SIDETRACKED, my rendition of a feminist quest film, sets the story of a woman's personal journey through Western Europe against the larger experience of travel. The mythology of travel is juxtaposed with the mythology of romance, and the woman's journey becomes a catalyst for reflection on the relationship between personal expectations and cultural myths.
"In Leslie Alperin's SIDETRACKED, a woman whose presence is articulated solely through voice (one track of the film strip) travels to Europe. Exquisite optically printed images (the other track of the film strip) are intercut with found footage and Viewmaster cards to suggest the idealized image the traveler seeks. But as the title indicates, it is through partial and incomplete communications, a halting conversation in a partially learned language, a quarrel with a lover who is almost a stranger, and memories of romantic travel films seen in childhood, that the traveler experiences Europe." - Kathy Geritz, Pacific Film Archive
1992, 16mm, color/so, 22m, $65