Views of America: Wendy and Lucy

The sweeping landscape paintings featured in the Crocker’s permanent collection and the upcoming exhibition “American Beauty and Bounty” depict the vast landscapes of America. For this film series, we take inspiration from these collections to offer four films that show diverse views of America. Each film will be presented by a local film expert who helped select the film, and an audience Q&A will follow each screening.

Wendy Carrol (Michelle Williams) is a young woman searching for a better life with her dog Lucy as her only companion. As they travel from Indiana in hopes of reaching Alaska for work, Wendy can’t catch a break and is eventually arrested for shoplifting dog food. Exquisitely filmed by director Kelly Reichardt, Wendy and Lucy details the quiet hope and excruciating pain of trying to survive in America. Wendy and Lucy received critical acclaim, with the New York Times calling it “a pitch-perfect triumph.” The film will be introduced by Jenny Stark, filmmaker and professor of communications and film at Sacramento State, and a Q&A with Jenny will follow the screening.