American Dream

"The American Dream is Very Much About Getting Yours": Interview with Evan Jackson Leong, director of SNAKEHEAD
“The American Dream is Very Much About Getting Yours”: Interview with Evan Jackson Leong, director of SNAKEHEAD

Film Inquiry spoke with director Evan Jackson Leong for his film Snakehead.

Interview with Jessica Bruder, The Author Behind NOMANDLAND
London Film Festival 2020: NOMADLAND

Any way you choose to interpret it, Nomadland flourishes under the direction of Zhao, and bolstered by a brilliant performance from McDormand.

TIFF 2020: Nomadland - A Stunning Portrait of A Failed American Dream
TIFF 2020: NOMADLAND – A Stunning Portrait of A Failed American Dream

Chloe Zhao’s Nomadland surpasses the wildest expectations to become the first true all-around festival standout of the year.

In Defense Of SPRING BREAKERS
In Defense Of SPRING BREAKERS

Spring Breakers may be much more profound of a film than initially thought, lucidly expressing our fascination with money and violence.

CRYSTAL SWAN: A Charming If Downtrodden Tale Of Seeking The American Dream In Post-Soviet Belarus
CRYSTAL SWAN: A Charming If Downtrodden Tale Of Seeking The American Dream In Post-Soviet Belarus

Crystal Swan is about the murky foundation that the American Dream is built on, but the persistence it instills on those who are willing to fight for it.

Cowboys, Classical Greek Art, And America's Founding Myth
Cowboys, Classical Greek Art & America’s Founding Myth

The American Western is a worthy way to gaze at the past in reference to our present; seen from the early days of the genre to more recent revisionist entries.

GENERATION WEALTH: More Money, More Problems
GENERATION WEALTH: More Money, More Problems

Perhaps it’s due to the burden of excited expectations, but ultimately the sum that is Generation Wealth is never able to surpass its 25 years of parts.

20 Years of PLEASANTVILLE: Privilege, Prejudice & The Pursuit Of Perfection
20 Years of PLEASANTVILLE: Privilege, Prejudice & The Pursuit Of Perfection

Pleasantville is still relevant 20 years later: In a time where the American Dream is being redefined, Pleasantville tries to tell us that among the chaos and imperfection of this world, you can still find happiness.

SUBURBICON: Fake Smiles & Stale Cookies Doesn't Always Win You Over
SUBURBICON: Fake Smiles & Stale Cookies Doesn’t Always Win You Over

Suburbicon is a somewhat effective thriller that unfortunately squanders its potential at being a deeper film about racial tension.

SUBURBICON: On The Inherent Violence Of The American Suburb
SUBURBICON: On The Inherent Violence Of The American Suburb

Despite some flaws, Suburbicon is still a riot of a good time, poking fun at the inherent obscurity of the American Dream in a unique way.

THE SWIMMER: Decadence, Decay & The American Dream
THE SWIMMER: Decadence, Decay & The American Dream

Frank Perry ’s 1968 film The Swimmer is adapted at length from the 12-page short story of the same name by famed American author John Cheever . It is the story of Ned Merrill (perhaps the finest performance of Burt Lancaster ’s impressive career), whose summer culminates in a trip through various neighbours’ pools until reaching his own home at the end of a large and affluent county of mansions. Only, what starts as a summer begins to feel as if it goes on for years.

Evel Knievel
I AM EVEL KNIEVEL: A Competent But Embellished Account

Initially, it seems that I Am Evel Knievel competently weaves archival footage with a range of talking heads. However, the documentary goes to great lengths to embellish a very unlikeable man and omits some of his life’s failings, making it an inferior production to the BBC’s Richard Hammond Meets Evel Knievel, which also has the advantage of featuring the man himself shortly before he died on November 30th 2007. During the 1970s, Evel Knievel was one of the most famous names in America and the world.

A Most Violent Year
A MOST VIOLENT YEAR: A Most Satisfying Film

J.C. Chandor may be just starting out, but his film resume is already very impressive.

Beasts of the Southern Wild
The American Southern: The Birth of a Modern Independent Film Genre

“These men who bust their asses work like dogs. And I believe in them, but every day they hurt. They get old, they peel back…