Habit where they discuss the effect the recession has had on the availability of empty pools.

Sandoval skates in a contest in Malmö. He also skates at several different skateparks and pools in California. He spends a lot of time with his girlfriend, Leslie. They smoke marijuana, drink alcohol, hike, and fish. Sandoval also visits his infant son, Sid, and his ex-girlfriend, Angela. He gets a tattoo of a rocket with "Sid" written across it. At the tattoo parlour, Leslie flips through a skateboard book in which Sandoval is pictured as representative of "odd".

Sandoval usually stays with friends. At one point he is sleeping in a tent in a friend's backyard. After receiving a phone call from his mother, he says that he had not heard from her in six months, and before that had not heard from her in a year.

Sandoval and Leslie have a garage sale, then leave for a roadtrip to Arizona and Portland, Oregon. When they return, Leslie goes back to school and Sandoval begins working at a bowling alley next to Disneyland.

Background

Filmmaker Tristan Patterson met Sandoval at a party in Chino, California. During the party, a video featuring Sandoval skating was projected on a wall. According to Patterson, "[Sandoval] had this style that was all his own and he had this instinct for what he did."

Reception

Due to its limited theatrical release, Dragonslayer was not widely reviewed. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 88% based on reviews from 17 critics. It was a Critic's Pick by The New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times.

Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly gave it an "A−", the Village Voice called it 'A new kind of youth movie for these uncertain times' and indieWire described it as 'the cinematic equivalent of punk rock candy.' <

Awards