Three settler families struggle through the stony expanse of Oregon in the shimmering heat with their covered wagons and a handful of cattle, heading for a distant destination. Their scout Stephen Meek has long since led them into a hopelessness where there is no water. But only the young Emily rebels against the impending fate and against Meek: she dares to approach a captured Indian, and she also plays the decisive role in “probably the most unusual showdown in Western history” (J. Schulz-Ojala, Tagesspiegel)
Kelly Reichart's art lies in reduction. She concentrates on her own vision of the west (ern), and on the inconspicuous changes in the relationships between the family members. The landscape plays a prominent role: as a body of sound “in which feelings echo and are amplified” (A. Seitz) and as a metaphor for an existential journey. Screenwriter and director Kelly Reichardt, born in Florida in 1964, lives in New York. She has worked closely with Todd Haynes and the writer Jon Raymond on various projects. Her most important works to date include: River of Grass (1994), Ode (1999), Old Joy (2006) and Wendy and Lucy (2008).
