SXSW Review: ‘Potato Dreams of America’ is a Disarming and Unique Immigration Story
“I’ve always been American in my heart. Ever since my mother took me to the movies,” begins Wes Hurley’s Potato Dreams of America, an autobiographical tale of a family’s immigration from the USSR to Seattle and their son’s, Potato’s, eventual coming out. But when we meet Potato (Hersh Powers), he is in a snowy 1985 Soviet town, using the outline of his hands as a makeshift camera frame to distract himself from his furiously arguing parents. The film juxtaposes the shouting pair against a backdrop of glowing lights and musical fanfare more befitting of a wholesome fairy tale picture, but it’s an apt start to what becomes such an off-kilter coming-of-age movie.
Late at night, Potato and his mother bend their TV antenna to catch a pirated tv channel playing illegal American movies. They are enraptured by the happy endings and depictions of day to day life. The truth is that life in the U.S.S.R. is not what Potato and his mother dream of, but moving away is difficult. Potato’s mother concocts a plan to be a mail-order-bride for a man in the United States and have a marriage sponsor the their immigration. It is slow going. In a minor victory though, they upgrade to a color television when a new boyfriend of Potato’s mother moves in.
Hurley accentuates his story with a stylistically exaggerated production design; vivid colors cover accentuated furniture and walls producing a heightened reality a la John Waters and one of his midnight films or even Hedwig and the Angry Inch. The resulting environment is recognizable but uncanny. With a dose of humor thrown in, this disarming look at life behind the Iron Curtain in 1985 is so surprising it almost creates a culture shock in and of itself for western audiences.
Once Potato and his mother eventually hop oceans and land in Seattle, the film focuses more on Potato’s budding adolescence and sexuality. Potato becomes infatuated with a particular movie found at his local video store—which happens to be the beloved Scarecrow Video—and he finds himself rewatching the more erotic moments between two actors repeatedly. He knows this would be at odds with his religious stepfather so he keeps it a secret. This glimpse into Potato’s character is welcome as in Russia he felt more distant. All in all, the latter half of Potato Dreams of America slows pace and forgoes much of the intriguing style choices found in the USSR opening. Nonetheless the film’s thin veil of fiction doesn’t prevent you from seeing it’s stranger-than-fiction backbone (of which a past SXSW documentary was made). Wes Hurley’s coming of age tale is engaging to say the least and his translated version to the silver screen is a disarmingly unique ride.
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