ROUTE ONE/USA
Directed by Robert Kramer; 1990 (255 mins) in English
“A thin stretch of asphalt cutting through all the old dreams of a nation.” Robert Kramer’s own description of the set of this film perfectly incapsulates the ambition and the spirit of his epic and hypnotic road movie -an underground classic, and yet in the tradition of Sullivan’s Travels, Two Lane Black Top, and Easy Rider. As relevant today as it was thirty years ago, in its exploration of the country’s relation with race, religion and culture, Kramer’s journey into the American soul, lovingly restored, enjoys a new theatrical release.
In 1988, after years living and working in Europe, the renegade filmmaker returns to the US. “Back,” he emphasizes. Not “home.” To try to understand the country as it is, he decides to travel the entire length ofRoute 1, from the Canadian border to Key West, filming all the way. His companion on the trip is Doc— ostensibly Kramer’s friend, a brooding physician back after a harrowing decade working in Africa. But in fact, he’s a fictional character played by actor Paul McIsaac, a compassionate man who readily engages those he meets, from business owners, to factory workers and to army recruits.
For a road movie, ROUTE ONE/USA features few shots of the open road itself. Instead, we are treated to a series of stops along the way—an Indian reserve in Maine, Walden Pond, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC, a Georgia diner, Thanksgiving dinner at a homeless shelter, and evangelical churches that preach the “truth” about the anti-apartheid movement and the dangers of Disney. There are plenty of characters along the way too, and appearances by televangelist Pat Robertson and Jesse Jackson, as they campaign for president.
It’s not just the people who make the film though. Kramer has an extraordinary eye for people, patterns, and industrial processes (you’ll never look at Monopoly or tinned sardines the same way again), and his visuals shine through in this edition beautifully restored with the support of the Centre National du Cinema.
Join us on our Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/events/605213410153481/) Thursday, September 24th at 6:00 pm, and meet journalist activist and Wainscott resident Paul Isaac, a.k.a Doc, to discuss the ROUTE ONE/USA with SHC’s Artistic Director Giulia D’Agnolo Vallan. McIsaac is also the author of the beloved weekly documentary series Our Long Island Heroes which has been published on the Sag Harbor Cinema’s website through the summer.
