The Royal Road

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The Royal Road

2015

1h 5m

Documentary

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

82%

Tomatometer

17 Reviews

100%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

A cinematic essay in defense of remembering, "The Royal Road" offers up a primer on the Spanish colonization of California and the Mexican American War alongside intimate reflections on nostalgia, butch identity and the pursuit of unavailable women.

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Melissa Anderson

Village Voice

Suffused with melancholy, longing, and chagrin, Jenni Olson's supple cine-essay The Royal Road is, above all, a film against forgetting.

Oct 27, 2015

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Clayton Dillard

Slant Magazine

The cumulative effect is altogether perplexing, as it's difficult to tell if Olson's trying to upend clichs or settle for them.

Rated: 2/4

Oct 26, 2015

Full Review

Sam Fragoso

RogerEbert.com

A breathtaking cinematic essay.

Feb 11, 2015

Full Review

Esme Betamax

Battle Royale With Cheese

It's reminiscent of Chris Ware's Building Stories: people are fleeting but the building remains. The Royal Road is as much of a love letter to a place as it is a love letter to a person.

Aug 18, 2020

Full Review

Ren Jender

Bitch Flicks

Although I fight this desire in myself I can't help wishing The Royal Road was more vivid: bolder and dirtier.

Mar 9, 2019

Full Review

Kimberly Gadette

Doddle

It is at once a static, yet highly moving film.

Rated: 8/10

Sep 6, 2016

Full Review

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Jenni Olson

Director

Jenni Olson

Writer

Julie Dorf

Producer

Jenni Olson

Producer

Paul Marcarelli

Executive Producer

Sophia E. Constantinou

Cinematographer

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Synopsis

A cinematic essay in defense of remembering, "The Royal Road" offers up a primer on the Spanish colonization of California and the Mexican American War alongside intimate reflections on nostalgia, butch identity and the pursuit of unavailable women.

Director: Jenni Olson
Producer: Julie Dorf, Jenni Olson
Screenwriter: Jenni Olson
Production Co: Jenni Olson Productions
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 6, 2016
Runtime: 1h 5m

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