A post-Vietnam War melodrama, Americana, actor David Carradine’s feature directorial debut, was shot in the 1970s but released in 1983.
Richard Carr’s screenplay is based on the novel “The Perfect Round,” by Henry Morton Robinson.
Carradine stars as a softspoken Vietnam vet whose aimless wanderings bring him to a dusty village in rural Kansa.
At the center of town is a dilapidated merry-go-round, due to neglect and disrepair. Needing to do “something,” and perhaps realizing that this is his chance for self-respect andredemption, Carradine obsessively sets a bout repairing the rusty carousel.
But the townsfolk are suspicious of his true intentionm perceiving him as an opportnistic stranger.
To that extent, he sets out to overcome the various obstacles and win their trust—and in the process regaining his self-worth and balance, after the tumultuous experience of the Vietnam War..
Running time: 91 Minutes
Release date: October 21, 1983