A tour doc with a difference, as Super Furry Animals frontman Gruff Rhys takes a solo trip through the Mississippi basin on the trail of his distant ancestor John Evans, singing for his supper en route. Evans was an eighteenth-century Welsh separatist who believed in the existence of a tribe of Welsh-speaking Native Americans, the descendants of the legendary Prince Madog.
He was, of course, wrong. But Evans’s journey into the unknown is just the sort of madcap quest to inspire a psychedelic troubadour like Rhys. The result is self-indulgent – the songs get repetitive, as do the vox-pop interviews with punters telling us how great Gruff is. But Evans’s story is remarkable, and Rhys’s run-ins with members of the Mandan people – including the last surviving speaker of their native tongue – are eye-opening and heartfelt. ‘American Interior’ is part rambling home movie, part intimate rock-doc and part informative history lesson. It’s surprising how comfortably the three fit together
American Interior
Time Out says
Release Details
- Release date:Friday 9 May 2014
Cast and crew
- Director:Gruff Rhys
- Screenwriter:Gruff Rhys
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