Golden Door, The

Aroview: Award-winning Italian drama from the dir. of RESPIRO follows the fortunes of a family of dirt-poor Sicilian peasants, from their homeland to Ellis Island, at the turn of the 20th century, in pursuit of the original American Dream.

Largely unique in its ‘foreign’ perspective of immigrating to America, this also manages to pry genuine humanism and emotional weight from beneath its stunning, gold leaf visuals (shot by Agnes Godard). Powerfully conveys the wonder, promise, and heartbreak of a new, opportune land, all without the needless embellishments that a Hollywood alternative might offer.

NZ International Film Festival 2007