Asphaltrennen (1971)

Asphaltrennen: Directed by Monte Hellman. With James Taylor, Warren Oates, Laurie Bird, Dennis Wilson. While drag-racing through the American Southwest in a Chevvy 150, a driver and his mechanic cross paths with an alluring hitchhiker and the inexperienced, tall tale-spinning driver of a GTO.

“Nostalgic of late 60s and early 70s American culture, this film is hard to come to grips with. At face value itu0026#39;s nothing more than a poorly plotted road trip across the U.S. Southwest, as two guys and a girl, in a 1950u0026#39;s hotrod, race a guy named G.T.O (Warren Oates) in his yellow muscle car.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe filmu0026#39;s concept is a little like that of the early 1960u0026#39;s TV series u0026quot;Route 66u0026quot;. But the approach here is totally different. Director Monte Hellman designed u0026quot;Two-Lane Blacktopu0026quot; as if it were a docudrama. Dialogue is minimal and not canned, camera work is unobtrusive with very long camera u0026quot;takesu0026quot;, none of the actors wear makeup, non-actors play bit parts, there are minimal plot contrivances, and so far as I could determine there are no indoor movie sets. As such, the film reminds me of u0026quot;Woodstocku0026quot; (1970).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThatu0026#39;s both good and bad. Lack of acting experience renders James Taylor and Dennis Wilson more natural than what could be expected with trained actors. Itu0026#39;s bad because neither Dennis Wilson nor James Taylor could act, and their entertainment quotient is zilch. In performances, the film thus bears a striking resemblance to u0026quot;Zabriskie Pointu0026quot; (1970).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFor the above reasons, a lot of viewers will not like this film. The plot, such as it is, is super slow and the performances are drab. And there are no special effects to function as distractions. So …u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhat you have in u0026quot;Two-Lane Blacktopu0026quot; is a 1970u0026#39;s art-house film. What it lacks in entertainment value the film makes up for with its heavy-duty philosophical and existential themes. An economy of language wherein nothing in the film is u0026quot;explainedu0026quot;, the tacit praise of the prosaic, and the almost stifling trust in the present moment, all speak to the human heart, as the voice of nihilistic romanticism. There is no freedom here, no escape, no change, nor redemption. The landscape horizon never gets closer. Itu0026#39;s the myth of freedom and the embrace of alienation. No matter how far you travel, you never actually arrive. Itu0026#39;s the journey that matters, on the devilu0026#39;s highway. But thatu0026#39;s life.”