Americaville (Adam James Smith, 2019): USA

Reviewed by Abby Farer-Haydon. Viewed at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2020.

This film provides amazing insight not only into the way other cultures view life in the United States but also shines a sportlight on many aspects of life in China. Mr. Smith takes us into the the Chinese community that has modeled itself after the town of Jackson Hole, Wyoming in the United States. Our guide for this journey  is a young women who is deeply attracted to the clean air, peace and beauty of nature the community offers. She shows us the way of life that has developed  based on the founder’s visits to the United States.

At first the movie seemed like a comedy because of the the choices in food, entertainment and other activities that are sponsored at the community. We see her attempts at cooking and decorating. We also see how the community supports her desire to adapt the norms that have been set by the community. I  found the tuna made with Jello to be a very interesting take on food in America. There was also a concoction made with fruit loops.  It seems that the founder has maintained the purity of the knowledge he brought back at the time of his hourney. All the menus are based on foods that were popular in the 1950’s and 60’s. There was also a charming dance number where men , dressed as cowboys, enacted a dance routine that brought back memories of a chorus line, Chinese style.

As  the movie progressed however, a tragic sense of sadness and grief  came over me. It was clear, through the actions and words of the young woman, that she sought  a haven from the  surpressed ,structured socieyt that engulfed her. The town was a refuge that gave her  the space to relax, breath and dream. At one point in the movie she creates a film that acts out the fantasy  she has for her life. It is very distant from her reality.

I feel the central character is representative of  many Chinese people who realize that the structured life that has made China a economic world leader does not allow for the delicate sensibilities of the soul.

The way the film was created shows that the the director was respectful of the ideas of a community that is modeled on a time in America’s past. The photography was  able to capture the beauty of the locale as well as the sense of calm and peacefuness that the Chinese  seek.  The attention to the detail of the homes reflected the eye for beauty and percision that is inherent in the Chinese psyche. I did feel the movie would have been improved if there was some music in the background.

From my point of view I believe that the director was successful in showing this Chinese slice of life.  He presented it in a way that allows the audience to see the problems of life in China  and the way that some Chinese people are breaking out of surpression and smelling the roses.