Road movies are a quintessential Hollywood genre, often set in the wide-open spaces of the American West. The 1971 classic “Two-Lane Blacktop” wouldn’t have been the same if the characters had been driving through Vermont instead of the Arizona desert.
In “Phoenix Goes On,” the shambolic, heartwarming follow-up to his 2018 stoner buddy movie “Smokin’ on the Moon,” director Kanata Wolf references the “Two-Lane Blacktop” period with his two protagonists’ vintage ride — a gorgeous lime-green Chevy Impala convertible.
Also, despite its setting in rural Japan, the film revels in an anything-can-happen freedom that recalls the inspiration of so many hippie-era road trips: Jack Kerouac’s 1957 novel “On the Road.”
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.