Amsterdam Stories USA

Amsterdam Stories USA is a 2012 documentary film and road movie directed by Dutch filmmakers Rob Rombout and Rogier van Eck. It was produced by Hubert Toint and Jean-Jacques Neira of Belgium-based film production company, Saga Film. The premiere was aired in Amsterdam at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam in November 2012 and at Bozar in January 2013.

The film traces the history, culture, and lives of 15 small American towns, all named Amsterdam. The places explored are New York City (''New Amsterdam''), Amsterdam New York, Amsterdam Pennsylvania, Amsterdam Ohio, Amsterdam Virginia, Amsterdam Georgia, Amsterdam Mississippi, Amsterdam Texas, Amsterdam Indiana, Amsterdam Wisconsin, Amsterdam Iowa, Amsterdam Missouri, Amsterdam Montana, Amsterdam Idaho, and Amsterdam California.

The film runs a total of six hours (360 minutes) which are divided into four ninety-minute chapters named East, South, Midwest, and West. It is the second film in a trilogy that is mainly concerned with places, towns, islands, and people named Amsterdam. It is preceded by ''Amsterdam via Amsterdam'' and succeeded by ''Amsterdam Black & White''.

Background

The idea of ''Amsterdam Stories USA'' was spawned when the filmmakers presented another film, ''Amsterdam via Amsterdam'', in the United States. They noticed fifteen other Amsterdams in the country and when they lined them up on a map, they formed a linear route from coast to coast. They decided they would shoot a road movie capturing the same. They opted to start in New York and finish in California with Rombout scouting the New York area while van Eck visited California. Four shoots spanning six weeks each were made. East and West were filmed first followed by South and Midwest. The whole work spread over two years. Initially, the length of the whole film was not determined but the initial project with RTBF was meant to be two hours long at maximum. On completing the first assembly, there were six hours and Wilbur Leguèbe, the then head of documentary co-productions at RTBF, decided to program it in four ninety-minute chapters.

Rombout and van Eck, while playing themselves, travel by car around the United States, making fifteen stops at different towns, villages, and cities that have or have had the name ''Amsterdam''. Whereas there is not much in common among these places, they are all similar in origin having been founded by Dutch explorers. The film draws an imaginary geography linking Amsterdam to Amsterdam landscapes with the way of life of the people who occupy them. Crossing from east to west and north to south, the film shows the native nature of each landscape and the signs of the people who lived in it and shaped them over time. As the filmmakers traversed through the cities, towns, and villages, they made intermittent stops to interview the inhabitants who recount their lives, memories, and experiences. About fifty stories are collected.

The cinematography, by Benjamin Wolf, used a Canon 5D digital camera and employed close-up shooting. Blur was introduced in their images where they would interview a speaker, make a close-up shot, and finish with a tracking shot from their moving car, drowning the subject into a blur. In terms of lighting and staging, interviewees were put in a semi-dark environment and near the camera for close-up filming. Light was illuminated only half of the subjects' face laterally, creating a chiaroscuro. The framing and lighting isolated the characters from their environment by creating a penumbra.

The filmmakers were partly mentored by Russell Banks who met them in Ohio. Banks opined that the documentary would change its audience's personality and view of America and challenged the directors to choose images that could reveal the lives, needs, and fears of the people they filmed. The fifty stories successfully met this challenge thanks to their characteristic balance between information and emotion. Various themes are addressed including the Vietnam War, the Civil rights movement, the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The theme of the American Dream also features in the filming with Rombout and van Eck asking witnesses about the same. The setting is thought to have caused discomfort and episodes of silence during interviews, leading to reflection and encouraging deep thinking about the history, way of life, and vision of America. From observations collected in the stories, it is evident that not all Americans get the opportunity to escape the social conditions of their lives such as racism.

Rob Rombout's work on the movie played a significant role in bolstering his career as a documentary filmmaker. The film showcased Rombout's storytelling abilities and his talent for uncovering compelling narratives in seemingly ordinary locations. The documentary's success allowed Rombout to establish a reputation for creating thought-provoking, visually engaging, and thematically rich films. This achievement contributed to his artistic growth as a filmmaker, paving the way for further exploration of diverse themes and storytelling techniques in his subsequent projects.

Films

Cast and crew

Cast

* Edgar Oliver
* Rick Salazar
* Brom Cole
* Elinor Tatum
* Tony Jr
* Michael Botwinick
* William Staats
* Len Tantillo
* Bob Cudmore
* Susan Phemister
* Stephen Haven
* Linda Morell
* Lee McCoy
* Robert Pebbles Jr
* Cheryl Pebbles
* Russell Banks
* Cindy Kelly
* Cathy Kelly
* Marty Wright
* Walt Prysbilla
* Dennis Gallagher
* Jarrod Teeters
* David Teeters
* Dustin Teeters
* Adrian Cronauer

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