America America. 1963. USA. Written and directed by Elia Kazan. Based on a book by Kazan. With Stathis Giallelis, Frank Wolff, Elena Karam, Lou Antonio, John Marley. 35mm. 174 min.
“My name is Elia Kazan. I am a Greek by blood, a Turk by birth, and an American because my uncle made a journey.” These opening words signal America America as Kazan’s most personal film. At the height of his career, Kazan chronicles his family’s US immigration story by looking for its traces in Turkey and Greece with the help of local, nonprofessional actors, a handheld camera, black-and-white film stock, and documentary-like aesthetics. In so doing, Kazan puts America America closer to European new waves than traditional, Hollywood-backed studio productions of the same era, providing a source of inspiration for filmmakers including Martin Scorsese.