TAKING OFF

Forman shot his first American film in much the same way as his Czech work: spontaneously responding to circumstances, and in part using non-actors – he discovered the young female lead, for instance, among the hippies in Central Park. 15-year-old Jeannie has absconded from her parental home in order to take part in a singing competition. Her parents set out in pursuit, and get caught up in a series of bizarre events whose highpoints include a professionally supervised marijuana session attended by parents of runaways determined to understand their offspring. Interspersed with musical performances from unexpected guests, Forman’s film is a bitter-sweet comedy about the late-1960s zeitgeist.