It becomes clear very quickly Senior is uninterested in and barely willing to reflect, although he is the most loquacious about providing detail about his various films(which are all very intriguing and eclectic). Junior does get some basic information and asks some direct, if never accusatory, questions particularly about Senior's period of drug addiction, while as always being forethcoming about his own, which Senior does answer at least in part. As the film progresses it becomes clear there is culpability here but it's clear Junior does not judge his father and accepts him and its also clear at some point(before Junior himself) Senior turned his life around and it's clear Senior takes some responsibility for Junior's destructive period. It's nuanced and moving and complicated but it takes its time and it's able to, because of it's patience and subtlety, access a greater truth.
The other element clearly focused on and celebrated is Senior's particular creativity. Not only is there extensive footage of his films but him working with the production crew filming his own sections are delightful. Senior's curiosity, humor, and unique perspective are conveyed with a casualness and an attention that are really moving.
The black and white cinematography, the score, the composition can come across, initially, as pretentious but it very quickly settles in and grabs the viewer, it's a documentary about a man and his son who are life long moviemakers who are not only the subjects but their influence can been seen in the construction of the film itself. It is not concerned with mythologizing Senior but with allowing him the space, dignity, and attention in the time that he has left. The only fault is that it can't be seen on the big screen.
Deep and simple. A meditation on family, death, and the art of making movies.
Currently streaming on Netflix.
See It.
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