I’ve always loved the perspective of European filmmakers on the United States. They have this tendency to approach American culture and landscapes with a sharp, critical wit tempered by almost childlike wonder, finding beauty in the places we overlook: secondary cities, no man’s lands, industrial spaces, automats. They are able to extract the solitude, distress, isolation and disillusionment that inhabit these American beauties. The grand American dream is no longer able to hide behind its promises of liberty. There’s no sfumato here; only the harsh light of the follow spot. It is this reality that drives our interest in Edward Hopper’s art and this film, which animates the mysteries of his paintings. It would seem that I needed a French film, informed by the perspective and inspired works of German filmmaker Wim Wenders, to help me rediscover Edward Hopper. They come together around a shared aesthetic, reigniting my nearly forgotten dreams of watching the dramas of American life play out on Edward Hopper’s blank canvas.
 

Marie-Odile Demay
Transmedia producer and creator