Americana

In his independent movie, shot in 1973 with post-production work undertaken sporadically over the next seven years, Carradine plays a Vietnam veteran (no traumatised psycho, thankfully), who drifts into a small Kansas township and decides to stay on to repair a disused, dilapidated merry-go-round in the face of uncomprehending hostility from the locals. Clearly intended as an allegory both on middle American morality and on man's need for faith, it works largely due to the unsentimental depiction of the rural community, and to the fact that the potentially portentous plot never overwhelms the film's quiet atmosphere and observation. The only drawbacks, in fact, are some silly '60s-style camera flourishes and the needless inclusion of Carradine's beloved Hershey, who keeps turning up wordlessly as some sort of elfin nature girl.