America America

Stavros Topouzoglou is a poor Greek living in the late 19th century who decides to go after his dream – a better life in the New World. Millions of people, however, share the same dream, and only a few of them succeed in fulfilling it. Stavros also realizes that the difficulty he has in paying for the trip from Istanbul to New York is just the beginning of his journey. Disillusion awaits him at the end because the “American dream” wasn’t tailor-made for an ordinary young man like him. But he is determined to stand on his own two feet and make something of himself in his new country. In creating his masterwork, Elia Kazan was inspired by his own book about the fate of his family, primarily his uncle. (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)