Summaries

A drama that investigates anxiety and disillusionment in America.

The American daughter of missionaries Lana returns to Los Angeles from Palestine to work in a mission helping homeless people. Lana was born in Ohio and raised in South Africa and Middle East, and she is an authentic citizen of the world, connected through Internet and aware of how other people see the lack of culture and knowledge and exaggerated patriotism of average American people. Her unique relative is her unknown uncle Paul, a veteran of Vietnam War that cut relationships with his family and is bigot and paranoid. Paul lives in a surveillance van, lives as if he were a secret agent, sees conspiracy and terrorist cells everywhere, and has a great prejudice against Arabs and other non-American breeds after the September, 11th. They meet each other, and when they see the murder of a poor Pakistanis nearby the mission, they travel together to the small town of Trone to deliver his corpse to the family, where Paul sees a different reality.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

The Gospels, preached at a Skid-Row mission, contrast with images of LA's homeless, post-9/11 mistrust, and anti-Muslim violence. Lana cares about the poor - she's just come to LA from the West Bank, staying at a mission. She seeks her uncle Paul, a burned out Agent-Orange-addled Vietnam War vet, now a vigilante security cop, watching for terrorists two years after 9/11, suspicious of everything, including a Muslim carrying boxes of Borax. Lana and Paul drive to Death Valley, Lana to take the body of a murdered homeless Muslim to his brother, Paul to follow the Borax trail. Does family reconciliation resemble something larger?—<[email protected]>

Details

Keywords
  • terrorist
  • vietnam war
  • cigarette smoking
  • watching tv
  • borax
Genres
  • Drama
  • War
Release date Oct 6, 2004
Motion Picture Rating (MPA) Not Rated
Countries of origin United States Canada Germany
Language English Latin
Filming locations Trona, California, USA
Production companies InDigEnt (Independent Digital Entertainment) Reverse Angle Production Wim Wenders Stiftung

Box office

Tech specs

Runtime 2h 3m
Color Color
Sound mix Dolby Digital
Aspect ratio

Synopsis

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