Lost in America

Set in the 1980s, the film captures a era of consumer ambition and reinvention as a bourgeois urban couple seeks something truer. Their road trip unfolds against the backdrop of that decade’s popular culture and social mood. References to Easy Rider and The Terminator anchor the timeframe and tone within the story.

The story starts in Los Angeles and follows a cross-country journey through iconic American locales. The route takes the couple from the urban sprawl to neon-lit Las Vegas, past the Hoover Dam, through small towns like Safford, Arizona, and finally toward New York. Each stop tests their idea of freedom and reveals how travel reshapes their lives and aspirations.

🗽 Freedom

The couple abandons their secure life to pursue independence and authenticity. The journey tests their willingness to redefine success away from status and routine. Freedom here is alluring but also costly, revealing the tension between dream and reality.

💰 Money

An initial fortune is squandered, highlighting money as both enabler and obstacle to the dream. Financial constraints increasingly shape their choices on the road and in small-town jobs. The film constantly questions whether money can buy the freedom they seek.

🧭 Identity

Renegotiating who they are outside their urban roles drives the narrative. They sample ordinary jobs and ordinary life, learning the gap between dream and daily reality. The journey reframes their sense of self and foreshadows what they might become together.