In 'Vulcanizadora,' the limits of guilt and anxiety are probed

The sardonic meme operation “Are men okay?” gets a bleakly amusing yet softly devastating workover successful Joel Potrykus’ “Vulcanizadora,” astir a brace of downtrodden dudes connected a disturbingly consequential travel into the woods adjacent Lake Michigan. In its focused glimpse into a strange, funny-sad friendship, it’s astir mesmerizingly nonjudgmental arsenic it treks to a precise acheronian place.

That doesn’t mean “Vulcanizadora” lacks a constituent of view. Potrykus’ cinematic playground — forged successful small-scale curios similar “Buzzard” and “Relaxer” — is the stagnant aerial of nonaccomplishment surrounding a definite benignant of shameless, embittered, immature feline for whom life’s richest challenges are video-game levels and petty pranks. Mel Brooks famously contextualized our position connected misfortune erstwhile helium said, “Tragedy is erstwhile I chopped my finger, drama is erstwhile you autumn into an unfastened sewer and die.” But Potrykus, whose oeuvre of slacker micro-apocalypses has go arsenic distinctive arsenic anyone’s successful the DIY indie realm, seems intent connected uncovering a discomfiting if poetic abstraction betwixt those poles, wherever your snickers mightiness beryllium colored by a flimsy repugnance, and astatine times you’ll look arsenic you would astatine a half-squished insect inactive trying to move.

“Vulcanizadora” is simply a 10-years-later follow-up to “Buzzard” — due to the fact that the connection “sequel” astir sounds excessively materialistically mercenary for specified lo-fi fare arsenic this. But knowing that whitethorn not beryllium necessary, due to the fact that arsenic the story’s humans travel into presumption from the leafy serenity of Adam J. Minnick’s 16mm cinematography, it doesn’t instrumentality agelong to grasp who Marty, played by longtime Potrykus collaborator Joshua Burge, and motormouth Derek (Potrykus) are: inexperienced campers, committed weirdos, adjacent pals, stunted juveniles and men connected a ngo to fulfill an work they’ve made to each other.

The details of their pact aren’t initially clear, but the travel seems tilted toward appeasing Derek’s junky pleasures: vessel rockets, martial arts play-acting, swigging Jaeger from a canteen, porn mags. Marty, meanwhile, hollow-eyed and churlish astir straying from their objective, seems haunted with guilt aft a caller stint successful jailhouse for mounting a gathering connected fire. (Marty’s deteriorating beingness of small-time criminality was the escaped communicative of “Buzzard,” though it’s champion known for a agelong instrumentality of him messily eating spaghetti that could astir suffice arsenic dirtbag show art.)

Burge is simply a singular surface presence, similar an R. Crumb misfit made real, and it’s astir touching however overmuch religion Potrykus has successful the awkward majesty of staying connected his look truthful that Marty’s sour desperation tips america implicit from wanting to laughter astatine him to feeling atrocious for his misery. But Potrykus, whose quality was mostly a punching container successful “Buzzard,” besides gives himself a accidental to marque this a existent two-hander erstwhile the vibrating Derek’s ain regrets yet travel to the aboveground — he’s got a 5-year-old lad helium knows he’s ill-suited to beryllium a existent begetter to — and we spot the mislaid antheral wrong the arrested adolescent. Potrykus makes a psychologically revealing repast retired of each tense interjection of Derek’s until they go animalistic and yet sorrowful.

Flush with emotion aft expressing immoderate of that deep-set symptom and possibly trying to stave disconnected a no-turning-back reality, Derek tries to person his person helium feels amended getting everything out. But Marty’s close determination to fto him cognize that time he’ll consciousness atrocious each implicit again. And that feels existent too, arsenic if it were this fable’s slap-you-awake moral.

But then, connected the lake’s gleaming shore, “Vulcanizadora” reveals its truest colors with a horrifying, absurd twist of destiny for these 2 that, if not precisely unpredictable, kicks disconnected a last enactment of smudgy, eccentric, farcical grace astir the analyzable bonds of friendship. The ending’s a downer, each right, but you mightiness conscionable grin too. Then consciousness atrocious astir it. Then chuckle. Which is erstwhile you recognize Potrykus has you close wherever helium wants you.