Heeding the familiar quote by 19th century newspaper editor Horace Greeley, Dutch filmmakers Peter Delpeut and Mart Dominicus go on a trip through the American West searching for the reasons behind the rise and fall in popularity of the American Western film genre in the duo's 2003 documentary Go West, Young Man! Longtime Western film enthusiasts, Delpeut and Dominicus visit a number of the locales that were featured in such films as Shane, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, and Monte Walsh, as well as the various settings in Monument Valley used by John Ford in his films. Along the way, the filmmakers talk to some of the residents of these sites in order to understand what it means to live in the West, as well as to discern if the world's love affair with the Western film can ever be rekindled. Go West, Young Man! was screened in conjunction with Monte Walsh at the 2003 Rotterdam International Film Festival.
by Ryan Shriver
synopsis
