American Dream: short movie Oswald in Rotterdam
In 2006, the Dutch short film “American Dream” won an award at the Hollywood Film Festival. The film, directed by Eelko Ferwerda and lasting less than ten minutes, reconstructs the night on Mathenesserlaan, starring Tijn Docter and Victoria Koblenko in the lead roles. The film has been uploaded to YouTube by Koblenko, and you can find it below. Synopsis: unconscious of the far-reaching consequences, a Russian family travels to the West in 1962 to realise their American dream.
Film director Eelke Ferwerda:
“It was already remarkable that he was allowed back to the United States. The Cold War was in full swing, and the country was closed tight for immigrants from Russia. According to some theories, Oswald may have had mysterious encounters with CIA agents or even the Russian mafia in Rotterdam. But concrete evidence is never found, of course. For filmmakers, that’s a blessing: you can completely apply your own interpretation to it.”
Actress Victoria Koblenko was kind enough to send me the film at that time, as YouTube was barely in use in the early years of my research. I found it particularly interesting to watch the film. They reconstructed Huize Avilla, the boarding house on the Mathenesserlaan where the Oswalds stayed. The building doesn’t exactly resemble the real one on that stately avenue, but similarity wasn’t crucial for the creators (compare the still above with the photo below).
The creators engage in some speculation here and there. For instance, they suggest that Oswald initially didn’t receive permission to return to the United States. Fortunately, a mysterious man intervenes in time with a solution, and all ends well. Of course, that’s not exactly how it happened, but again, that level of accuracy wasn’t crucial for the creators.
More on this night at the Mathenesserlaan in Rotterdam soon in another article. Watch me standing in front of the building below, the photo was made in 2008.
Watch the complete short film (9:22 minutes) here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOJkyMQP9I0
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