Letters from los angeles

In this series of letters written to a friend back home in the Netherlands, Dutch filmmaker Jan Louter describes the time he spent in Los Angeles making his 2001 documentary A Sad Flower in the Sand. Equal parts meditation on Ask the Dust and impressionistic travelogue throughout the city and as far afield as the Mojave Desert, the letters give voice to Louter’s deep appreciation of John Fante’s art. Rich with sketches of such other important people in the Fante orbit as John’s wife Joyce, their son Dan Fante, and screenwriter Robert Towne, the writing in these letters conveys a penetrating European perspective on Fante’s masterpiece and a profound sympathy for its wounded author.