The Open Road: Route One/USA
November 22, 2026
Traveling down the entirety of Route 1 from Maine to Florida, renegade filmmaker Robert Kramer and his friend Doc survey the state of ‘80s America in this monumental portrait of everyday Americans.
“A thin stretch of asphalt cutting through all the old dreams of a nation.”
Renegade filmmaker of the New Left Robert Kramer (Ice, Milestones) returned to the US in 1988 following nearly a decade of living abroad. In an effort to grasp the realities his former country faces, Kramer documents his travels down the entirety of Route 1, from Fort Kent, Maine to Key West, Florida (America’s “end of the rainbow”), accompanied by his buddy Doc, a physician back from a distressing decade in Africa. Throughout, Doc searches for steady work while interviewing veterans, refugees, teachers, activists, and presidential candidates, with such pit stops along the way as a Native American reservation in Maine, foodbanks, Walden Pond, and evangelical churches that preach the “truth” about Disney. Except there’s a catch: Doc is not, in fact, a doctor, but a fictional character played by actor Paul McIsaac. The slippery nature of reality and fiction blur in this monumental portrait of ‘80s America, a wholly unique moviegoing experience shot in stunning Super 16mm.
This screening will include a 15 minute intermission.
- Director: Robert Kramer
- Principal Cast: Paul McIsaac
- Country: France, United Kingdom, Italy
- Year: 1989
- Running Time: 254
- Producer: Richard Copans
- Screenplay: Robert Kramer
- Cinematographers: Richard Copans
- Editors: John Douglas
- Filmography: Doc’s Kingdom (1987), Our Nazi (1984), Milestones (1975), Ice (1970), The Edge (1968)
- Language: English, French, Portugese, Spanish
- US Distributor: Icarus Films