Littlerock

A young woman who has lived a life of purpose gets a taste of the pleasures of sloth, American-style, in this independent comedy drama from director Mike Ott. Rintaro (Rintaro Sawamoto) and Atsuko (Atsuko Okatsuka) are two siblings from Japan visiting the United States for the first time. They've come to California to see Manzanar, where their Japanese-American grandfather was interned during World War II, but while driving through the desert, their rental car breaks down and they find themselves stranded in a small town called Littlerock. Rintaro doesn't speak English well and Atsuko doesn't know the language at all, but fortunately the two are befriended by a well-meaning slacker named Cory (Cory Zacharia). Though Cory dreams of moving to Los Angeles and becoming an actor, in the meantime he spends his days drinking beer, smoking pot, and hanging out with his friends. While Rintaro is eager to get out of town, Atsuko finds she likes the freedom of a life without goals and responsibilities, and it doesn't hurt that one of Cory's friends is clearly infatuated with her. When the car is running again, Rintaro is ready to hit the road, but Atsuko decides to stay on in Littlerock, only to discover Cory's life is a bit more complicated than she imagined. Littlerock was an official selection at the American Film Institute's 2010 AFI Fest.