Where Are We?

Between their celebrated documentaries Common Threads: Stories From the Quilt and The Celluloid Closet, directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman made this 1992 post-Gulf War film in which they travel through small towns in the American South and Southwest, meeting ordinary people on buses, in diners, on trains, and elsewhere. Subtitled "Our Trip Through America," Epstein and Friedman's film is not so much trying to make a point about diversity as it is simply embracing a cross-section of voices talking about whatever is on people's minds: hopes, fears, perceptions and misperceptions, and notions of happiness. While nothing particularly profound is said, these personal testimonies ultimately combine to offer up a self-contradictory but glorious view of the nation--gay America, military America, young America, old America, even Elvis's America. A strangely heartening film, Where Are We? debuts on DVD with a fine transfer and a selection of outtakes with directors' commentary and a photo gallery. Highly recommended. (T. Keogh)