An Unlikely Sequel to Misplaced Americana

One of the 60 or so films that I saw at least year's Melbourne International Film Festival was Mike Ott's somewhat scrambled take on misplaced Americana, Littlerock. Ott's film navigated the interconnecting lives of two Japanese tourists and the locals of Littlerock, California. As I wrote at the time, Littlerock feature's an "evocative sense of place mere minutes into its short running time, but a pair of strange lead performances dulls the experience ... cinematographer Carl McLaughlin (also a co-writer) is the real star of Littlerock, as it latches on to the sights of America that so endear it to many travellers", so I was surprised to discover that Ott has made a sequel. Pearblossom Hwy should not - I repeat, should not - be confused, however, with the "twisted and sexy new vampire flick" starring Sophie Monk, called Pearblossom. I'm glad we got that straight!

Of all the original films from 2011 to get a sequel, this was one of the most unlikely candidates. And yet he were are with a fabulous new poster and intriguing trailer for Pearblossom Hwy. In the 90 seconds that this trailer plays I can tell that Ott's visual style and skills at picking wonderfully textured locations is still alive and well - even the title conjures some fantastic images - but returning actors Cory Zacharia and co-writer Atsuko Okatsuka are still there and if I ever do get the chance to see Pearblossom Hwy I do hope they've improved upon their performances, which were the original film's most problematic asset. Their characters appear to have slid from small town nobodies to big town casualties, like some sort of twist on Mulholland Drive's Los Angeles-set nightmare. Despite my misgivings to Littlerock, I can't help but be intrigued once more by the prospect of Pearblossom Hwy. More of the same or a richer sequel? We'll find out eventually, I suppose.

Pearblossom Hwy - Trailer from Small Form Films on Vimeo.

Oh, and this one apparently has Stephen Tobolowski in it. Yet another surprise, really.

So! Upon seeing the posted entry it turns out the film's production company - Small Form Films if you must know - don't actually want you to see the trailer anywhere else but on their Vimeo page. Good job, obscure film production company! Good job!