The Royal Road
Seen it?2015 | 65 min | Documentary
Sunday Safe Betearly ratingWhy it’s a Sunday Safe Bet
It earned strong reviews (82% on Rotten Tomatoes), though it had almost no lasting buzz and soft box office. A safe bet when you want something reliable.
Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.Is it for you?
- Who'll love it
- Made for the curious.
- The mood
- Eye-opening.
- The pace
- Moves along nicely, at 1 hr 5 min.
- What might put you off
- Nothing much for most grown-ups.
A fascinating and unlikely reinvention story, The Royal Road simultaneously explores cinematic spiritual channeling, the conquest and colonization of Mexico and the American Southwest, fading historical Californian urban landscapes, and the passions found in butch identity to achieve an achingly beautiful and poetic defense of remembering. Probing roads from El Camino Real, to the Boulevard of Broken Dreams, to the road right outside the front door, Olson crafts a deeply intelligent and transcending observation of the human condition that reaches for redemption in the embrace of history, nostalgia, mindfulness, and sheer beauty. If you give yourself over to it, it will crack you wide open.
How it earned its rating
- CriticsStrong
82% on Rotten Tomatoes
- AudiencesNot counted
Not measured yet: not enough ratings
- AwardsNot counted
No major awards or nominations
- Reach & staying powerBelow par
Streaming release that reached a small audience so far; still draws a steady audience long after release
- Buzz & cultural impactWeak
About 941 people sought it out in the past year
Trailer
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Cast & crew
Directed by Jenni Olson
- Tony Kushner(archive sound)
- Jenni Olson(voice)