Ah, to be young again. I envy that time as a young adult, when I went on adventures before having to take life more seriously. In The Dells, documentarian Nellie Kluz shows that this stage of life still exists. It just takes on a new form today
Kluz follows a group of international college students who arrive in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, to begin summer jobs at the city’s many water and theme parks. They’ve come to the U.S. through the State Department’s J-1 Summer Work Travel Program, hoping to experience American culture and earn money during their school break. The work they’re offered is a mixed bag. They work long hours for minimum wage, often with little choice in what kind of work they do.
The documentary is shot in cinema verité as the students settle into life in the Dells. They share cheap meals and party by the lake. They commute in vans between housing and shifts at Kalahari, Great Wolf, Wilderness, and Mount Olympus water parks. Despite being essential to the parks’ operations, many feel invisible to management, aware they are viewed as cheap labor.
The film captures moments of camaraderie and freedom as they BBQ by the lake and explore local attractions, such as upside-down buildings and boat tours at Stand Rock. They commiserate about their frustrations, from exhausting lifeguard hours to the financial strain of necessities, like trying to fix a lemon of a party van.
“…sharing cheap meals, partying by the lake, and commuting in vans between housing and shifts…”
A local cab driver serves as a reluctant mentor to the students. He gives them advice on how to make the most of their summer. Some students express admiration for American healthcare and the strength of the dollar, while others grow disillusioned. For many, this experience offers a complicated glimpse of America—equal parts opportunity, exploitation, and discovery.
The Dells presents a slice of life for thousands of international students participating in the J-1 Visa program. The stakes are pretty low, and I’m very cool with that. There are no protests, no life-or-death situations, just the story of kids who want to experience the American Dream for just a summer. Everyone is just chillin’.
What helps is that filmmaker Nellie Kluz found an interesting group of students from Eurasia, Africa, and South America. Ultimately, what we get is an authentic perspective of how the world works and how we have more in common with people from other countries than we realize. I’ve always said that as Americans, you never know how good we have it until you speak to someone who is not from here.
The Dells captures a unique and breezy rite of passage for foreign teens entering adulthood. Nellie Kluz gives us a front-row seat to a low-stakes summer of hustles, hangouts, and humble dreams—a universal youth experience, just with more water slides and reptile zoos. It’s the kind of documentary that reminds you that while the American Dream may be complicated, the desire to chase it—however briefly—is something we all share.
"…everyone is just chillin’."
