
Acinematicessayindefenseofremembering,TheRoyalRoadoffersupaprimerontheSpanishcolonizationofCaliforniaandtheMexicanAmericanWaralongsideintimatereflectionsonnostalgia,butchidentity,thepursuitofunavailablewomenandAlfredHitchcock'sVertigo-allagainstacontemplativebackdropof16mmurbanCalifornialandscapes,andfeaturingavoiceovercameobyTonyKushner.DeceptivelysimpleCaliforniaurbanlandscapesserveastheframeworkforthefilm'slyricallywrittenvoiceoverwhichcombinesrigoroushistoricalresearchwithastream-of-consciousnesspersonalmonologueandrelatestheseseeminglydisparatestoriesfromanintimate,colloquialperspectivetotellaone-of-a-kindCaliforniatale.Shoton16mmfilmandcontemplativelycraftedoflongtakes,TheRoyalRoadisafilmaboutlandscapesanddesire,memoryandhistory-andthestorieswetell.


