Although it was a double feature, I decided to go late to see just Vanishing Point at Dryden Theater at George Eastman House (900 East Ave.). On the surface, it was a simple tale of a guy running from the law in a fast car. But my take on it was that the guy — Kowalski — represented freedom itself. Super Soul — the black, blind DJ — seems to recognize this, and even spells it right out.

I found Kowalski's encounters on the road to be one-dimensional allegories where you can just substitute "freedom" for "Kowalski":

• At every turn, the law is out to stop freedom.
• The hippie couple gets along with freedom.
• Racists try to stop Super Soul from talking about freedom.
• The gay couple tries to rob freedom — perhaps out of desperation.
• Freedom goes all over the desert.
• The religious group sees freedom only as a malicious stranger.
• When the law finally wins, freedom dies.