DREAM OUT LOUD
PART ONE - A DOCUMENTARY JOURNEY
The true story of an aging man (Don Alex) and his loyal canine partner (Mitzi Sue), together on an epic Journey thru the western states, from the harrowing depths of homeless despair stuck in a dangerous clandestine campsite next to the otherwise beautiful Snake River (located at the Ontario, Oregon border), thru the frustrations of trial and error
desperate living situations in Idaho (and the ending of several longtime friendships when the "friends" turned out of the "fair weather" variety), thru Nevada (where an unexpected confrontation with family members over their negligent lack of care almost cost Mitzi her life right in front of Don's eyes, then did cost Don two nightmarish weeks of undeserved jail time, then cost him most of those family members, whom he disowned and left behind in the not-so-gold dust of Carson City forever), and then onwards to Los Angeles, to try and make Don's lifelong Dream of living near LA and getting into filmmaking a Reality. If he succeeds, then it will hopefully show others that you can make your Dreams come true, no matter what your life and financial circumstances, if you desire them badly enough. PART TWO - A SUBTERRANEAN ODYSSEY
After his arrival in LA, Don will have Mitzi set up with a reliable dogsitter, and then the second part of the film will begin, a surreal and often experimental-ish audiovisual Odyssey around and thru the Big City, to locations both famous and infamous, light and dark, past and present, as Don dreams out loud to many visually stunning events and with many fascinating individuals that he meets on his path, from underground filmmakers to cult rock musicians to sexual therapy communes (!) to modern day Charles Manson followers to the ever present danger of The Big One striking California at any time (with Don and Mitzi right in the middle of it), this segment will make "Dream Out Loud" much more than just some sort of vapid "Lassie Goes to L.A" feel-good film for the whole family. Don's odyssey will often be stark and chilling, edgy and disturbing, perhaps even rather dangerous at times. PART THREE - BORDERLINE
The final scenes of the film will show Don and Mitzi traveling to Playas del Tijuana, where the US / Mexico border ends abruptly with the fenceline literally trailing off downwards into the Pacific Ocean. For the day, Don and Mitzi will wander around the US side, talking to people on BOTH sides of the fence (and hopefully being allowed by the border patrol to let children from Mexico reach thru that fence and pet Mitzi for some nice ironic shots), and sitting, watching, pondering the irony of being at this specific place just as Trump assumes the presidency and implements his controversial immigration plan that is sure to change the face of the border forever. Finally, at twilight magic hour, Don and Mitzi peer over the border into Mexico, having reached the end of the Journey and the Odyssey, ready to start the new life that they have struggled for years to discover. As the camera zooms in slowly on them, the ambient backing music intentionally sounds similar to the sweet final notes of the Apocalypse Now soundtrack, then as it fades out and Don's face fills the image, staring wistfully but hopefully as he thinks about the long road behind them, the whispered words in a voice over: "the Dream, the Dream", then Don looks towards the camera, smiles enigmatically, and turns away as the image fades out to black. End Credits. Thanks for watching! :)
DREAM OUT LOUD
COMING IN 2017!
