Gerry is a 2002 American drama film written and directed by Gus Van Sant, and starring and co-written by Matt Damon and Casey Affleck.

[1] Van Sant revealed in interviews that Damon, Affleck, and his brother Ben had already coined the term prior to the title being chosen.

[1] The plot shares some commonalities with the events surrounding the death of David Coughlin, who was killed after he and a friend became lost in Rattlesnake Canyon in New Mexico.

The style was largely inspired by the work of Hungarian filmmaker Béla Tarr, namely its use of extended scenes playing out in uncut master shots.

In an interview with Filmmaker Magazine, Van Sant stated "In some ways, Gerry is Béla Tarr fused with Tomb Raider!

[3] Van Sant deliberately chose not to look up more information on the event because "we didn't want to do their story,"[3] instead deciding it would be "an inspirational aside".

[3] Besides the news item, other influences include Van Sant's own experience getting lost[3] as well as Chantal Akerman's Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975).

"[2] Van Sant hoped to shoot the film in Argentina to avoid a possible Actors Guild strike, but the location proved colder than anticipated.

He then looked to Wadi Rum in Jordan, but he was dissuaded from going there because a travel advisory was in effect due to potential terrorist activities.

The website’s critics consensus states that Gerry is "The type of uncompromising film that divides filmgoers over whether it is profound or pretentious.