city-people-film Road to Nowhere is auteur director Monte Hellman's first film in 21 years and is a breathtaking return to cinema. The film premiered in competition at the 67th Venice Int' Film Festival and won the Jury Award Special Lion for Career Achievement. This recognition is a testament to the quality of the film as well as the genius of the filmmaker behind it. The film also features a terrific cameo from legendary film actor Fabio Testi. I look forward to many more films from Hellman in the future. His latest project is 'Love or Die', which is scheduled to commence shooting in Lisbon in March 2014. He is truly one of the greatest film directors in the history of American film.William Anderson

jfrentzen-942-204211 Director Monte Hellman, the artist behind several groundbreaking and intelligent films from the 1960s, 70s, and beyond, has crafted an excellent drama about relationships, betrayal, love, desperation, and movie-making in ROAD TO NOWHERE. On the surface, ROAD TO NOWHERE is about a film director, Mitchell Haven (Tygh Runyan) and the star of his movie, well played by Shannyn Sossamon, and how they cope, together and individually, while shooting a movie recounting an awful crime. Sossamon, who is both strong and enigmatic as the leading lady character must be here, is a star in the making. The backdrop of movie-making, in which Haven deals with cast, crew and external crises or other situations, must have been much like how Hellman has dealt with the intricacies of making a movie.The good news here is that for all its behind-the-scenes machinations, ROAD TO NOWHERE is not overcooked melodrama or sensationalized but, rather, exquisitely measured. It reminds me of the director's TWO LANE BLACKTOP and IGUANA in that it deals with strong, emotional characters in an unusual situation and setting. Although the underlying crime event has sensational aspects, and showing the making of a movie has its melodramatic moments, Hellman takes a nuanced approach that favors character, and the rest of his cast, including Cliff DeYoung and Fabio Testi in a small role, measure up well. In addition, scenes that are somewhat open-ended allow viewers to draw their own conclusions and interpretations of the characters as the plot gracefully unfolds. This is in response of some reviewers who complain the movie goes nowhere -- they might be better served watching TV movies, in which every plot twist is telegraphed and clichéd. ROAD TO NOWHERE is hardly languid. It bristles with emotion, and with a surprising finale that is not merely violent but packs an emotional gut-wrench. ROAD TO NOWHERE is also one of those movies worth watching more than once, in order to fully appreciate the layered drama and the artistry of its director.

cptplasma Monte Hellman proves with Road to Nowhere that he is the Shaolin master of directing. His Kung Fu is indeed strong and apparently getting stronger every day. When Road to Nowhere was awarded the Special Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, jury president Quentin Tarantino introduced Hellman as "both a great cinematic artist and a minimalist poet." This verbal sketch captures his likeness brilliantly in my opinion, for Hellman is truly the master of "the art of fighting without fighting." This refers to his self-proclaimed aesthetic that "directing should be invisible - don't direct - don't act" and "the director's job, after casting which is like 99% of the job, is to ferociously eliminate anything that doesn't advance the story or that takes the audience out of the story". This is the Tao of Monte Hellman and why he remains Hollywood's Invisible Man in spite of his great talent. True to form, Road to Nowhere is not a film that draws attention to itself. It is not showy or pretentious. The acting is so natural, realistic, and effortless that were it not for the spectacular HD cinematography one might think he was watching a documentary. All considered, though unfortunate, it is understandable that audiences might choose to overlook this amazing film. But I sincerely hope they do not. Because the viewing of it just might change the way they look at cinema forever. Sincerely,Captain Plasma

yingyangpanda This movie makes your brain a road to nowhere. Although confusingly slow, for some. For others depth is more important. So deep you cant look around cause everything looks the same.I watched this movie for the first time on 3 beautiful tabs of perception enhancers and it made me change life perspective and my own personality. How much of it was the movie I Don't know. The movie changes perspective the whole time. It. Is. Odd.People who think they are creative will hate this movie cause it will pee in their eyes.Real people who 'think' regularly will be enchanted by the detail. They will laugh while the ignorant cry. Bottom line: not for anyone.