AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

Malle’s interpretation of the American dream. And The Pursuit of Happiness begins with Louis Malle reflecting on his own status as a new Amercian. That reflection leads him to seek out other new immigrants to America. Malle soon realizes how much the face of U.S. immigration has changed: the new arrivals are more likely to come from Asia, Africa or Latin America than from Europe. Traveling from Vietnamese communities in California to Indian-run motels in the Deep South, conversing with immigrants ranging from West Indian poet (and future Nobel Prize winner) Derek Walcott to an Hispanic astronaut who became a citizen in 1977. In his documentary, he maintains the majority of immigrants hold steadfastly on to their roots. Malle sketches the new meanings that the American dream has taken on for these Americans.