My America, is an Australian documentary from the producer who made Selma’s School – Jane Jeffes.  It is about a young Hungarian/Australian yearning for the American Dream, an ideal born from a childhood of watching the big macho action movies of Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The ideas, however, are strong. Director/star/subject Peter Hegedus was born in Hungary and emigrated to Australia, where he grew up idolizing the individualist, save-the-world optimism he saw on screen. Trouble is, in the real world, things are a bit more complicated. My America charts his globe-trotting journey to discover what the world thinks of the greatest superpower on Earth (he travels to Beijing, Hungary, Iran and Kenya to gauge reaction), and his attempts to nab a meeting with Governor Schwarzenegger and the beacon-of-hope, President Barack Obama.

The strongest elements are Hegedus’ inquisitive charm, some moving scenes in Africa where regular people record messages for the President, and Hegedus’ wise father, who still lives in snow-drenched Hungary and seems to always have an insightful tidbit on hand.