The Big Picture

Turner Ross and Bill Ross IV create films that blur the lines between documentary and narrative for powerful storytelling.

Gasoline Rainbow
follows high school students on a memorable journey that captures raw, sincere moments amidst mundanity.
The film explores themes of friendship, self-discovery, and adolescence through an authentic, realistic lens.

Writer-directors Turner Ross and Bill Ross IV have almost made their own unique blend of storytelling, creating films that constantly make the audience question whether they’re watching a documentary or a smartly crafted narrative film. For example, with their last film, the remarkably brilliant and vastly underseen Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets from 2020, we are thrown into a Las Vegas dive bar in the last 24 hours of their operation on New Year’s Eve. Yet even though the actors aren’t recognizable, and the dialogue seems improvised, Bloody Nose was filmed 1,700 miles from Nevada. Regardless of what is true and what is false, the emotions and the power of their stories are what make their films feel so real.

This is certainly true with their latest film, Gasoline Rainbow, which follows five teenagers on the 513-mile trek from their small town of Wiley, Oregon to see the Pacific Coast for the first time. Even though they’re simply traveling from one side of their state to the other, the Ross brothers make it feel like we’re along for a tremendous journey that these five will remember for the rest of their lives—one last memory made before these high school students have to unwillingly enter the real world. Like their previous work, Gasoline Rainbow blurs the line between documentary and narrative filmmaking to create a road trip movie unlike you’ve ever seen before.

Gasoline Rainbow Follows 5 teenagers from small-town Oregon who, with high school in the rearview, decide to embark on one last adventure: to make it to a place they’ve never been -the Pacific coast, 500 miles away. Their plan, in full: “F**k it.”Run Time 110 minutes Director Bill Ross IV, Turner Ross Release Date May 10, 2024 Actors Tony Abuerto, Micah Bunch, Nichole Dukes, Nathaly Garcia, Makai Garza

What Is ‘Gasoline Rainbow’ About?
These five high school seniors (played by Nathaly Garcia, Makai Garza, Tony Aburto, Nichole Dukes, and Micah Bunch) hop into Nichole’s dingy van that barely starts one night and head towards the coast. They openly accept they don’t have a plan, and probably not enough money to get them to their goal, but that doesn’t deter them. They all know that once they return to their hometown, they’ll have to get real jobs and figure out their lives, so going on a questionable journey to finally see the ocean absolutely seems like the best choice at the moment. They’re not necessarily running away from their responsibilities, but rather, they’re having one last blow-out of childhood fun before they’re faced with the world.

Most of the conversations these five have are awkward conversations about nothing, meandering, and full of moments that feel like they’re almost worried about existing in silence—all commonly found in your standard teenager conversations. “Deadass” is thrown out liberally, almost like punctuation at the end of sentences, and most of these discussions often lead back to talking about how high they are, or ripping on each other. Yet within the mundanity, we get glimpses of who these kids are and what their lives are like. Even though each one of these kids gets a moment of narration to explain themselves in a more straightforward fashion, the truly impactful moments come out naturally, where we realize just how much this group cares for each other and is secure with one another. There’s plenty of times where the talking goes nowhere, but we also know that these five could trust each other with any details of their life and feelings and feel completely safe.

It’s About the Journey, Not the Destination With ‘Gasoline Rainbow’
Image via Mubi

It’s the small moments throughout Gasoline Rainbow that not only leave their mark on us, but feel like these kids making memories that will last them forever. For example, as one party they find on the way dies down, two of the friends simply say “I love you” to each other as they go to sleep. This brazen sincerity cuts through all the bullshit these five are spouting at each other. In another scene, Micah talks to a couple about his home life, leading him to tears, and while we only learn bits and pieces about the homes these five come from, it seems clear that they all feel more comforted by the presence of each other than with their own flesh and blood. When they get back and have to reckon with the reality, they know that those waiting for them back home won’t understand quite what they’re feeling in the way these five do.

In another beautiful moment, the group finds a party, and one of the kids goes off with a girl. The way the Ross brothers film this moment makes it feel like an epic event, full of the wistfulness of youth, as though a girl grabbing the hand of a boy and leading him off to be alone is a momentous occasion worthy of celebration. By encamping us into this group dynamic, we start to go back to those teenage years, a reminder of the silly optimism that led that period of life, when the world was full of opportunities—even though they know those will be cut short on the way back. They’ll have to get a job they hate or join the military, but if they keep moving forward, they won’t have to worry about going back just yet.

The Ross Brothers Throw Just Enough Road Blocks Into This Journey
Image via Mubi

However, had this been a true story, it’s easy to imagine this could also be a fairly straightforward film: get in the van, drive for a few days, accomplish goal. But the script, also by the Ross brothers, throws plenty of fascinating speed bumps onto this quest. It doesn’t take long before problems arise with the van, and this seemingly simple trip becomes far more complicated. This is when Gasoline Rainbow starts to pick up, as they make new friends, learn more about the world around them, and find themselves on paths they would’ve never found by car. While it’s not overt by any stretch, each person they meet shows them different things to appreciate or learn about who they are, whether it’s how they shouldn’t take their homes for granted, or learning that going out and exploring the world is both exhilarating and a terrifying experience. We discover more about ourselves through the people we meet in our own personal journeys, and Gasoline Rainbow shows that gracefully.

Entertainment about high school students often focuses so much on moments that don’t feel real or honest, whether it’s through over-the-top absurdity or the countdown to graduation and prom that countless pieces of entertainment have centered around. But Gasoline Rainbow tackles a much more realistic side of what being a teenager is like. As one kid says early on, “When there’s nothing to do, you just venture.” Most remembered high school stories aren’t about momentous events, but instead, the quieter moments spent with a select few, a party filled with drinking and bullshitting until the sun comes up, or making new acquaintances like you in a diner or a parking lot. Turner Ross and Bill Ross IV capture the beauty in the everyday monotony that comes with youth, presented in a way that can’t help but feel like we’re experiencing a true journey for five kids just wanting to get out.

Gasoline Rainbow REVIEWGasoline Rainbow captures a delightful teenage road trip through a style that blends documentary and narrative filmmaking.Run Time 110 minutes Director Bill Ross IV, Turner Ross Release Date May 10, 2024 Actors Tony Abuerto, Micah Bunch, Nichole Dukes, Nathaly Garcia, Makai Garza ProsTurner Ross and Bill Ross IV’s approach to this story makes it feel like we’re truly on a trip with friends.There’s plenty of twists and turns that make this journey fascinating from beginning to end. ConsThe mundanity of many of the conversations could be a bit too much for some viewers.

Gasoline Rainbow is now playing in theaters. Click below for showtimes near you.

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