Neal Cassady's friend William S. Burroughs once remarked: "There is no line between the 'real world' and the world of myth and symbol." For Neal's wife Carolyn and the family from which he hastily departed on many occasions, that quote could not ring truer. This cinematic documentary, as graceful as Carolyn herself, gives the stage to an unconventional tale of the great woman behind a great man, and the inescapable imprint left on those he loved. A fugitive of family life, Neal opted out of the provincial style for the life of a legend—joining the ranks of the Beatnik elite with close pal Jack Kerouac while Carolyn worked days and nights to provide for their children.

When found interesting enough, history becomes myth. And the present is often disregarded as the poor man's yesterday. For posterity, Neal Cassady has his spot inevitably reserved. But Carolyn—a woman not unlike any other woman, but remarkable just the same—is much more than a footnote. Sculpting an earnest and deserving tribute to one of literature's overlooked muses, first-time directors Maria Ramström and Malin Korkeasalo remind us that sometimes the most profound stories are found in the places we'd least expect.

Malin Korkeasalo, Maria Ramström, Maria Ramström, and Malin Korkeasalo