SYNOPSIS

A cinematic essay in defense of remembering, The Royal Road offers up a primer on the Spanish colonization of California and the Mexican American War alongside intimate reflections on nostalgia, butch identity and Alfred Hitchcock\'sVertigo — all against a contemplative backdrop of 16mm urban Californialandscapes, and featuring a voiceover cameo by Tony Kushner.

Program Note

 This is the second film produced by film
 historian Jenni OLSON, who is also known for cofounding the pioneering LGBTQ
 website PlanetOut, which had a large influence on North America in the 1990\'s.
 The Royal Road is a poetic film essay that uses stream-of-consciousness to
 reflect on the act of remembering, nostalgia, and butch identity. With the
 deserted city streets of California as its background, with no music but the
 ambient noise of the city, we hear Jenni OLSON\'s voice-over narration.
 Following this introduction, a multitude of colors and shapes overlay the
 contemplative 16mm landscape shots to form the historical strata. A historical
 account of California, the layers of history touch on the Spanish colonization
 of California, the Mexican American war, and postcolonial California, while
 also exploring and examining Hollywood classic films such as Billy WILDER\'s Sunset
 Boulevard (1950) and Alfred HITCHCOCK\'s Vertigo (1958). Within these
 historical recounts of colonialism and Hollywood cinema, OLSON also includes
 her own autobiographic musings, talking about her childhood unrequited love, a
 girl named Juliette. Regardless of whether or not it is a recounting of
 history, urban anthropology, a film critique, or personal nostalgia, all of
 these blend together to create an intimate and sentimental sensation. In
 particular, the film\'s interpretation of Vertigo is very original. Just as
 Jean RHYs\' Wide Sargasso Sea retells the story of Jane Eyre from the
 perspective of Bertha (known as Antoinette COSWAY in the original novel), the
 madwoman Creole wife who is confined in the attic, The Royal Road rewrites
 the story of Vertigo from Carlotta\'s point of view, a Spanish woman who is
 the model for a portrait and tragically ends her life with suicide. It is the
 reinterpretation of a story written from a minority\'s point of view, and the
 rewriting and re-reading of a classic story. The film depicts the topography of
 desire through the land- and cityscapes. Nominated as one of the best American
 independent films ever since its debut at the Sundance Film Festival in 2015, The
 Royal Road is a must watch for those who love films, the queer feel and
 sentiment, cities, and history. [CHO HyeYoung]