By Tatiana Craine

Finding inspiration is difficult, even under the best of circumstances. Now imagine going to a school where it’s everyone’s job to be the best artist they can be. Feel the pressure. Really feel it. Lindeman does.Lindeman, a grad student at MCAD, is about to graduate. He’s got one problem, though: the two-ton block of granite he’s supposed to make into a masterpiece. It’s his final project, but he’s lost his spark. Lindeman used to derive inspiration and a sense of self from the troubles in his life, but his therapist declares him cured. Suddenly Lindeman has a little soul-searching to do.

He embarks on a quest for his identity with a cast of characters, all loose lampoons of art school stereotypes. Along the way, he meets P.K., a surprisingly young and ridiculously talented artist; Lelle, the most beautiful girl in Minnesota; Edie and Alec, the absurdly happy couple who find love in everything; Fiona, a pretentious and blunt photography student; Celeste, a fashion student obsessed with death; Margaret, an artist in tune with the Twin Cities underground gay scene; and Zach, a vegan revolutionary with a penchant for giant vegetable costumes. Oh, and there’s a goat.

If the story sounds a bit bizarre, ludicrous and laughable-it is. But, sometimes searching for a sense of identity means taking strange, untraveled paths.

“Nobody” is the brainchild of Hollywood writer Rob Perez and Guster front-man Ryan Miller. Set in Minneapolis, Minn., the film showcases many beloved Twin Cities locales including MCAD, Porky’s, the Sunnyside Up Café, the Metro Transit system and others. On 35-millimeter film, the city transforms into a storybook setting for a soon-to-be starving artist’s self-discovery.

The cast of “nobody” is charming and enthralling, and the actors fit into their roles superbly. Minnesota native Sam Rosen plays the leading man, Lindeman, perhaps the most notable performance in “nobody.” His sardonic and self-effacing humor mixed with a prudently dramatic touch renders Lindeman a complex and immediately lovable character. The rest of the cast delivers quirky, impressionable performances, and Agnes the goat steals the show as the lame goat Lindeman saves from sacrificial offering.

The lighthearted and absorbing film details the troubles about growing up and finding oneself with a sense of delightfully wry humor-think a gay bar called “The Manhole,” or the events following the consumption of batch of special (yes, special) homemade brownies. A few times, “nobody” comes up short, a joke doesn’t work or a line seems forced. However, Perez’s first venture into directorial territory effectively delivers its message. More importantly, the film has heart. Maybe it’s a little Minnesota nice creeping into the frames, or maybe it’s the fact that we all know what it’s like to do some heart-searching when times get desperate.