The Road Movie (2015) is a partially scripted documentary that follows the members of rap duo ONYX on a day trip through Vilnius. Their 1993 hit Slam was among the first American rap songs to reach the country after its independence, and it became deeply rooted in local culture. The two African-American rappers walk around a city for which they are symbols of both pop stardom and social transformation – swaggering, amused and dramatically at odds with their surroundings. The film could be seen as a slapstick take on cultural history – both its reliance on stereotypes and its arbitrary nature. It could also be a melancholy portrait of a city 20 years after a unique moment in its past, asking which promises have been fulfilled and which have not.
Vincenzo Latronico, frieze, Issue 75
Credits:
Casting: Sticky Gingaz and Fredro Starr, camera man: Andrius Kemezys, editing Gediminas Akstinas, sound design Julius Grigelionis, music Ulijona Odisarija, Bohren & de Club of Gore.
Film is commisioned by the Contemporay Art Centre, XII Baltic Triennial.