American Tune: The Story

A European writer – who’s been temporarily residing in New York City to assemble material for a new book – wants to get to the bottom of the secret behind the American Dream (“The American Dream: Does It Still Exist?”). Something that has been intriguing European minds ever since World War II, despite all their Old World cynicism and irony. To achieve his objective the guy sets out on a low-budget, adventurous journey from the Big Apple to San Francisco, in a rented red Toyota. Somewhere along the dented road he’ll pick up disheveled Russian Elena, a former escort girl from Brighton Beach (NYC), who dreams of starting a new life in California… Love, despair (Elena’s unexpected suicide attempt!), chaos and confusion will unremittingly accompany our traveler on his way out West – and thereby slowly transform his European mindset… Instead of revealing the secret behind the American Dream the journey will – to the writer’s bittersweet surprise - end up handing him the key to his own existential loneliness.

04-02-2009