The Royal Road

2015, 65 minutes
This cinematic essay is presented in a minimalist poster that is comprised of a solid white background, black text and a landscape shot of a catholic statue in California. The stone statue depicts a catholic figure supporting a cross taller than the figure. Behind the statue is the Californian nature of foliage, trees and clear blue skies.
Genre
documentary   history   feature (45 min or over)  
Keywords/themes
essay   colonialism   California   Mexican American   Mexican American War  
Media type
film/video  
Alternate titles

Królewski szlak

Country of origin

United States of America

Filming locations

San Francisco, California, United States of America (Current)

Production company

Jenni Olson Productions

Technical specs

Colour

Languages

English/English

Content Warnings
Unreviewed
Images
This cinematic essay is presented in a minimalist poster that is comprised of a solid white background, black text and a landscape shot of a catholic statue in California. The stone statue depicts a catholic figure supporting a cross taller than the figure. Behind the statue is the Californian nature of foliage, trees and clear blue skies.
Description

A cinematic essay in defense of remembering, The Royal Road offers up a primer on Junipero Serra's Spanish colonization of California and the Mexican American War alongside intimate reflections on nostalgia, the pursuit of unavailable women, butch identity and Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo — all against a contemplative backdrop of 16mm urban California landscapes, and featuring a voiceover cameo by Tony Kushner. This bold, innovative film from acclaimed San Francisco filmmaker Jenni Olson combines rigorous historical research with lyrically written personal monologue and relates these seemingly disparate stories from an intimate, colloquial perspective to tell a one-of-a-kind California tale.

Royal Road Movie. “The Royal Road a Film by Jenni Olson.” Accessed January 31, 2024. https://royalroadmovie.weebly.com/.
Cast & Crew
Crew
Watch Full Film
Distribution
Full film
Watch full film (external)
Watch full film (external)
Rent or buy
Rent or buy (external)