I find it very understandable that allot of people hate it, but for me there is a kind of solemn beauty to it.
I watched it on a Sunday morning and found it to be quite an entrancing experience.
I still find myself occasionally daydreaming with the first scene in my mind.
A long take following behind the two main characters car driving through the dessert with that great tune by Arvo Pärt playing.
I love it for the same reason you do, it's entrancing, and you really need to let yourself be swept up in it when watching it.
shareIt's very strangely tranquil and it embodies that alter-ego that Van Sant has, which looks closely at themes of alienation, desertion, and moral decay in humans. That opening shot was absolutely brilliant, and one of the strange quirks I found about it was the sun shining through the front windshield in a few shots and highlighting how incredibly dirty it was. As far as Van Sant's "Death" Trilogy goes however, there is no better film than Elephant (Van Sant's masterpiece), it is, in the same vein as Gerry, a film which lulls you to sleep and then guts you open.
shareIt is a beautiful film, but the weakest of the Death trilogy.
My Top 100: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls073432147/